Top 18 Natural Monuments around Stolpe auf Usedom

On a main road north of the village of Suckow on Usedom Island stands one of the island's oldest trees. Its location and condition make the Suckow Oak a natural extension of the past and a reminder of our own sense of time. Estimates of its age vary widely. Some believe it is no more than 400 years old, others around 1000. In my opinion, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Certainly older than the tree is the Bronze Age burial mound on which the oak was originally planted. Why this happened at all—here and in many similar locations elsewhere—remains a mystery. After large branches broke off from the crown several years ago and have lain beside the trunk ever since, the trunk reportedly collapsed completely in the autumn of 2024.

There was, or rather was as recently as 2020, a small covered rest area by the oak tree.

The small monument can be found on a small hill in the deciduous forest.

The tree now appears to be dead. No leaves were visible. The area around the oak tree has been cordoned off.

Beautiful, untouched landscape, but the path is often very sandy or rocky. Then there are sections with deep ruts. For about 3 km, it's a bit arduous, but the unspoiled, rustic landscape makes up for it. It's definitely worth it.

After the end of the last ice age, the Thurbruch Basin was formed. During the Littorina Transgression, the Baltic Sea had direct access to the Thurbruch Basin between 8000 and 6000 BCE through the Parchen lowlands. After that, a process of peat formation began. During storm floods, Baltic Sea water repeatedly flowed into the Gothensee and Thurbruch via the Parchen lowlands and the Beek until the 19th century. In the Middle Ages, the Beek and the main tributary of the Gothensee, the Bäck, were considered one river and called the Lassovnisza. Duke Barnim I donated the Lassovnisza to Stolpe Monastery in 1243.[1] In the middle of the 13th century, there were border disputes with the Grobe Monastery, as a result of which the Lassovnisza had to be ceded to Grobe.[2] Until the monastery was secularized, the Beek formed the border of the monastery's possessions. After that, it was the border of the Pudagla district, which belonged to the respective sovereign or state. The Beek is marked on the Lubin map of 1618. At that time, the Parchensee, through which it flowed, was still located in the Parchen lowlands. Eilhard Lubin marked an eel box (Ale kiste) near the mouth of the Baltic Sea, which indicates the special importance of eel fishing in this area. Source https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beek_(Heringsdorf)

The Beek, historically also Aal-Beek, Ahl-Beeke or Aalbach[e], is a watercourse in the area of the municipality of Heringsdorf on Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. It is the natural outflow of the Gothensee and thus of the Thurbruch to the Baltic Sea. The district of Ahlbeck is named after the body of water. The Beek begins at the northeast end of the southeastern foothills of the Gothensee and runs in a northeasterly direction through the Parchen lowlands to the district of Ahlbeck, which takes its name from it. This approximately 2900 m long section has been straightened. From the railway line between Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf, it runs for a length of more than 1200 m through Ahlbeck, piped underground, to the Baltic Sea. Source https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beek_(Heringsdorf)

South of the municipality of Benz, on the Kückelsberg, stands the observation tower of the same name. As soon as you climb the wooden steps, the viewing platform offers you a wonderful view over the Swiss region of Usedom.