Selmsdorf: Trails, Landscape and History

Selmsdorf is in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. When planning your trip, you can focus on several things: hiking trails in the Palinger Heide, waterside views around Teschow, the historic furnishings of St. Mary’s, and memories of the region’s former division. You can first decide whether landscape, trails or history will shape your stay.

Hiking Trails and the Palinger Heide

The Palinger Heide is an inland dune area that has been protected since 1992 and is part of the Green Belt. Numerous hiking trails offer views of the Green Belt; these include sections of the historic Kolonnenweg (Column Road). Here, the landscape of the inland dunes and the history of the Kolonnenweg come together in a shared hiking area.

For hikes along the Selmsdorf banks of the Trave, the Selmsdorfer Forstweg public transport stop can serve as a starting point. Check public transport before setting out; trail conditions may also change. The heath and the Trave banks offer different perspectives when choosing a route: inland dunes and views of the Green Belt shape the trail here, while the Trave banks are the focal point there.

Teschow Between Water and Trails

The historic village of Teschow sits in a triangular layout on a peninsula between the Trave, Pötenitzer Wiek and Lake Dassow. A viewpoint on the peninsula looks out towards the Travemünde ferry port, the Trave and Lake Dassow. Its position between the three bodies of water gives Teschow its own distinctive landscape setting.

Developed hiking and cycling trails connect the Trave banks, Lake Dassow and Teschow. When planning, it is helpful to distinguish between a specific viewpoint and the trail connections: the viewpoint looks towards the port, the Trave and the lake, while the trails connect the banks, lake and village.

St. Mary’s: Organ and Epitaph

The organ in St. Mary’s Church was built in 1869 by Barnim Grüneberg, an organ builder from Stettin. The church also preserves a wooden epitaph from 1658, from its predecessor church. The two pieces represent different periods: the epitaph dates from the 17th century, and the organ from the 19th century. The epitaph’s connection to the predecessor church is also part of its history.

Border History and Former Connections

The regional project “Grenzenlos von Lübeck nach Boltenhagen” (Without Borders from Lübeck to Boltenhagen) uses memorial steles and information panels to recall the region’s division and its earlier history. Together, these memorial sites give border history its own focus alongside the nature and church-related themes.

A former transit route is also part of the historical context: it ran from the Selmsdorf–Schlutup border crossing along the former F104 and F105 towards the ferry connections to Gedser and Trelleborg. The route links the history of the border crossing with the road used at the time and the ferry connections.

Selmsdorf on a Cycling Tour

A Lübeck–Grevesmühlen cycling tour follows a cycle path through the outskirts of Selmsdorf towards the town centre. This gives it a different route focus from the trails between Teschow, the Trave banks and Lake Dassow: the cycling tour passes through the outer parts of the village, while the trails near Teschow connect the banks, lake and village. Check current trail and road conditions before setting out.

For the broader travel overview: Amt Schönberger Land.