Komturei Kraak

The presence of the Order of St. John in the region is documented as early as 1200 in Goddin and Eichsen. A deed of gift from the Counts of Schwerin in 1217 mentions the increased settlement of brothers from the Werben commandery in Altmark in Sülstorf. Between 1292 and 1323, the seat of the commandery was moved from Sülstorf to Kraak. The monastery, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, existed until its dissolution and secularization between 1541 and 1547. A lengthy legal dispute between the Dukes of Mecklenburg and the Order of St. John preceded the final secularization. In 1552, the commandery's property was transferred by Duke Johann Albrecht I to his privy councillor Johann von Lucka.

The Johanniterkomturei Kraak is situated in the village of Kraak, which belongs to the present-day municipality of Rastow, in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The Johanniterkirche in Kraak is the only surviving structure of the former commandery. It is an elongated hall church with a slightly irregular three-sided eastern apse, whose construction is dendrochronologically dated to 1452. The exterior is structured by narrow buttresses, and the tracery windows were altered in the 19th century. Inside, the church houses a high-quality carved altar from the early 16th century, which depicts an apocalyptic Madonna between John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the central shrine. A baroque pulpit and an altar screen from 1671 complete the furnishings.

• Johanniterkomturei Sülstorf (monastery, approx. 6778 m away)
• Gutshaus Besendorf (manor house, approx. 9061 m away)
• Gutshaus Jamel (manor house, approx. 9781 m away)
• Jagdschloss Friedrichsmoor (hunting lodge, approx. 12462 m away)