Kotelow hunting lodge - stylish and relaxing accommodation

The easternmost municipality in the Mecklenburg Lake District is called Galenbeck. The municipality includes the small village Kotelow, where the hunting lodge Kotelow is located.

The village was mentioned in documents as early as 1382. From 1466-1670 the village belonged to the von Rieben family and then passed into the possession of the von Oertzen family. Arndt Heinrich von Oertzen built the imposing manor house around 1733.

History of Kotelow Hunting Lodge

The old Mecklenburg noble family von Oertzen built the baroque manor house in 1733 after the original building was destroyed by a lightning strike three years earlier. A one-story plastered brick building with a mansard roof was built.

Until 1945 the family remained the owner of the estate. Then the Soviet army came, looted and destroyed the family property. The expropriation of the family followed shortly after. The land was distributed by the GDR government to new farmers in the course of the land reform. The use of the manor house also changed. Around 1954, the house had been divided into 14 apartments and the garden hall served as a cultural space for the village. Later, a municipal office, a restaurant, and a consumer shop were established, and the attic was used as a base for the LPG.

In 1990, with the political change, the house was closed and the municipality did not use it anymore. It remained unused and empty for several years until it was bought by the Heins family in 2001.

It took many years to renovate and redesign the manor house. In 2008, it finally opened its doors to guests as Kotelow Hunting Lodge.

Spend the night in Kotelow hunting lodge

During the Midsummer Remise 2021 I was able to spend one night in the hunting lodge. A night in which I was allowed to sleep in a dreamlike room and enjoy a good meal.

Entering the house through the large and heavy entrance door, one stands in an entrance hall, from which a two-winged staircase leads to the upper floor. The banister has been carved and painstakingly restored. In the staircase hang hunting trophies of the master of the house, which give the whole ambience an English style.

Upstairs are the nine individually designed rooms. In each room you discover the attention to detail, from large massive wardrobes to the individual nightstand lamp. For me, it’s the perfect vacation feeling – there’s no TV in the room, but free Wi-Fi is available.

If you wander through the rooms on the first floor, you will notice the historical color scheme of the rooms and the many hunting trophies. The owner is an avid hunter and likes to show it. You have to be aware when you stay here that it is a hunting lodge and this kind of decoration is part of it. And even if I’m not really enthusiastic about these trophies, it just fits perfectly into the hunting lodge and gives an inimitable charm.

If you step across the terrace into the park of the house, you can take a short walk in the adjacent terrain or make yourself comfortable. With a little luck, some deer will appear at the edge of the adjacent field.

The motto “the guest is king” is definitely true at the hunting lodge. From the personal welcome, the tour of the house to the good food and drink, here you can vacation in style and feel a bit like a lord of the castle.