Altwigshagen Manor

The Altwigshagen Manor House, also known as Altwigshagen Castle, is a manor house in Altwigshagen in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. It is located on the "Schlossberg" (Castle Hill) about 80 meters from the southern shore of Lake Altwigshagen.

In Altwigshagen, first mentioned in a document in 1295, there was a lowland castle at least since the 14th century. The place was a fief of the von Schwerin family, who had one of their ancestral seats here in addition to Spantekow. In 1326 and 1331, the castrum Oldeshagen was mentioned.

After various feuds between the Altwigshagen and Spantekow Schwerins and the city of Anklam took place in the 14th and 15th centuries, the region was pacified towards the end of the 15th century. The castle fell into disrepair in the following period. In the 17th century, Altwigshagen came into the possession of the von Borcke family. In the 19th century, a tower of the Schwerin castle was still preserved. This was blown up in 1866. In the same year, under Hugo von Borcke, construction of the new manor house in the Tudor Gothic style began. In 1945, the owners were expropriated and expelled by the communists.

After the end of the Second World War, refugees and displaced persons were accommodated in the manor house. In 1955, architectural embellishments, such as towers and battlements, were removed. During GDR times, the manor house housed the municipal office, the community nurse station, a kindergarten, a schoolroom, and several apartments. At times, a registry office was also located in the house. In 1995, the last residents moved out. The building fabric deteriorated. Between 2002 and 2010, the house changed owners four times at auctions. Several months after the last auction, a part of the house wall on the park side collapsed. The landscape park remained in the possession of the municipality of Altwigshagen.