The municipality, with an area of 215.9 square kilometres (83.4 sq mi) one of largest in Germany, is located in the northeastern part of Brandenburg, close to the border with the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

After the whole Uckermark region had passed to the Margraves of Brandenburg according to the 1250 Treaty of Landin, a Cistercian monastery at the site was founded; documented since 1271, about the time when nearby Chorin Abbey was established.

Damaged in the Thirty Years' War, when it was a possession of Field Marshal Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg, the fortress was rebuilt by his descendants in a Baroque style from 1740 onwards.

Refurbished according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler between 1838 and 1842, it received its present Neo-Renaissance appearance in 1881–1884.

After World War II, the Arnim family was disseized and the castle was used as recreation home of the East German National People's Army.