1st stage “Oderlandweg”: Wriezen - Falkenberg/Mark

Length: 25 kilometres (6 hours)

Start: Wriezen

Finish: Falkenberg/Mark

Logo/route sign: Red dot on a white background

How to get there: Take the RE3 (Schwedt) from Berlin central station (Hauptbahnhof) to Eberswalde. From here take the RB60 to Wriezen (about 1.5 hours).

Return journey: From Falkenberg, take the regional train RB60 to Eberswalde. Continue from here by taking the RE3 (Lutherstadt-Wittenberg) to Berlin central station (Hauptbahnhof) (about 1.5 hours).

Route: Wriezen, Altgaul, Rathsdorf, Altranft, Bad Freienwalde, Falkenberg

Route description:

From the parking area in Wriezen, it is not far from the railway line and road to Altranft (if arriving by train, first walk to the town lake/parking). Just before Rathsdorf, you will notice the Storchenturm (Stork Tower), which is actually the chimney on a former brickworks. The path runs by the railway line and crosses the lines in Altranft. It then swings through the town, leading to the Brandenburg Open-Air Museum in the former castle grounds. There is a geological nature trail as you come out of the town. In Bad Freienwalde, the Oderland trail now runs along the route of the “Turmwanderweg” (tower hiking trail). The path twists and turns through the Freienwalde Forest before reaching the chapel. Several more bends follow, combined with uphill and downhill sections, and then you are suddenly facing an impressive ski jump, which is something you rarely find in the Mittelgebirge. A path leads to the B158. After crossing this road, you will pass the Eulenturm (Owl Tower). More bends follow as you climb and descend until you reach Lake Teufelsee. At the start of the ridgeway, a path branches off to the Bismarckturm (Bismarck Tower). A narrow path leads from the Tobbenberg hut to Falkenberg.

Sights:

• Wriezen: local history museum
• Altgaul: Storchenturm (Stork Tower)
• Altranft: Altranft Museum - workshop for rural culture, Geological Nature Trail, museum village, Brandenburg Open-Air Museum, village church, Sachsenhof nature garden
• Bad Freienwalde: Castle, Schanzenturm (Ski Jump Tower), Eulenturm (Owl Tower), observation tower on the Galgenberg, "Haus der Naturpflege” display and teaching garden, Oderland Museum, Kirche St. Nikolai church, historic town centre, Bismarckturm (Bismarck Tower)

Possible combinations:

• Tower Hiking Trail

Underfoot conditions/surface: Forest and dirt tracks, roads

Maps/Literature:

• "Seenland Oder-Spree Nordteil (Landkreis Märkisch Oderland): Fahrrad- und Erlebniskarte", scale 1 : 75.000 / 1 : 175.000 Landkarte Folded Map, Verlag: Pietruska; Auflage: 3 (22. November 2011), ISBN-10: 3934895824, Euro 6.90