Forest beekeeping Bremerhagen

Main building of the forest beekeeping in Bremerhagen in the renovated condition, summer 2020

The forest beekeeping in Bremerhagen is a property of the state forest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Poggendorf forestry office.

location

The forest beekeeping company Bremerhagen is located in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania within the district of Western Pomerania-Rügen . The small town of Bremerhagen , not far from the apiary, belongs to the municipality of Sundhagen .

A nature trail that was created in the 1960s is located in a larger forest complex of approx. 700 hectares in size, which is the responsibility of the Poggendorf Forestry Office. The forest beekeeping is located directly on this.

history

A beekeeping facility was built in 1959 on an area of just under half a hectare in the Bremerhäger forest area . In the following years, this was structurally expanded to include two outbuildings. The wooden building, equipped with many windows and a thatched roof, served the forestry side-production of bee products and at times the training of apprentice beekeepers.

Between 1960 and 1990, up to 120 bee colonies were farmed here by a permanently employed beekeeper. The annual output between 1 to 3 tons of honey and 40 kg of beeswax. The breeding colonies and queen breeding were located in the beekeeping building itself. In connection with a wagon, the traditional folk were used to pollinate agricultural and horticultural areas.

From 1990 to 1996 the bee colonies were only managed part-time with a drastically reduced number of colonies. In 1996 the forest beekeeping was discontinued. In the following years only a few private tribes were stationed.

Due to the lack of use and investment, the facility slowly deteriorated. Especially the thatched roof was badly damaged because of its age and there were some broken windows.

Redevelopment

In a joint project of the Ostsee-Zeitung and the Poggendorf Forestry Office, in cooperation with the Miltzow-Horst beekeeping association, a financing option was sought for necessary renovation work in order to prevent further decay or the demolition of this unique forest beekeeping.

The annual Christmas donation campaign of the Ostsee-Zeitung “Helfen brings Joy” formed the financial basis. In December 2016, with the help of the newspaper's readers and some companies, a donation total of around 17,000 euros was raised. Landesforst MV invested roughly the same amount in the repairs.

Work began in the summer of 2017. First, the dilapidated thatched roof was removed and parts of the roof structure replaced. This was followed by a new roofing of the apiary and the outbuilding with red bitumen shingles. Broken windows were also replaced and the electrics at the site were renewed. A new cladding of the premises followed.

use

The area around the forest beekeeping with its quiet location, some seating and various rare or exotic tree species is popular with visitors to the nature trail.

After setting up a so-called green classroom in the main building with tables, seating and some teaching materials, some of it is used for forest educational purposes , meetings and excursions. On the other hand, a separate area was preserved as an apiary for the purpose of beekeeping. Here you can watch the busy flight activity and, if the opportunity arises, ask the beekeeper about his work. The nature trail also has two showcases on the subject of beekeeping.

The honey from the Bremerhagen forest beekeeping is produced in the apiary and is offered in the forest shop at the Neu Pudagla forestry farm . Due to the favorable location and the variety in and around the forest, the bees have a large selection of forage plants . You can visit the flowering plants of the adjacent meadows and fields, but the forest also offers a diverse range of food. There are many wild cherries, linden trees and maples in the near-natural forest around the apiary. In addition, there is a variety of early bloomers in spring such as wood anemones, lesser celandine and various violets. In the course of the year blackberries, mountain ash, ivy and other forest plants are added which serve as nectar and pollen sources for the bees.

literature

Concept for the use of the former forest beekeeping Bremerhagen of the Poggendorf Forestry Office

Web links

54.157432 13.132605Coordinates: 54 ° 9 '26.8 " N , 13 ° 7' 57.4" E