More information…The most interesting places on the route are castles and other places scattered over the area of the southern Baltic, which are joined by a common history. They are located in 4 countries: Poland: Szczecin, Wolin, Kamień Pomorski, Trzebiatów, Szczecinek, Bytów, Słupsk, Darłowo; Sweden: Kalmar, Visiby, Malmö, Landskrona; Denmark: Helsingør, Kopenhaga; Germany: Barth, Greifswald, Wolgast, Ueckermünde and other interesting places: history, nature, culinary and events.
Route Concept: SECRETS OF THE LOST DUCHY – What do the castles on Polish and German Pomerania and Scandinavia have in common? Certainly this expedition will surprise you. This is not an ordinary journey through castles and museums, because the story you hear on it will allow you to move into a fascinating world of secrets and adventures. Traveling along the trail you will become part of this fascinating story and you will discover the secrets of the lost duchy. There will also be beautiful landscapes, cycling and canoeing trips and walks in the charming natural scenery.
The route creates a unique opportunity for lovers of discovering secrets and adventures.
Once upon a time, in a land bordered by the waters of the Baltic Sea, an unusual dynasty prevailed for over half thousand years. Their symbol – a griffin – a mythical animal with the body of a lion, head, claws and wings of the eagle to this day is a symbol of Pomerania.
The brave Gryffins of the Slavic roots were very careful about the development of their duchy. Whereas Gryffins of the Slavic women were wise and prudent. One of them was Elizabeth – a woman of extraordinary beauty and strength, and a granddaughter of the King of Poland, Casimir the Great. She was wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles of Luxembourg. Elizabeth was born in the castle in Darłowo. About half a century later, in the same place, on the world came a boy who, soon becoming the king of all Scandinavia, gained the nickname of the emperor of the north. Deprived of the throne, after almost 40 years of rule, he settled in Gotland, from where he organized pirate expeditions. Legends say that the treasures which he robbed, to this day rest on the bottom of the Baltic.
You probably think that, as befits a princely dynasty, the Griffins family lived a fairy-tale life … Nothing could be more wrong! Unhappy love and witchcraft led to the fall of the duchy, when the young and handsome prince Ernest Ludwik became a great love of Sidonia von Borck – nobleman of the Pomeranian family. The planned wedding did not take place, and rejected Sidonia cast a curse on the Gryfit family, leading to the extinction of the dynasty. The noblewoman was hailed as a witch for which she was beheaded and burned at the stake.
Following the Griffin trail will allow you to return to the old days and discover the secrets, romances, fate of this princely dynasty, their connections with the Templars and the Teutonic knights, and their activities for the development of this part of Europe.
