“A 13th-century church’s secrets whisper through time” Pantelitz a small village near Stralsund holds a treasure. It is the Pütter Church. This isn’t just any church. It’s a three-aisled hall church. Its construction began in the first half of the 13th century. Imagine the builders the tools the vision.
The Pütter Church is one of the oldest in the region. Its location between the Pütter and Borgwall lakes was strategically important. It served as a military retreat and a supply depot. This had consequences. The church suffered damage repeatedly. It was used as a powder magazine and a food storehouse.
After the Napoleonic Wars the damage was considerable. The church even served as a bakery. Its wooden interior was used as firewood. That’s a smart-aleck fact for you. The church’s neo-Gothic furnishings arrived in 1866. A new vault was added to the nave and side aisles. The community commissioned a new organ from C A Buchholz in Berlin in 1828.
Despite the tumultuous past much remains. The original altar stone dating back to the 13th century is still present. So is the 14th-century baptismal font. Two gravestones of the Mörder family from the 15th century are also preserved. A fragment of a 14th-century Last Supper fresco is found in the south aisle. The current rich interior includes the organ acquired in 1829. It also includes the 1866 seating and the medieval baptismal font. The altar features its original mensa from the construction period and a Baroque pastor’s plaque.
Before the entrance stands the gravestone of Captain Borgislaff Ulrich von Platen a royal Prussian dragoon. He died in 1800. The surrounding churchyard holds other important graves. One is that of Charlotte Dorothea Arndt the sister of Ernst Moritz Arndt. Her husband Karl Rassow is also buried there. Nearby lies the grave of Professor Gustav Pflugradt. He was a Romantic painter. He illustrated for “Die Gartenlaube” magazine in Berlin. He painted landscapes in Vorpommern.
The former parsonage in Pütter is another point of interest. Built around 1786 it was intended for the widow of a pastor. Today the artist Rainer Herold works there. The poet and local historian Carl Lappe spent several years in Pütter. He wrote “Through years of striving through illness through loss even through threatened life through a sickly chest I gained a hut in Pütter.”
Pantelitz’s manor house underwent transformations in the mid-19th century. It then acquired its late Classical style. In 1928 the estate was settled. The owner at that time was Georg Ruge. The manor house was later divided. One half is privately owned. The other half was sold by the Treuhandanstalt to a restoration company in Güstrow in 2000. The listed manor house is partially used for residential purposes. The former landscape park survives in parts. It is also under monument protection. The former estate complex remains partially preserved.
So as you stand here before the Pütter Church remember. It’s more than just stones and mortar. It’s a living testament. It’s a story of resilience. It’s a window into the past of Pantelitz. It is a treasure that whispers through time.