In the courtyard of Schwerin’s former ducal palace stands a sandstone statue of a diminutive man with a heavy moustache and pointed beard. Dressed in Renaissance-era court attire, he wears a short tunic, a millstone collar, and a feathered hat. Created around 1856 by local sculptor Heinrich Petters, the figure depicts Petermännchen (literally “Little Peter Man”), the castle’s household spirit.
Petermännchen is said to roam the grand building’s corridors and cellars, carrying a lantern and unlocking doors with a heavy set of keys. He rewards good behavior but harasses intruders and thieves with pranks. At night, he is blamed for unexplained banging sounds and is known to rouse guards who have fallen asleep, sparing them from punishment.
According to local legend, Schwerin Castle sits on a site once sacred to a pagan god. When Christianity reached the region, the god was said to have fled, leaving behind his attendant spirits. In time they too disappeared, all except Petermännchen, who refused to abandon his post and remained in the palace’s vaults, loyal to his old duty despite the change in faith.
Some of the last claimed sightings of Petermännchen date to the early 1900s. During a fire in 1913, a daughter of the grand ducal family was said to have seen the figure inside the castle as flames spread through part of the building. After the end of the grand ducal era, the palace was thought to have lost its guardian. Yet in 1930, a police officer claimed to have seen a small, pointed-hatted figure in the garden before it vanished.