Steffenshagen: Village Church, Crafts and Green Landscapes

Steffenshagen combines a green village landscape with an impressive village church, a post mill and engaging craft-related attractions. Its sights and landscapes offer a range of themes to explore during your stay.

Landscape and a peaceful village character

The village is characterised by nearby meadows, pastures and forests, and is considered a peaceful inland alternative to the livelier Baltic Sea resorts. From the hills around Steffenshagen, you can see towards the nearby Baltic Sea. Niedersteffenshagen is also considered a good destination for nature lovers and hikers. The Kühlung landscape around Niedersteffenshagen encompasses hills and valleys, deciduous and mixed forests, and small streams. These offer two different perspectives on nature: views towards the Baltic Sea from the hills around Steffenshagen and the varied terrain of the Kühlung landscape near Niedersteffenshagen.

Village church with several historical connections

The Steffenshagen village church is considered one of the largest and most impressive village churches in Mecklenburg. It was founded by monks from the Cistercian monastery in Althof-Doberan. The carved altar is believed to have been created between 1450 and 1500 in a Rostock artists’ workshop. The church received its first organ in 1901, built by court organ builder Marcus Runge. The church thus brings together the history of its monastic foundation, an altar with an approximate date, and the story of its organ from the early 20th century.

Watch craftspeople at work

At Thielke’s historic farm, visitors can watch bread being baked in the old bakery. At the historic forge, Bernd Thielke demonstrates traditional blacksmithing techniques. Guided tours are also available at a museum forge in Steffenshagen. Christoph Ohse offers a different perspective on craftsmanship: you can watch him at the potter’s wheel as he shapes vessels. These examples range from baking and blacksmithing to shaping vessels.

Post mill and Kühlung cycle route

The post mill in Steffenshagen is open to visitors. The Kühlung cycle route also includes it among the village’s attractions. The mill was moved to Steffenshagen from Buschkuhnsdorf in Saxony-Anhalt in 1998. If you are planning a visit, check the current visiting arrangements in advance.

Studio and exhibition gallery

A studio with an exhibition gallery, created by the painter and graphic artist Herbert Malchow, is located on the grounds of a farm associated with Wilhelmsburg. Visual art thus complements Steffenshagen’s craft and church-history themes.

More destinations in the Rostock travel region

In the Rostock travel region, visitors can explore Wildpark-MV independently or join guided walks, including wolf, owl and evening walks. Sternberger Seenland Nature Park invites visitors to hike and cycle among the deeply incised breakthrough valleys along the Warnow, numerous lakes, hills and extensive forests. The experiences differ: Wildpark-MV offers themed guided tours as well as independent visits to the park, while Sternberger Seenland invites visitors to hike and cycle amid its landscapes.

Discover more destinations: Reddelich, Wittenbeck, Admannshagen-Bargeshagen, Heiligendamm, Hohenfelde, Börgerende-Rethwisch, Nienhagen, Retschow

Return to the overview of the wider travel area: Amt Bad Doberan-Land.