Festung Dömitz

About the museum

Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg had the fortress built on the bank of the Elbe between 1559 and 1565; the plans for the pentagonal complex with five bastions came from the Italian master builder Francesco a Bornau. It was the largest fortress in Mecklenburg and is now considered the only fully preserved pentagonal Renaissance citadel in northern Germany.

From 1705 the complex also served as an asylum and prison. The Low German poet Fritz Reuter served the final part of his fortress imprisonment here from 1838 to 1840 and later wrote about this period. Military use ended in 1894.

The fortress has housed a museum since 1953, initially in the Kommandantenhaus (commandant's house), which has been closed since 2017 for structural reasons. After 1990 the citadel was extensively restored, and a reconstructed drawbridge was added in 2013. Today the exhibitions are spread across the Hauptwache (main guardhouse), Zeughaus (arsenal), Blockhaus and Remise (carriage house): they cover Fritz Reuter, the history of the fortress and town, the history of the border on the Elbe, and the bridges and harbor. Since 2013 the Zeughaus has also housed an information center of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Flusslandschaft Elbe (Elbe River Landscape).

Highlights

• Fully preserved pentagonal Renaissance citadel with bastions and casemates
• Permanent exhibition on Fritz Reuter and his imprisonment in the fortress
• Exhibition on border history, the Elbe bridges and the harbor in the Zeughaus
• Biosphere reserve exhibition “Mensch und Biosphäre” (Man and the Biosphere)
• Recreated general store from around 1900 in the Remise

Permanent exhibitions

• Fritz Reuter und die Festungsgeschichte – The Hauptwache covers the life and imprisonment of the Low German poet as well as the history of the fortress and town from the 16th to the 19th century.
• Grenze, Elbbrücken und Hafen – The upper floor of the Zeughaus presents the history of the inner-German border on the Elbe, the Dömitz bridges and the harbor.
• Mensch und Biosphäre – gestern, heute, morgen – Exhibition of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Flusslandschaft Elbe on the first floor of the Zeughaus about nature and the cultural landscape along the Elbe.

Founded

1953

Operated by

Stadt Dömitz

Admission & discounts

Free admission year-round with the EhrenamtsKarte MV (volunteer card).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Access to the citadel over cobblestones, buildings with 1–2 steps; accessible parking spaces in the Zingel parking lot, accessible restroom available.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

By car via the A24/A14 to Ludwigslust, then the B191 to Dömitz. Own harbor with moorings for recreational boats; passenger boat service from Dömitz.

Amenities & dining

Leashed dogs are allowed on the outdoor grounds.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Civil weddings at the fortress (Dömitz registry office, tel. 038758 31636), in summer also midsummer-night weddings; the fortress is also used as an event venue and film set.

Plan your visit