Spantekow Fortress

In some areas of the fortress, particularly the northern parts, Slavic finds were secured during various construction and excavation measures, documenting an early settlement of the area. At the beginning of the 14th century, the sons of Werner von Schwerin were already in possession of the "castrum Spantecowe". In 1338, the Dukes of Pomerania secured the right of first refusal should the von Schwerin family wish to sell the castle.

On the northern grounds of the current fortress, there was already a ring castle in the early Middle Ages, of which remnants of walls are still preserved and clearly visible today.

From 1558 to 1567, Grand Master Ulrich von Schwerin and his wife Anna von Arnim had the main building constructed. Later, the castle was expanded into a fortress (Veste). The fortress was laid out as an irregular quadrangle. It has projecting bastions, and the ramparts were bordered with retaining walls. The fortress is completely surrounded by a water-filled moat. The casemates are built of fieldstones with brick elements. It is noticeable that the casemates are built with bricks that predominantly have the early German monastery format, which suggests that they were obtained from the old castle ruin. The utility building leans against the ramparts and casemates with its west and south gable sides. It also consists of fieldstones with brick elements. The building is a combination of barn, stable, as well as bakery and brewery. It lies parallel to the castle building and only protrudes over the rampart with its roof area. South of the complex, the winding gate access with a side door into the casemates is built in. It is winding to prevent attackers from being able to shoot straight through the access. To the north, the fortress courtyard was delimited by the riding arena with the chapel annex. The castle was connected to the utility building by an underground vaulted passage. Both buildings have cellars, but the utility building only partially. The passage is still present, as excavations revealed, but had been filled in in modern times.

The castle building is the first building in Pomerania that had completely abandoned medieval architectural forms, and therefore has "epoch-making significance" in architectural history (as Lemcke emphasizes).

After the death of Virigenz von Schwerin in 1634, the castle came into the possession of the Swedish Count Erich Stenbock (1612–1659), the husband of Virigenz's sister Katharina von Schwerin (1619–1655). During the Swedish-Brandenburg War, Spantekow was besieged and conquered by Brandenburg troops in 1677. Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg ordered the demolition of the fortress and had important fortifications (bastions, towers, main building) blown up. During the blowing up of the towers, parts of the casemates were destroyed.

Although the fortress character was preserved in terms of its layout, Spantekow was now used as a manor house. Due to intentional breach of loyalty, the reigning Count of Steenbock was dispossessed by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1715. In 1720, Spantekow finally became a domain in Prussian state ownership. Field Marshal Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin from the former owner family sued the sovereign in 1738 for the return of Spantekow to the von Schwerin family. In 1748, the riding arena with the attached castle church burned down completely, the ruin was cleared, and the buildings were not rebuilt. Today, only foundation remnants of the church can be found. It was not until 1820 that District Administrator Heinrich Graf von Schwerin obtained a cabinet order from King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, which ordered a legal decision in the ownership dispute over Spantekow. But it was not until 1833, after 199 years in Prussian possession and a 99-year lawsuit, that the estate and fortress of Spantekow returned to the Schwerin family's possession. In addition, Prussia paid the Counts von Schwerin compensation of 40,000 thalers. To prevent further division of family property, Albert Graf von Zieten-Schwerin bought out the family in 1895. His son Hans Bone von Schwerin became the sole owner of Spantekow.

East of the fortress with the manor house, a park was laid out between 1835 and 1880 according to the cadastral maps. It is called "Kaiserkoppel" (Emperor's Paddock), but is predominantly a swamp forest with softwood trees in marshy terrain. A pond with a bridge connection, paths, and open spaces structure the park. In the southwestern part, there is a monument to the Schwerins and a small family cemetery. The connection between the castle and the park was formed by a narrow bridge over the fortress moat.

After the Second World War, the von Schwerin family was dispossessed as part of the land reform in 1945. After the founding of the GDR, the fortress complex came under state administration. An old people's home was set up in the main building of the fortress, the castle. The fortress complex was poorly maintained and set up for museum visits. In 1964, the fortress was added to the GDR's list of monuments. In the 1980s, the sandstone reliefs above the gate entrance were removed for restoration. According to unconfirmed information, the relief panels are said to have been replaced by copies to secure the originals. They were already very dilapidated. The inscription fields next to the figures of the builders were barely legible.

After German reunification, the fortress initially came under the administration of the Treuhand (trust agency). The old people's home was closed, and the castle stood empty for a long time. The entire complex also became overgrown, but was then cleaned up, maintained, and prepared for viewing through various ABM (job creation) measures. Various small-scale excavation measures also took place during this time.

In 1999, Kaspar Freiherr von Harnier, the grandson of the last castle owner before the expropriation of 1945, bought the fortress back. The castle, utility building, fortress walls, gatehouse, bastions, casemates, and remnants of the ring castle are preserved. With the help of donations and state funds, a restoration is to be made possible. The grounds of the moated castle can be visited, after having been closed for several years, but monument preservation was carried out.