The municipality of Ramin is located in the very south-east of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At the Ramin Manor House you can go on a voyage of discovery into the world of wild herbs.
Wild herbs are not at all my core competence and so it was a voyage of discovery into a completely unknown world for me. To start with, I learned something and now I want to know much more about the subject.
History of the municipality of Ramin
The municipality of Ramin is located in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania between the border to Poland and the Randowbruch, which marks the border to Brandenburg. Due to the geological make-up, many boggy areas, smaller and also silted-up lakes can be found here. Over the course of time, moors have been drained and are now used for agriculture.
Ramin was founded as early as the time of Slavic settlement. At that time the place was called Rambyn/Rambin, which comes from the Slavic “ramen” and means timber. This suggests that a lot of wood was cut here for building.
From the 14th century, the estate village of Ramin was the ancestral seat of the noble Pomeranian noble family of Ramin. The family had other estates such as Kyritz, Lebehn and Stolzenburg near Stettin (from 1544).
A little story in the margin
Hans von Ramin appears in old stories/saga, for example in “Der Leichensee” and “Die Räuberhöhle bei Schmölle”. In both stories, however, he was not distinguished and noble. In them he is described as the villain, a fierce robber baron. Just stories? Who knows…
The Ramin Manor
The present single-storey manor house was built in the 18th century on the cellar vaults of the previous building.
In 1928, Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler, a chemist and university lecturer, bought the estate and farmed it. He is said to have tested many innovative ideas that are still used in agriculture today.
During the National Socialist era, a Hitler Youth leadership school was housed in the manor house. Later, refugees lived there. From 1947-2003/04 there was a children’s home in the building. In order to accommodate more children, the roof was extended and new rooms were created.
Jolanta Grenke and Edward Orlowski have been running the Ramin Manor House since 2008. With a lot of love and work, they are restoring and renovating the manor. Much has already been achieved and they have created a German-Polish meeting and learning place with a new concept. You can stay overnight in simple rooms with shared bathrooms, there is an event room and events are offered. For me, however, the special highlight is the programme on the topic of wild herbs.
Wild Herbs Experience at the Ramin Manor
The Ramin Manor House has a park of about 7ha. Depending on the season, 60-80 different wild herbs grow here in their natural environment. I became particularly aware of this when, during a short tour, we were told “this is plant xy, you can use it for this…” at almost every step. I could not take a single step without stepping on a plant that could be used. Yes, and not only for ointments, poultices or teas, but also as food with many nutrients. If you look closely and know your way around, you will discover well-known herbs such as rosemary, oregano, basil, nettle or parsley. But also almost forgotten species such as sorrel, goutweed or ribwort grow in the natural garden.
So it is no wonder that this diversity provided the impetus to take up the topic of wild herbs as an offer for visitors. Little by little, more and more exciting offers are emerging here with a focus on regional, sustainable, traditional nutrition. Anyone who wants to can take part in workshops here and learn how to handle the herbs. I particularly like that there are special offers for children to sensitise them to healthy living.
I was able to convince myself of the diverse use of wild herbs at a dinner. The sorrel was made into a delicious soup and the quiche was tastily prepared with many different herbs. But my taste was particularly struck by the salad, which consisted only of wild herbs and tasted so spicy that the “normal” salad could not keep up.
The range of herbs and the resulting products that are created at the Ramin Manor House are so diverse that there is now a wild herb online shop. Products from their own production are offered here.
Address:
Dorfstraße 41
17321 Ramin
Disclosure: The visit to the Ramin Manor was part of a press trip to the Midsummer Remise 2021. The article on this was written independently of the visit and corresponds to my impression.
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