Gollenberg: In Lilienthal’s Footsteps Between Nature and Aviation

At Gollenberg, Otto Lilienthal’s aviation history meets nature. The Lilienthal Trail, the wind harp, memorial sites and the exhibition in the IL 62 Lady Agnes bring the story to life at specific locations; a nature trail draws attention to native animals and plants. This makes both the landscape and the culture central to planning your trip.

Lilienthal Trail: Forest, Summit and Early Aviation

The Lilienthal Trail winds through a light oak-mixed forest to the 108-metre-high summit of Gollenberg. From there, you can look out over the Havelland lowlands. At the summit, the wind harp stands at Otto Lilienthal’s historic launch site. The trail also passes through the Bürgerpark and by sculptures. Information boards and models of aircraft designed by Lilienthal offer insights into the early days of aviation. In Stölln, the Lilienthal Trail connects the Lilienthal-Centrum with the IL 62 Lady Agnes at the foot of Gollenberg.

Memorial Sites and Cultural History

The IL 62 Lady Agnes houses a permanent exhibition on the history of INTERFLUG. The Otto Lilienthal memorial site is located at Gollenberg, near Stölln village church. The church is a hall church dating from 1824, with a Renaissance epitaph altarpiece. An Otto Lilienthal memorial stone stands at the crash site on the northern slope of Gollenberg. Another memorial stone at Gollenberg commemorates Heinz-Dieter Kallbach, Peter Bley, Ulrich Müller and Rudolf Döge. At these various stops, you can encounter aviation history alongside local church and memorial culture.

Nature at Gollenberg and in the Havelland

The Gollenberg Nature Reserve has a nature trail about native animals and plants. It complements the landscape impressions along the Lilienthal Trail with a closer look at local wildlife and plant life.

The Havelland also has a distinct attraction for nature lovers: on the southern shore of Lake Gülper, an approximately 1.5-kilometre-long trail with illustrated information boards invites you to watch birds. During spring and autumn migration, up to 100,000 geese and hundreds of cranes gather at Lake Gülper; numerous waders, ducks and great egrets also visit.

Plan Your Journey and Accommodation Search

To walk the Gollenberg circuit, travel from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Rathenow on the RE4, then continue on bus 687 to Stölln; the journey takes about two hours. This is different from bus route 684 between Rathenow and Neustadt/Dosse, which stops in Stölln at weekends. As timetables and stops can change, check the current connection before setting off.

When searching for accommodation, you can choose Gollenberg as your destination if Lilienthal’s story, the summit trail and the local nature are what you want your stay to focus on. If you are also planning to watch birds at Lake Gülper, include this distinct nature attraction in the Havelland in your plans. Choose your specific accommodation based on the places you want to visit.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Seeblick, Dallgow-Döberitz, Wassersuppe, Havelaue, Semlin, Friesack, Schönwalde-Glien, Rathenow

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