A group of ponds in the Niemierzyn Valley, within Szczecin's Kasprowicz-Arkoński Parks complex, on the site of a former sanatorium and the Eckerberg farm.
Syrenie Stawy (the Mermaid Ponds) is a group of ponds in the Niemierzyn Valley, within the Kasprowicz-Arkoński Parks landscape complex in Szczecin. They lie about 3 km from the centre, by a park avenue that extends Jana Kochanowskiego Street towards the Arkonka bathing site. The ponds are fed by the Osówka stream.
The park avenue by the ponds is a walking and cycling route. On maps it appears as Wincentego Pola Street or Syrenie Stawy. It leads towards the Arkonka bathing site, and the area belongs to the park complex that also includes Kasprowicz Park. The available descriptions do not say whether a path runs all the way round the ponds or how long it is, so check this on the spot.
At the end of the 16th century a sheepfold called Eckerberg stood in this part of the valley; it was burned down in 1677 during wartime operations. After it was rebuilt, a farm of the same name was established here. In 1808-1813 there were French military barracks here, and in the 19th century the land was divided into plots. Among other things, a mill, a distillery, a brickworks and a peat mine operated here.
In the second half of the 19th century a cold-water hydrotherapy establishment was set up, which Johannes Quistorp bought in the 1870s. After the farm buildings were demolished in 1890, the land was drained thanks to his grants and a sanatorium of the Ernst Moritz Arndt Foundation was built. It received mainly patients from Berlin, and the sanatorium was surrounded by the Eckerberg park. From about 1898 a restaurant called "Lindenhof" also operated nearby, with a concert hall, a playground and a small zoo.
In 1908 Martin Quistorp sold the land of today's Syrenie Stawy to the city, and he gave the city Quistorp Park, today's Kasprowicz Park, free of charge. The Arndt Foundation existed until 1945. Of the buildings, only the "Modrzewiowy Dwór" (Larch Manor) with a few farm buildings survived, the former accommodation of the sanatorium staff. Of the sanatorium and the "Lindenhof", only a few fragments of foundations and walls remain, hard to recognise. The name of the Quistorp family is also borne by Quistorp Tower, about 0.9 km away.
In 2010 a concept was drawn up for developing the site as the "Syrenie Stawy Arboretum" botanical garden. It envisaged restoring the ponds, collections of wetland and aquatic plants, a bird refuge called "Bird Island", viewing platforms, educational paths and playgrounds. Part of the plan, as the "Syrenie Stawy" Biodiversity Protection Centre in the Arkoński Forest Park, was carried out in July 2018 with EU funds.
What from the concept exists on the ground today does not follow from the sources read. It is worth checking with the city's green-space manager before a visit.
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