Grütz on the Havel: Cycle Routes, Needle Weir and Village Church

Grütz is a village at the end of a dead-end road on the Havel, between landscape and nature conservation areas. Two named cycle routes pass through the village; a rare needle weir is located at the Grütz lock, and the village church tells the story of its reconstruction after the fire of 1802. The village brings together its connection to the Havel, cycling and local history.

Cycle Routes and the Needle Weir in Grütz

The Havel Cycle Route and the Havelland Cycle Route pass through Grütz; here, both are part of the long-distance cycling connection between Hamburg and Berlin. From these routes, the needle weir can be reached in the direction of Schollene and Havelberg. This brings together a named cycle route connection and a specific historic structure. When planning your stage, we recommend checking the signposting and conditions locally.

One of the special features of the Grütz lock is a rarely preserved needle weir. So few intact needle weirs remain in Germany that they can be counted on one hand. Those interested in engineering and local history will find another specific point of interest here alongside the long-distance cycle route. The needle weir and the cycle routes offer different highlights: a distinctive structure on the one hand, and named routes through the village on the other.

Village Church and Reconstruction

The village church also offers a glimpse into Grütz’s history. After a fire destroyed the village in 1802, the church was rebuilt by 1806. The village church, which is open to visitors, has a wooden pulpit altar featuring folk paintings by a painter from Rathenow. A pulpit altar combines the pulpit and altar in a single structure. The stained-glass windows depict medieval figures; the bells date from 1815 and from an even earlier period. Here, you can encounter various traces of history in one place: the reconstruction after the village fire and the church’s interior decoration.

Rathenow as a Wider Travel Destination

In Rathenow, the historic centre—with parts of the old town wall, Kirchberg and St. Mary’s and St. Andrew’s Church—is located on the Old Town Island, which is surrounded by four branches of the Havel. Another historic site is the birthplace of pastor Johann Heinrich August Duncker, opposite the church’s west portal. From 1800, he operated his first optical workshop there. The Rathenow Optical Industry Museum displays around 1,200 exhibits on the history of optics. If you want to focus on culture when planning your trip, you can explore urban history and the history of optics as distinct themes.

The Bismarck Tower is also one of Rathenow’s landmarks: alongside the church tower, it is considered the city’s second landmark. The tower on Rathenow’s Weinberg was inaugurated on 24 June 1914 in honour of the former Imperial Chancellor, Prince Otto von Bismarck. The bridges can be distinguished by the connections they provide: the 348 m-long Weinberg Bridge connects Optikpark with the Weinberg. A pedestrian and cycle bridge connects Kirchberg with the Weinberg; it was built in 2001–2002 and restored the connection after 700 years. Optikpark is located in the centre of Rathenow beside a branch of the Havel.

Rathenow also offers further points of reference for planning your routes. The Havel Cycle Route, the Havelland Cycle Route, which forms part of the Hamburg–Berlin Cycle Route, and the 1,111 km-long Tour Brandenburg all pass through the area. Rathenow Municipal Forest has a signposted network of walking trails. The nature trail starts and ends at the Ferchesarer Weg forest car park.

For an overview of the wider travel destination: Rathenow.