Churches in the Sund region

Directions

First on the pilgrimage route of St. Birgitta: turn left behind Stralsund main station, Voigdehagen, turn left at the 1st turnoff after the town sign, via Findlingspark (this is where Birgittenweg and this tour separate), Neu Ahrendsee, Wüstenfelde, Brandshagen , Niederhof, Stahlbrode (ferry), then Zudar (overnight stay after 32 km) or Swantow (overnight stay after 37 km) and back: Üselitz, Venzvitz, Sissow, Gustow, Grahlhof, then over the Rügendamm.

Variants

  1. This tour is also suitable for bicycles – partly on dirt roads/paved paths.

  2. At 61 km over two days, this tour is demanding, but it can be done in three days with an overnight stay or by bus/train. For example, there is a train between Wüstenfelde and Stralsund; from Stahlbrode, the VVR line 303 via Brandshagen to Stralsund, in 2021 only twice a day (vvr-bus.de).

Points of interest

Pilgrimage Church of St. Lawrence (Zudar)

The Almighty was already involved in the choice of location for the church. After deliberations about the right place, the decision-makers stuck a spear into the ground, which had disappeared the next day. “It took a long search to find it, stuck in the ground far to the north. Thus God Himself had decided where His house should stand and the church was built there.” (Alfred Haas). The construction of the stately church had become necessary because more and more pilgrims were flocking to Zudar because of a miraculous image of Mary. Just twice as many North German pilgrims set out for Rome at that time. Zudar was called the “Rügen Lourdes”. But in 1372, shortly after the completion of the church, a ship full of pilgrims sank in the storm-lashed sound. Since this disaster, the place was long forgotten as a pilgrimage destination. Today it is coming to the attention of the new pilgrimage movement.