Nearly five hundred beech trees at Lake Stechlin, Germany have grafitti carvings. The oldest of these grafitti reach back into the 1920s. Some are from the NS era, many are from 1950s to 1980. I wanted to know what these signs can us about the history of the lake and its vitors.
Tattoo trees
Most of grafitti are simple: initials, and combinations of initials with dates.
On some trees elaborate symbols have been placed. Others are filled with markings and scratches and show a wild collection of signs.
Some have series of dates on them, from visitors that came back, and left their marks year after year.
Trees can be found that carry traces of generations of visitors.
Trees with dates
More than one fourth of the trees with grafitti are dated, 127 of them.
The oldest is probably from 1922. There is another from 1923, one from the 1930s, three from the 1940s, eighteen from the 1950s, more then twenty from the 1960s & 1970s, respectively, fifteen from the 1980s, eleven from the 1990s, ten from the 2000s, and fifteen from the 2010s.
The frequency reflects the tourism. The tourism had its peak during the GDR time. More then 1000 visitors per day stayed overnight during this time in the village. There was also a campsite at the lakes northern bay. And then there were the workers from the nuclear power plant nearby.
Badebuchten
Most of the grafitti are on the eastern bay, at the tip of the peninsula, where it is closest to the village, and at the swimming spots of the northen bay, where it is called "sunbay."
At a place, called "Stammstechlin," at the northern shore, lots of grafitti exist on old trees. They are commonly directed towards the lake, despite the shores thick reed cover.
Probably, when the people left its markings, these were swimming spots, free of reed. The reed spread because the lake heavily eutrophicated since.
Scars
At places many beeches have scars. They are commonly heavily adnate and difficult to interprete.
Near the sunbay at the northernmost tip of the lake, and in an area near the old fisherhouse, they are exceptionally common.
On old maps these places are marked as campsites. Probably the scars mark old injuries from nails and attachments for signposts, washing lines, and tents. Perhaps, these are also simple markings, now unreadable.
Growth
The grafitti are mostly placed at eye level. During the years the trees grew toward the sky, but at their base only their perimeter grew.
Old markings, when placed on young trees are therefore often stretched, like a drawing on an empty ballon that gets pumped up. But they are still on its original height.
Old markings that were placed on old trees are instead often almost unchanged.
Beeches can get three hundered years old. The older they get, the slower the grow.
The mysterious K
Many repeating combinations of letters exist. Many taggers left their signs at several trees. But nobody was so active as the mysterious person who left the single letter "K."
Around the lake 21 trees are marked with a single K. Although the K looks different at different trees. – In some places it is on slender old trees, quite stretched. In other places it is a faint scar on mighty old beeches.
Often, where the K is, no other grafitti was placed.
Perhaps, the K was not scratched by a single person and it is not a sign for a name.
Hearts
Hearts are by far the most common motifs on the trees at lake Stechlin. On 67 beeches hearts can be found. This is 14% of all grafitti trees.
Many variants of hearts exist. Some have pairs of initials inside, above or below. Some have a year or a date. Through others run arrows.
There are hearts from all decades. Some are bold and others are delicate.
On one tree is no heart, but the line "I love you."
Swastikas
The German-Israelian writer Lola Landau, who lived at the lake during the 1920-1930s until she was exiled, wrote: "We saw on our hikes through the woods that signs of hate were cut into many trees, the swastika of the nationalsocialists. It stood for national revenge and racial hatred. Many villages of the country had been conquered by it already."1
I found the symbol on nine trees. Some are adnate and crooked and some were cut over. But others are clearly visible.
Soviet star
The soviet star is on two trees. One is cut into a very old beech. The others is slightly stretched and cut into the bark of a slender tree.
They have no dates. The similarity with other old markings and the degree of ageing indicate that they are many decades old.
Perhaps they have been cut by soviet soldiers or even by German communists during the nazi era.
Runes
Symbols of runes are on seven trees. It seems they are from the nazi time.
On two trees a distinct rhombus can be found, the Odal-rune. On at least three other trees is the arrow of the Tyr-rune.
Both symbols have been used by the Hitlerjugend. Perhaps it is not a coincidence, that some of the runes are at the peninsula. There the Hitlerjugend had during the 1940s large summer camps. More than 3000 boys dwelled in the woods every year in august during this time.
Kyrillic
On 14 trees kyrillic letters can be found. Most of them belong to initials. On one tree is written "Ростов и Дон".
Many trees with kyrillic grafitti are near the old fisherhouse and on the peninsula. Some of them are with dates from the 1970-1980s.
They were most probably cut by soviet soldiers during the time of the GDR, when many of them where barracked in Fürstenberg and surroundings. And sometimes, during the summer months, they camped for weeks in the woods at Lake Stechlin, when they had their maneuvres.
