NaturaTrail "Through the gorges and ravines of Märkische Schweiz"

Start / Finish: ‘Schweizer Haus’ visitor centre
   Alternative: Bus stop ‘Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), Schule’ or car park guidance system 4 (Weinbergsweg 20)
Length / Duration: 18 kilometres / approx. 5 hours
Logo / trail sign: Logo: ‘NaturaTrails’ (3 red stars above shaking hands, green curved line below)
Trail condition / route development: easy to walk on, largely natural trail condition
Course: ‘Schweizer Haus’ visitor centre, Giebelphul, Parkleitsystem 4 (Weinbergsweg 20) / “Bertolt Brecht” Kneipp® primary school, Sophienfließ, Wurzelfichte, Drachenkehle, Krugberg, Poetensteig, Teufelsstein, Dachsberg, Silberberg, Tornow, Pritzhagener Mühle, Julianenhof, Julianenhof Bat Museum, Pritzhagener Mühle, Stobber, Großer Tornowsee, Stobber, Bibbi and Tina Bridge, Stobber, ‘Schweizer Haus’ visitor centre
Arrival/departure:

• 
  Public transport: RB26 from Berlin Ostkreuz or Lichtenberg (hourly) to Müncheberg, then continue briefly with the Buckower Kleinbahn (01.05. - 03.10. at weekends) or bus 928 to Buckow Markt or Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), schoolThere are only 180 metres of elevation gain on this tour, making it a very pleasant hike. You reach a maximum altitude of 118 metres above sea level and a minimum altitude of 19 metres above sea level. Maximum gradient: 8 %
  

Route description

Getting there The hiking experience begins in the idyllic resort of Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) - ideally directly at the ‘Schweizer Haus’ visitor centre.

From the bus stop ‘Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), Markt’ in the centre of the village, you can reach the visitor centre on foot in approx. 20 minutes. The path leads through the castle park and across a large meadow orchard with a view of the turquoise-coloured Schermützelsee.

Alternatively, you can take the bus to the bus stop ‘Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), Schule’, where there is also a car park for hikers (parking guidance system 4) providing direct access to the NaturaTrail.

From the railway station, it is about a 30-minute walk to the ‘Schweizer Haus’ visitor centre.

Visitor centre ‘Schweizer Haus’ Here, in the newly designed visitor centre, you can get a wonderful overview of the special features of the nature park and the area you are about to hike through. Visitors are taken on a visual expedition into the glacial past, the present with its incredible diversity of habitats and protected species and what the future could look like from a sustainable perspective. 

Wild Sophienfließ Adventure-seekers get their money's worth right at the start. Past the Giebelpfuhl, a small forest pond and relic of the last ice age, the path leads into dense greenery behind the bus stop ‘Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), Schule’. Following the Sophienfließ mountain stream, the trail leads along narrow paths, sometimes on ancient wooden planks and over fallen trees, through the impressive gorge vegetation of the meandering stream valley. Several small wooden bridges allow you to change sides of the river. Following the course of the stream, the beaver has alternately piled up dams made of brushwood, which often form small reservoirs and change the landscape again and again. The structures cascade along the path.

At the junction to Drachenkehle, a few metres upstream on the left, you can admire the remains of the root spruce. Once a giant tree, even the remains of its roots are still impressive. The 180-year-old spruce was a must-see for every hiker until it was felled by a hurricane in 2007.

Through the Drachenkehle to the summit happiness A special feature of Märkische Schweiz are the gorges. Special forest communities such as the bedstraw-oak-hornbeam forest can develop in the gorges, some of which are deeply incised - characteristic of Märkische Schweiz, but now rare in Europe and therefore protected as a fauna-flora habitat area!

After more than a hundred metres in altitude, you have finally reached the highest point of the nature park. Here you can take a deep breath and enjoy the fantastic view and the marvellous expanse over the glacial landscape to the north-east! On a clear day, you can see across the gently rolling forest hills and slopes as far as the slopes of the Oder in Poland.

Past the Wolfsschlucht gorge, the route leads over the legendary Teufelsstein to the Dachsberg. Here, too, it's balm for the eyes, which can wander over the green waves of the Buckow Forest Sea - will this be another favourite view? High above the Kleiner Tornowsee lake, you can also look down on the dark, mystical-looking expanse of water in the glacial depression. Dornberg, Jenashöhe and Silberberg also rise up into the air and convey a low mountain range atmosphere.

