The magic of Schaalsee
Spend the night in Schaalsee
Region of the soul
Schaalsee Biosphere Reserve
Welcome to Schaalsee in Zarrentin, where nature and history have always come together. The town of Zarrentin, with its Romanesque fieldstone church, was first mentioned in documents in 1194. That’s how old the roots are of today’s beautiful Zarrentin am Schaalsee, now considered the gateway to Mecklenburg’s breathtaking lake landscape. Schaalsee covers 24 square kilometres and is one of Germany’s deepest lakes. It was named “Living Lake of the Year” in 2019. The area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2000. A paradise for walking, relaxing and staying overnight surrounded by a pristine landscape. Discover more about this unique environment!
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
In 2000, the area of lakes and landscape surrounding Schaalsee was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This is a somewhat technical description for the natural beauty which makes the region so unusual. This UNESCO designation requires a unique mix of intact ecosystem, living biodiversity and sustainable development. In other words: successful relations between people and their environment. For our guests, this means you’re visiting a place which will enchant you with its natural originality, its delightful flora and fauna, and its precious beauty.
Flora and fauna
The deeper you delve into the diversity of the region surrounding Schaalsee, the more intrigued you’ll become. For example, this natural paradise is home to at least 264 species of bird. A wide variety of species are at home here, from the venerable osprey to the colourful kingfisher. At Schaalsee you might even cross paths with the flightless rhea, a relative of the ostrich. The noble crane (Grus grus), hundreds of which visit Seehotel to rest each year, can even be seen flying in the Seehotel’s design.
When you visit, keep a close look-out and use your binoculars to discover countless other creatures such as adders, slow worms, pond frogs, moor frogs, tree frogs and grass frogs, and witness stoats, badgers and red deer coexisting in the wide open fields.
And of course, you’ll come upon very rare and precious plants in the Biosphere Reserve, which flourish especially well in its calciferous fenland. You might spot species of orchid like the marsh helleborine, the fen orchid and the early marsh orchid, or populations of the delicate marsh grass of Parnassus – all of which are classified as highly endangered on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Red List. It’s no wonder that Schaalsee is known as a treasure chest of diversity.
Legends
Sayings and fairy tales
How to outwit the devil
Once upon a time, a miller from the town of Stintenburg, who had spent everything he had, borrowed money from the devil and gave his soul as security for payment. But when the time came to pay back the money, the miller still had saved nothing. He outwitted the devil by asking him to turn into a mouse. The devil did this, and the miller immediately trapped him. He held him captive for seven years. In the end, the devil had to leave in shame with neither money nor his tail, which he had lost in captivity. Ever since then, the devil has avoided the crafty miller of Stintenburg.
Why you don’t measure the depth of Schaalsee
One day, a pair of bold men decided to measure the depth of Schaalsee. They lowered a tin can on the end of a long rope into the water. Great waves began to rise and their boat threatened to capsize. They kept letting out the rope and the lake became angrier and angrier. Much to their dismay, when they pulled up the rope, the tin can had melted. Suddenly, the water split asunder and a terrifying creature appeared and shouted: “If you try to measure the depths of the lake again, I will drown all of Zarrentin!” The men in the boat narrowly escaped. To their amazement, the rope was so long that it reached three times around the church and another three times to the top of the tower.
How Schaalsee got its whitefish
One day, an abbess so craved whitefish that she made a pact with the devil. If he could bring the fish she wanted from faraway Lake Constance by midnight, she would forfeit her soul. Stricken by her guilty conscience on account of the pact, she confided in one of the nuns and together they came up with a plan. They set the tower clock an hour ahead. Because of this, as the devil arrived over Schaalsee with his net full of whitefish, the clock struck midnight. Furious that he was late and had lost a soul, he flung the whitefish into Schaalsee, where they have lived ever since.