Lewitz

The Lewitz is a protected landscape in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a land of broad, flat pastures and farmland, fish ponds and occasional woodlands.

The terrain of the Lewitz lies in the southwest of Mecklenburg, south of Schwerin between the settlements of Crivitz, Parchim, Neustadt-Glewe and Banzkow.

One common one is the belief that the word Lewitz comes from the Slavic lowit which means "gathering", "hunting" or "game-rich region".

When the glacier melted it filled the Lewitz and the Stör valley with meltwater which scoured out a basin, 12,000 hectares in area.

In the Middle Stone Age its island-like hills, small lakes and woods offered hunters, gatherers and fishers suitable places to settle.

The timber industry was unsustainable, with the result that the last iron smeltery in Neustadt closed in 1717 due to a lack of wood.

However, a complete restoration of the original forests was not carried out, because as early as the end of the 1820s, people expected that income from the management of pasture would exceed that of the timber industry.

It was responsible for the maintenance of the ditches, paths, bridges, control of irrigation and drainage, monitoring the water levels and ensuring the harvest.

During the GDR period, from 1958 to 1962 and 1976 to 1980, with the introduction of industrial agricultural production methods, complex, large-scale land improvement work was carried out in order to create grassland for cattle breeding.

In the Neustadt village of Hohes Feld horses were bred for riding at the Lewitz VEG along with cattle breeding.

Also worth seeing are the Friedrichsmoor hunting lodge, the preserve of former dukes, the Tuckhude Land Office (Wiesenmeisterei) and the Banzkow Mill.