Hidden gems along the way Passing the Königseiche oak tree, the route now heads downhill towards the Großer Tornowsee lake. Before doing so, you should take a look at the Silberkehle gorge. In the gorge, which runs between steep slopes, you can admire a completely natural forest that has deliberately not been thinned. The narrow path through the gorge is heavily overgrown and should not be walked on. Just the view from the path and an information board impressively convey the special topography of Märkische Schweiz.

Past the old Tornow manor house and along the natural bathing area, a special gem awaits. The Pritzhagener Mühle - now a small restaurant - lies idyllically in the middle of nature, like something out of a picture book. The landlord, known for his rugged charm, serves fish dishes and homemade cakes in a 1920s Swedish country house style setting. There is a fish ladder right next door. It enables fish to cross the weir of the former mill on the Stobber.

The pug bat by the field stones From the forest, the route now heads back up into the open countryside. Passing fields and wild meadows, you repeatedly come across granite stones and boulders in all sizes, shapes and colours, which were pushed here from Scandinavia by gigantic ice masses around 15,000 years ago.

The Julianenhof Bat Museum is also equipped with them. In 1992, NABU discovered rare and endangered bats on the estate, which was built in the typical regional fieldstone and brick style, acquired the farm, renovated the historic buildings and runs the museum. In the meantime, 12 bat species have conquered the museum. If you're lucky, you might see pug bats, brown long-eared bats and the like sleeping in the ice cellar or find out more in the exhibition and on the nature trail in the beautiful garden.

Down into the enchanting Stobber Valley and the alluvial forest The picturesque River Stöbber meanders through the nature reserve. Fallen trees in the water signalise that you are in the realm of the beaver. The wild and romantic valley is a nature conservation and fauna-flora habitat area with rare species. Along the renaturalised Stöbber, you cross wet meadows and alluvial forests that provide a valuable habitat for otters, ibis and pond turtles. The dragonfly, a species of dragonfly native to this area, is an insect worthy of protection and has been included in the logo of the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park.

Before returning to the starting point, the trail makes a short detour to the Kleiner Tornowsee lake. The break is worthwhile: the Echostein (echo stone) is located at a particularly beautiful resting place. If you shout loudly across the lake, you can hear a sonorous echo coming back from the mountainside opposite, which you have just looked down on from the Dachsberg viewpoint.

Finish off in tranquil Buckow on Schermützelsee Back in Buckow (Märkische Schweiz), you've earned a refreshment. You can do so at the lido on the crystal-clear Schermützelsee lake or at the water treading stations of the health guru Kneipp: directly on the lake and at the Stobber-Flüsschen stream near the watermill in the castle park.

Our recommendation: take a leisurely stroll through the small old town, enjoy an ice cream, a snack or a coffee to end your hiking adventure feeling refreshed and recharged. 

Refreshment tips:

• Pritzhagener Mühle
• Gallery pique nique - arts & tapas
• Café or quiche in the natural food shop ‘Buckower Köstlichkeiten’
• The restaurant (regional and organic)
• Ice cream basket

Extra hiking tips:

• The hike leads along unsurfaced forest and field paths. Sturdy footwear required.
• Depending on the time of year, don't forget mosquito repellent and sun protection.
• Take enough water with you
• Timetable for Buckower Kleinbahn and bus 928 via the VBB/Deutsche Bahn journey information centre

Literature and map tip:

• The Silberkehle and Co. already impressed Brandenburg's great poet, Theodor Fontane: ‘We choose a path through those lovely gorges and wooded areas through which a mountain stream, the Sophienfließ, flows. Fir and larch trees border the hillsides on both sides, beech and birch trees are scattered among the conifers, the cuckoo calls, the stream babbles, and on the fresh grass, which makes walking so easy, lie the fir apples or play the shadows and lights of the afternoon sun.’ Theodor Fontane, Walks through the Mark Brandenburg, The Oderland, Buckow chapter
• Hiking, cycling and waterways map of the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park, 1:35,000, Verlag Grünes Herz, ISBN 978-3-929-99391-2, 4.10 euros