Neubrandenburg City Walls

Neubrandenburg keeps its full medieval wall circuit, about two and a third kilometres of fieldstone, with four gatehouses in brick Gothic that are regarded as among the finest of their type in northern Germany, each with elaborate openwork gables. Built into the inner face of the wall are Wiekhäuser, small half-timbered houses inserted into the defensive niches from the fifteenth century onward and later used as dwellings and workshops; more than twenty survive and are now cafes, studios and small shops. The town centre inside was almost entirely destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in postwar form, so the walls stand around a modern city.

What you actually see

• The complete circuit - over two kilometres of wall with four gates.
• The brick gatehouses - openwork Gothic gables among the best of their kind.
• The Wiekhäuser - small timber houses built into the wall niches.
• The contrast - medieval walls enclosing a postwar city centre.

When to go

April to October; the walls are freely walkable year-round and the Wiekhäuser businesses open seasonally. The town is quiet outside summer.

Honest expectations

The interior of the old town is postwar and unremarkable. Wiekhäuser businesses keep irregular hours. The circuit takes about an hour.

Nearby

The Müritz park lies west; the Baltic coast is north.