Mecklenburg-West Pomerania’s largest park is becoming a construction site: 2.8 kilometers of watercourses and 2.6 kilometers of paths are to be renovated over the next two years.
Ludwigslust (dpa/mv) – Mighty oak trunks, knocked down by storms in the castle park of Ludwigslust, are now given a second life on the spot. Earlier this week, workers set up a mobile sawmill in a clearing, turning the giant trees there into accurate planks. In the future, these should secure the banks of historic canals and watercourses in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s largest park, as the head of the State Building and Real Estate Office in Schwerin, Robert Klaus, explained in Ludwigslust on Tuesday.
In the next year and the year after that, 2.8 kilometers of watercourses in the 120-hectare park are to be rehabilitated. In addition, the renewal of a good 2.6 kilometers of trails is on the agenda, which includes the new construction of a 620-metre-long historic trail in the depths of the park. According to Klaus, it leads to the historical origin of the system, the so-called hunting star – which should also be brought back into consciousness more strongly.
In the baroque period, such hunting stars – star-shaped aisles cut through the forest from a central location – were used for royal hunting. The star in Ludwigslust, which is also called “14 avenues” there, is considered to be the largest that can still be experienced in Germany. When the ever-growing aisles are to be cleared next time, Klaus left it open.
For the planned work, 3.5 million euros from the EU fund Eler are earmarked for rural areas. Most recently, between 2007 and 2014, millions were invested in the largest park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. This work will now be continued. In the coming year, channels would have to be temporarily drained, said Klaus.
The Ludwigslust Palace Park, laid out in the baroque style, is an important garden monument with tens of thousands of visitors every year. In the 19th century, parts of the complex were redesigned in the English style. The park has been badly hit by several storms in recent years. “Xavier” alone tore down more than 900 trees, some of which were centuries old, in October 2017.
