Holstein Switzerland
A lake district of around two hundred lakes in glacial hollows, with a white castle on a peninsula between them.
Saved in this browser only - no account, nothing sent anywhere. See your map
The name is a nineteenth-century tourist coinage: the region is not mountainous, but for flat Schleswig-Holstein its glacial hills, the highest around 168 metres, and its roughly two hundred lakes were enough to invite the comparison. The lakes fill hollows left by the last ice sheet and are linked by streams, which makes the area a canoeing region; the FĂŒnf-Seen-Fahrt boat route crosses five of them in sequence. Plön Castle, white and standing on a rise above the Grosser Plöner See, was a ducal residence and later a school. Sea eagles breed in the area and are seen over the water.
What you actually see
- The lake chain - around two hundred glacial lakes linked by streams.
- Plön Castle - a white ducal building above the largest lake.
- The five-lake boat route - a scheduled crossing of five lakes in sequence.
- The sea eagles - a breeding population hunting over the water.
When to go
May to September; boats and canoe hire run in season. Autumn brings colour and quiet. The region is a short trip from Kiel, LĂŒbeck or Hamburg.
Honest expectations
The Switzerland comparison is a marketing name; the hills are low. Boat routes are seasonal. Plön Castle is in institutional use with limited access.
Nearby
Kiel lies north; LĂŒbeck is south.
What to pack for Holstein Switzerland
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.