Portrait of Karl Bartels

Karl Bartels (1884-1957) was one of the pioneers of conservation in Mecklenburg. Particular experiences of nature shaped his whole life. When his professional career took him to Müritz he founded the “Association for Protection of the Homeland” in Waren. Through this he succeeded in giving his conservation efforts more emphasis. In 1936 Karl Bartels became the district representative for conservation and in 1946 the district monument conservator. Bartels recorded 884 natural monuments with 2,020 individual items in the Waren district and documented 502 areas of landscape deemed worthy of protection.

Throughout his life he campaigned for the protection of threatened birds and their habitats. He set up four conservation areas, the most significant of which was on the east bank of the Müritz. Karl Bartels was initially able to secure a particularly valuable ornithological region as a bird sanctuary. In 1949, after battling for many years with authorities, users and owners, he succeeded in finally achieving its protection as the NSG “Müritzhof.” With its area of 4,832 hectares the region today forms part of the Müritz National Park, which was founded in 1990.