If you visit the Lewitz in summer, you will find a vast landscape of ponds that, you might think, is part of the Mecklenburg Lake District. In fact, it is not lakes but fish ponds that form the center of the 16,400 hectare European Bird Sanctuary Lewitz.
Until the 18th century, the forests of the Lewitz were cleared, especially for the smelting of lawn iron ore and for construction and firewood. Where the primeval forest once stretched, there was now a vast and marshy meadow landscape. In the middle of the 18th century, the Friedrichsmoor Forestry Office, which still exists today, began to reforest small areas and to counteract the further overuse of the forest. Step by step, man straightened the rivers Elde and Stör. After that, larger quantities of wood and numerous goods could be transported by water. By the 19th century, the Müritz-Elde waterway and the Stör waterway had been created. As early as 1897, fish farming began in the Lewitz. By 1958, man had created an 832-hectare blue mosaic consisting of 32 fish ponds. These near-natural standing waters are located on both the Müritz-Elde and Stör waterways. The fish ponds are the heart of the 1,732 hectare nature reserve "Fish Ponds in the Lewitz" and may not be entered due to the necessary protection of nature.
From spring to late summer, ospreys hunt in the fish ponds. Colorful kingfishers can be observed wherever there is water in the Lewitz. Large flocks of calling bean geese and white-fronted geese, lapwings and other bird species migrate to the European bird sanctuary Lewitz until late autumn. Then you should visit the lookout and resting point Dütschower Brücke. The lookout tower located here offers an impressive panoramic view of the surrounding pond area. The drained fish ponds are now home to wild geese, silver and gray herons, lapwings, golden plovers and numerous white-tailed eagles. In addition, the Lewitz Ranger offers numerous guided adventure tours. Due to the breeding, resting and migrating bird life here, it is not surprising that the Lewitz is one of the most interesting bird watching areas in Germany.
