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You are here: Home Leisure Arts & Culture Schwerin....it's a cosy old town

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29/07/2003Schwerin....it's a cosy old town

Gemuetlitch is one of those very expressive German words like “Doch!” and “lekker”, “quark”, “Schadenfreude” and “Nazi”. Gemuetlich means cosy, homey and warm.
Schwerin Castle
Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorprommen, is gemuetlich, in the snow it is mega-gemuetlich. Tiled roofs, church spires, cobbled streets all look impossibly scenic with a dusting of snow. The town follows the common German tradition of having an Alt Stadt that dates back to medieval times at its heart, with a nondescript modern city sprawling around it. With a population of just under 100,000, Schwerin is not a big centre and, like many cities in the former East Germany, it is getting smaller. But it has buildings and attractions out of proportion to its size, thanks partly to its standing as a regional capital. Chief among the attractions of the city are the “fachwerkhauser”, the timber-beamed houses built 400 to 500 years ago in what would the English would call Tudor style. Each one is a wonderfully individual construct — no two beams meet at right angles, and most houses lean at drunken angles relying on each for support. But they stay up for centuries. One near the centre of Schwerin, dating from the mid-1600's, features a perilous overhang that has the first floor extending past the ground floor by the best part of a metre. Our guide explained that at the time of construction, households were taxed according to the land area taken up by the house, so the over-hang was a way of pinching a bit more space without facing higher taxes. It is that sort of engaging insight that makes it worthwhile to sign up for a walking tour of Schwerin. And it is guides like Inga Gundlach, full of knowledge and enthusiasm for his hometown, which make the tours entertaining. Schwerin has a great theatrical tradition, and Inga seemed to be part of that as he led us through the town, past the Art Gallery and Opera House and around the truly remarkable castle. We were told the art gallery was worth a visit — and it certainly was. Small towns in Germany still have big names in their galleries. This gallery had Lucas Cranach the Elder, Rubens, Frans Hals and a very worthwhile collection of 16th and 17th century Netherlands artists. Picking a hotel in an unknown town is always pot luck, and this time we were lucky. We stayed at Zur Guten Quelle, a “fachwerkhaus” that embodies the hospitality of Schwerin at its best. Low-key and friendly, the bar downstairs was smoky and cheery, the beer — Duckstein and Krombacher — was excellent, and the menu short, carnivorous and cheap. Our room, set in the roof, was all beams and odd angles offering ample opportunity for concussions for the unwary guest. In the gemuetlich spirit, it was full of lace curtains and decorations. Artificial flowers were everywhere. So next time you look around your sleek, glass-enclosed, 21st-century living pod and think, "I've had minimalism, I need clutter!" head for Schwerin, the perfect place to curl up for a weekend. February 2002


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