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German Roots Trip 2003 - Contents

SEEKING OUR GERMAN ROOTS

Chapter III    
May 16 - 20, 2003

MECKLENBURG
Von Pressentin Family History - Dobbertin

Saturday, May 17 - Dobbertin & Boitin

From Sternberg we headed southeast to the small town of Dobbertin (red star on map), situated on a large "see" (lake). Our route took us through beautiful rural areas--with fields and forests alternating. We saw hunting blinds along the edge of most woodlands and enjoyed a couple of the caution signs on the highway. One pictured "bounding" deer and it was easy to believe that this area is full of deer. We were also cautioned to watch out for frogs, according to another sign!

Still seeking out von Pressentin connections, we came to Dobbertin to see the former Benedictine Catholic convent--once extremely rich and powerful with extensive land holdings all around the area. After the Reformation, the nobility in Mecklenburg took over the Dobbertin convent which became a "trust" and a home for their unmarried daughters. In the convent, each spinster was entitled to her own house, her servants, and an income. With all the wealth that came with the convent, these maiden ladies lived very well. Under the rules of the trust the noble families registered their new-born daughters at one of three convents in the region. The first-born daughter of the von Pressentin family was registered at Dobbertin, her younger siblings would be slated for one of the other convents, if they did not marry. Apparently Dobbertin was considered the "el primo" convent. Karen was sorry to learn that the convent was dissolved in 1945 when Soviet forces took possession of Dobbertin and the spinsters were forced to leave. Darn!

The head of the convent was given the title "Domina," and was elected to hold office until her death. She had her own 9-room house. Interestingly, the last "domina" of the convent was Auguste von Pressentin, who presided at the convent until forced to leave by the Russians in 1945. The Dobbertin Internet site indicated there would be a tour of the former convent today, but it did not materialize. So, we took an independent walking tour of the grounds.

After WW II, the former convent was converted to a nursing home for over 500 people, and in 1961 it became a home for mentally and physically disabled persons. We saw many of the residents wandering about the grounds and the spinsters’ homes appear to be apartments now. The major buildings--the church and the Domina’s house, are now being restored by the state government of Mecklenburg and weren’t open to the public but we did some peeking into windows. This German state is definitely an area of restoration! The buildings and grounds at Dobbertin are still lovely, in spite of many years of abuse and disrepair.

Boitin- In Search of "Dancing Stones"

We had some information indicating that there were some Neolithic stone structures, called the "Dancing Stones," perhaps contemporary with Stonehenge, near the village of Boitin, a few kilometers northeast of Sternberg. We circled Boitin a few times trying to find the reputed access to the Dancing Stones, but only found...

...some pretty little lakes in the typical Mecklenburg landscape.

Back in Boitin, we eventually found a rather vague Dancing Stones sign pointing down a dirt lane. Not wanting to invoke the Hertz penalities for driving their car off the pavement, we parked at the entrance to the lane and walked about a half-mile through deep, dark woods that gave me the uneasy feeling that at any minute we would see a little hut with the terrified faces of Hansel and Gretel peeking out. Luckily, no witch ever appeared, but neither did the Dancing Stones. A pretty little red deer daintily crossed the dirt road at one point, and Karen spotted a Honey Buzzard in the fields adjoining the dark woods. We finally gave up the search for the stones and returned to the car, just as the first rain shower of the day got underway.

Our route back to Wessin took us south on Highway 192 and through a truly ugly town called Goldberg. Unlike all the other German towns we’ve seen, Goldberg was NOT "cute and darling" in any way at all. There were dismal, block-house style apartments, no doubt a relic of the Russian era. Even in what had to be the old part of the town, "ugly" still described the buildings which were squashed together, jutting out over the sidewalk--creating a very claustrophobic effect. A dingy town we were happy to leave.

We got back to our Wessin hotel just as Friedrich-Franz and Chris arrived after their day of meetings. Back to the Landhotel for dinner, and as the hotel manager had predicted, there was a very big, and very noisy birthday party going on. She ushered us to an upstairs dining room where we could enjoy conversation. Chris brought along a picture album showing the "before" and the "after" condition of the chapel in Prestin. It’s amazing to realize how much restoration these two have accomplished with little additional help. The special on the menu tonight? What else? Spargel! And of course, we enjoyed a dinner featuring this spendy white asparagus.

At dinner, we told Friedrich-Franz that we were curious about Herr Reitman, whose garbage cans were everywhere in the area, and his big dairy in Wamckow, and handsome new manor house. Friedrich-Franz said that over a period of four years, Herr Reitman bought the same land that it took his family 500 years to acquire! A West German, Mr. Reitman came into east Germany right after the reunification, when nobody wanted to touch this land. He got it really cheap. He brought in the dairy cows too. Apparently there were some little Communist co-ops that endured for a short while after the reunification, but Herr Reitman put them out of business pretty fast. His operations were vastly more efficient and better financed than the co-ops. I think this gentleman would make a very good subject for a Wall Street Journal profile on Germany’s entrepreneurs of today.

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