Grapenwerder

The Burgwall Grapenwerder stands one kilometre north of Penzlin in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district. It is a slawic hillfort on a prominent rise above surrounding lowlands. The oval site once measured up to 160 metres across and now rises three to four metres above the fields. Archaeologists have found cooking pots called Grapen here, giving the place its name. Pottery shows the fort was built between the 8th and 11th centuries. Later medieval shards suggest it was resettled in the Christian Middle Ages. A nearby slawic site, the Fischerwall, lies just a few hundred metres to the north-east. Visitors walk the gently sloping plateau once occupied by the inner stronghold. A narrow strip of rough ground marks where the outer ramparts once stood. The whole area is now farmland, its surface levelled long ago. The remains are subtle but the wide views across the lowlands recall the fort’s strategic position.