City walls of Demmin

The Demmin town fortifications once enclosed the whole city in a wide belt of walls, towers and wet and dry ditches. Work began in the 13th century and the completed system was repaired in the 16th century. During the Thirty Years War the Swedes turned Demmin into a major fortress, and it was fought over repeatedly in the 17th and 18th centuries. By the mid-18th century Frederick the Great ordered the works levelled, yet fragments survive today.

The most visible remains stand in the western part of the town: parts of the old wall, the Powder Tower and the Luisentor gate. To the north and south of the old town the fortified ramparts still run, kept because they stabilise the ground. East of the town centre a dry ditch marks the line of the former moat. These stretches show how the defences were adapted over centuries of siege and bombardment.

A walk along the surviving walls and ramparts gives a clear sense of Demmin’s military past. The Powder Tower and Luisentor recall the artillery duels of the 17th century. The dry ditch and northern ramparts show how the Swedes and Brandenburgers fought for control of the town. From these raised earthworks there are views across the Peene valley to the surrounding countryside.