Sehlen is defined by several distinct features: the neo-Gothic Dankeskirche, numerous thatched-roof houses and a landscape shaped by forests, meadows and farmland. There is also the Climate Forest on the outskirts, as well as Klein Kubbelkow, with its manor house and park, within the municipality. For planning your trip, it helps to distinguish clearly between the two: Klein Kubbelkow belongs to the municipality but is not the settlement of Sehlen itself.
Church and townscape
The Dankeskirche stands on a hill and is a prominent landmark visible from far away. It therefore plays both an architectural and a landscape role in the townscape. The Dankeskirche’s Mehmel organ was built in 1889 and has mechanical slider chests. The church and the instrument offer different points of cultural and historical interest: the neo-Gothic architecture on the hill and a precisely dated organ with a named mechanism.
Numerous thatched-roof houses highlight the traditional North German architectural style. This motif extends the view beyond the church itself to a recurring architectural form in Sehlen. Anyone interested in townscapes can see the prominent church and thatched-roof architecture as two distinct features of the village.
Landscape and Climate Forest
Extensive forests, meadows and farmland surround Sehlen. The Climate Forest on the outskirts adds a distinctive feature as a reforestation area: it was officially opened on October 20, 2018. Over the following three years, lime trees, European white elms and woodland-edge shrubs were planted gradually across about one hectare. These named tree species and the gradual planting make the Climate Forest a specific landscape feature alongside the forests, meadows and fields around the village.
For orientation, Grüner Weg is a useful reference point: from the end of the road, it is about 200 metres on foot to the Sehlen Climate Forest reforestation area. This gives a specific starting point and approximate distance, without specifying a walking time.
Klein Kubbelkow at the municipal level
Klein Kubbelkow is located within the municipality. There, a formerly overgrown manor park and a manor house threatened by decay have been transformed into an attractive local recreation area. The park, which covers about four hectares, was laid out around 1700 and combines Baroque elements with an English landscape park expanded around 1860. The manor house and park are now protected as historic monuments.
The history of the park and manor house adds a distinct story of development at the municipal level to Sehlen’s other themes. The dates distinguish the park’s establishment around 1700 from the expansion of the English landscape park around 1860. Together with the transformation of an overgrown park and a threatened manor house into a local recreation area, this gives Klein Kubbelkow its own distinct story.
Vorpommern-Rügen on a larger scale
The wider travel destination of Vorpommern-Rügen offers further landscape and cultural attractions. The district includes the island of Rügen and the nearby islands of Hiddensee and Ummanz; the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula chain is also part of it. On Rügen, the beech forests in Jasmund National Park are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.” The old town of the Hanseatic city of Stralsund is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar.” The historic narrow-gauge railway “Rasender Roland” also runs on Rügen.
Discover more destinations: Buschvitz, Parchtitz, Rappin on Rügen, Garz/Rügen, Ralswiek, Poseritz, Lietzow, Patzig
Back to the main travel overview: Amt Bergen auf Rügen.
