Oderberg and the surrounding area - industrial culture on the Alte Ode

Address

Start of tour

Am Bahnhof
16248 Niederfinow

End of tour

Am Bahnhof
16259 Bad Freienwalde

Contact address

Tourist-Information Bad Freienwalde (Oder)
Uchtenhagenstraße 3
16259 Bad Freienwalde

This tour leads through the region: Seenland Oder-Spree

Oderberg and the surrounding area - industrial culture on the Alte Ode

Bike tours

Length: 38 km

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Length: 38 km

The route runs along the northern border of the Niederoderbruch through the Eberswalde glacial valley and passes the Oderberg Inland Navigation Museum. The start is at the Niederfinow boat lift. The destination is the Oderland Museum in Bad Freienwalde. The tour can be shortened by train or as a circular route by bike. Here you will discover seclusion, tranquillity and exciting buildings!

Start / Finish: Nierderfinow railroad station / Bad Freienwalde railroad station
Length / Duration: approx. 38 kilometers / 4 hours
Trail condition: asphalted, paved, cobblestone pavement, the route is not suitable for two-lane bikes.
How to get there:

Car + bike: B 158, B 168, L 29, car parking spaces at the Niederfinow boat lift (subject to charge), e-car charging station at the Niederfinow tourist information office
Train + bike: Niederfinow RB 60 train station, e-bike charging station at the Niederfinow tourist information office

The tour is particularly suitable for cyclists interested in culture and for families. The route has been selected so that it can also be tackled with a bike and trailer or with cargo bikes.

On a discovery tour - let's go!

The cycle tour starts in an atypical way: on foot! You can start by exploring the lifts, lock staircase and museum and lock your bike at the tourist information office in the historic powerhouse (there are also lockers). Or you can take a 1.5-hour boat trip through the "Barnimer Fahrstühle".

It took seven years to build the 36-metre-high old ship lift (1927-1934), which for a long time was the world's largest. It connects Berlin with Stettin/Szczecin and the Baltic Sea.

Today, the new ship lift impresses with a height of 54 meters and a length of 133 meters. Both are vertical lifts with counterweight balancing.

Off to Oderberg!

After a refreshment stop at the local restaurant, we take the cycle path to the passenger boat landing stage - where there is a phenomenal view of the two lifts - to the Lieper Lock (built in 1874). It is the last lock along the Finow Canal before it flows into the Oder-Havel Canal.

The listed Finow Canal, the oldest continuously navigable artificial waterway in Germany (early 17th century), has been undergoing restoration since 1999. As you pass the Kesselschleuse lock with its two gates, you pause for a moment: the design is characteristic of all twelve locks on the Finow Canal, which are all similar in size at around 40 × 5 meters and are operated by hand.

Now the Niederoderbruch opens up. Rare bird species, fertile farmland and flowering meadows await you in the nature reserve. Before it was drained (first half of the 18th century) by Frederick the Great, this was the main floodplain of the Oder.

In the second half of the 18th century, fertile farmland was created from marshy Oder floodplains. The pumping stations are still important for flood protection in the region today. The Liepe pumping station is 1.5 km away.

After ten minutes, you cross the Wriezen Alte Oder and reach Bralitz. From here, follow the signs to Oderberg. Like many villages, Bralitz changed from a fishing village to a farming village after the reclamation.

In the 20th century, the region experienced an economic boom thanks to brickworks, sawmills and fishing. One of the largest timber warehouses in Germany was located on Lake Oderberg.

Oderberg had its own newspaper, three railroad stations and 15 boat builders! The Oderberg Bralitz railroad station, which was closed in 1997, is now a residential building.

Five minutes away by bike, at Freienwalder Straße 8, are the ruins of the Augusta sawmill with its manufacturer's villa, stables and residential buildings.

Oderberg Inland Navigation Museum

The Oderberg Inland Navigation Museum with tourist information has been run by a sponsoring association since 2008. The highlight is the open-air exhibition with the RIESA - an Elbe side-wheel steamer of the Dresden White Fleet. Now for an ice cream in the old town at the Oderberg ice cream parlor!

The backdrop with the 100-metre-high panorama of the Albrechtsberg is unique. Back on the route, a detour leads to the ruins of the Oderberg fortress "Bärenkasten". A colonist's house (late 18th century) nestles against the fortress walls.

Interesting fact: the fortress, which until then had been located on an island, only silted up after it was drained.

Back to Bralitz

The Dornbuschsee - a flooded clay pit belonging to the brickworks owner Dornbusch - invites you to take a dip before the most challenging stage on the dyke begins.

PS: View to the south! Here you will find the "Bismarck Tower" and the summit of the "Märkischer Watzmann", 106.2 meters above sea level. The trail ends at the B 158.

Turn left towards Schiffmühle. To get to the Fontanehaus and the Neutornow pumping station, cross the main road at the fork to the right.

Cake break at the Fontanehaus!

Theodor Fontane's father and his housekeeper lived in the half-timbered house from 1855 to 1867. The writer spent several summers here as a child. Technology fans take a tour of the floodwater pumping station in Neutornow. Fontane fans on the way to his father's grave at the Neutornow church.

Continue along the cycle path to Bad Freienwalde!

The pretty old town and the 160-metre difference in altitude characterize the townscape. The spa town lies between the hilly landscape of the Barnim and the lowlands of the Oderbruch.

Excursion: A visit to the palace of Prussian Queen Friederike Luise, now the Walter Rathenau Memorial, or the spa district.

Springs and mud baths have been offering relaxation and healing since the 17th century. Cafés and restaurants in Bad Freienwalde offer a wide selection of regional specialties. A visit to the Oderland Museum is worthwhile to quench your thirst for knowledge about drainage and settlement history.

Return route

Take the train from Bad Freienwalde station to Niederfinow.
(optional) Follow the route to the Reiherbuschbrücke bridge over the Freienwalder Landgraben and straight on towards Falkenberg Oder. After the level crossing, turn right to Niederfinow station. Here you can enjoy the tranquillity and vastness of the landscape at the end of the tour.

The most important places along the route:

Old and new Niederfinow boat lift
Liepe lock Liepe lock
Liepe pumping station
Bralitz historic railroad station
Oderberg Inland Navigation Museum
Fortress Bärenkasten Oderberg
Dornbuschsee + clay pits
Fontane House Ship Mill
Neutornow pumping station
Freienwalde Castle / Walter Rathenau Memorial
Oderland Museum Bad Freienwalde

Car + bike: B 158, B 168, L 29, car parking spaces at the Niederfinow boat lift (subject to charge), e-car charging station at the Niederfinow tourist information office
Train + bike: Niederfinow RB 60 train station, e-bike charging station at the Niederfinow tourist information office

Take the train from Bad Freienwalde station to Niederfinow.
(optional) Follow the route to the Reiherbuschbrücke bridge over the Freienwalder Landgraben and straight on towards Falkenberg Oder. After the level crossing, turn right to Niederfinow station. Here you can enjoy the tranquillity and vastness of the landscape at the end of the tour.

The most important places along the route:

Old and new Niederfinow boat lift
Liepe lock Liepe lock
Liepe pumping station
Bralitz historic railroad station
Oderberg Inland Navigation Museum
Fortress Bärenkasten Oderberg
Dornbuschsee + clay pits
Fontane House Ship Mill
Neutornow pumping station
Freienwalde Castle / Walter Rathenau Memorial
Oderland Museum Bad Freienwalde

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Oderberg and the surrounding area - industrial culture on the Alte Ode

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