Discover Damm on the Elde

Damm combines nature watching, a canoe route on the Elde and a 15th-century village church. When planning your trip, you can consider which of these themes you would like to focus on: the landscape and its bird resting areas, individual sections of the Garwitz circular canoe tour, or the history of the village.

The landscape along the Elde and the Lewitz bird resting area

Damm developed directly along the course of the Elde as a linear village or street-green village. Within the municipality of Damm, the “Middle Elde Valley between Parchim and Matzlow-Garwitz” landscape area encompasses the Elde Valley, which runs from east to west, with the villages of Malchow and Damm, as well as the Bleichertannen. The landscape includes the largely natural Old Elde, wet grassland and alder forests along the river. Together, these features shape the character of the landscape area.

South and west of Damm lies the Wiesenlewitz, part of the important Lewitz bird resting area. It offers excellent opportunities for nature watching, especially in autumn and spring. If this is the main focus of your trip, these two seasons are the right reference point for your plans. The Wiesenlewitz and the Elde Valley offer different perspectives: bird resting and seasonal observation in one, and the river, wet grassland and surrounding forests in the other.

The Garwitz circular canoe tour near Damm

The first section of the Garwitz circular canoe tour runs from the Lewitzcamp along the Elde to Damm. The portage point is a useful landmark for finding your way along the route: you portage about 150 metres before the Damm–Malchow canal bridge. After travelling about 30 metres over land, you enter the Old Elde, the river’s original channel.

The return route is also described separately: it follows a tributary of the Elde through a section closed to motorboats, with frequent wide bends, a gentle gradient and easy navigation throughout. The tour information can therefore be divided into two distinct aspects: the portage point describes the overland transfer before the bridge; the bends, gradient and ease of navigation characterize the return route. When planning, check which section is especially relevant to your tour.

Damm village church and rectory

Damm village church dates from the 15th century. If you would like to see inside the church, you can contact the staff at the “Pfarrhaus Damm” youth education centre. The youth education centre is next to the small late-medieval village church.

The rectory hosts conferences, seminars, leisure activities and retreats for all age groups. It also holds chapter meetings, continuing education courses and school trips. Damm therefore offers nature and river experiences alongside a historic building and a venue for a wide range of educational and other events.

Nature and culture in the wider destination of Parchim

The wider destination of Parchim has its own nature and culture attractions. Wockersee, on the northern outskirts of Parchim, covers 62 hectares and is suitable for hiking, swimming and boating. Eichberg is a starting point for a walk around the lake. The Wockertal nature conservation area adjoins Wockersee directly. Another option for nature lovers is the kingfisher educational trail at the Lower Voigtsdorfer Pond in the Wockertal: it is about 1,100 metres long and has nine stations. The lake, circular trail and educational trail offer different ways to explore the landscape around Parchim.

Parchim’s history can also be explored at various sites. The Parchim ramparts are now an urban park and cover about 4.4 hectares. A very well-preserved section of Parchim’s town wall can be seen on Am Wallhotel street. The Fangelturm was built in 1360 as part of a landwehr for the outer defence of the town. Today, it is the only tower of its kind in Mecklenburg and is among the state’s oldest buildings.

Public general guided tours of Parchim are held during the summer months on request through Heimatbund Parchim e. V.; they have been offered since 1997. Topics include not only general tours but also Parchim in the Middle Ages and the history of the Parchim Dragoons. This means that when planning a visit to Parchim, you can choose from nature destinations, local history and themed tours.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Karrenzin, Domsühl, Zölkow, Ziegendorf, Rom, Groß Godems, Obere Warnow, Spornitz

Return to the wider travel overview: Amt Parchimer Umland.