Oberhavel: Castle History, Brickworks Culture and Nature
Accommodation in Oberhavel
Castle art in Oranienburg, a seasonal hands-on locomotive activity in Mildenberg and landscapes shaped by the Ice Age in the Stechlin area offer different perspectives on Oberhavel. As you plan your trip, you can choose cultural attractions, landscapes and routes based on the places that interest you most.
Castle History and Remembrance in Oranienburg
Oranienburg Palace is the oldest Baroque palace in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The palace museum displays famous works of 17th-century art, along with a unique silver chamber and a remarkable porcelain chamber. The palace’s history also has a dedicated space: an exhibition by the Oberhavel Regional Museum in the palace traces it from the Ascanian castle built around 1200 to its present-day use. The art collections, architectural history and history of the palace thus offer different ways to explore this place.
The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum in Oranienburg focuses on a different subject. Its 13 smaller permanent exhibitions explore various aspects of the site’s history; the institution is also a modern museum of contemporary history. From Oranienburg station, the memorial and museum are about a 20-minute walk away. Check the latest visitor information again before your trip.
Hands-on Industrial Heritage
Mildenberg Brickworks Park lies in the heart of the Zehdenick clay-pit landscape, right on the Havel, and is an industrial heritage site set in nature. One seasonal activity lets visitors take the controls themselves: when you earn a brickworks railway driving licence, you drive a real diesel locomotive for half an hour and learn how to start, brake and change tracks. Check dates and booking conditions in advance, as both may change.
In Oranienburg, the palace park offers children a large play area. It includes climbing rocks, bounce pillows, trampolines, swings, slacklines and a playhouse. The seasonal water play area features a mud trail, spray elements, an eight-metre-long whale that children can play on, and water-spouting volcanoes. The park’s facilities and operations may change; check before your visit.
Stechlin: Experience and Understand Nature
About 260 km² of the Uckermärkische Seen Nature Park lie in Oberhavel. The Stechlin Nature Reserve was shaped by the Weichselian glaciation and is considered the area with the most water bodies in Brandenburg. An interactive exhibition at the Stechlin Nature Park House introduces visitors to the distinctive features of the Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park.
Right next to the Nature Park House, the sensory garden invites you to taste, smell, touch and listen to herbs, shrubs and other plants. A roughly six-kilometre forest and water trail around Roofensee can complement your visit to the Nature Park House. The exhibition, sensory garden and a walk through forest and waters offer different ways to experience nature.
Routes and Waterways as Further Reasons to Visit
The 66 Lakes Trail and the European long-distance hiking trail E10 run through the district of Oberhavel. The Berlin–Copenhagen long-distance cycle route passes through the town of Zehdenick. THEOsWEG offers a literary connection: it runs from Meseberg to Neuglobsow in Theodor Fontane’s footsteps, passing places that inspired his works, especially “Wanderings through the Margraviate of Brandenburg” and the novel “The Stechlin.” Hiking trails, a cycle route and a route linked to Fontane thus offer different ways to find your way around.
There are also stopping points for boat travellers: numerous marinas and moorings offer services in Zehdenick, Hennigsdorf, FĂĽrstenberg/Havel and at Mildenberg Brickworks Park. You can reach the Stechlinsee circular trail by taking the RE 5 train and then bus routes 836 from Gransee or 839 from FĂĽrstenberg/Havel to Neuglobsow. Check the timetables before your trip.
Choose your search location based on your planned priorities; if you plan to walk the Stechlinsee circular trail, include the latest transport connections in your travel plans as well.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Oranienburg, Zehdenick, Liebenwalde, Liebenberg, Hohen Neuendorf, Hennigsdorf, Birkenwerder, Gransee, Sonnenberg, Fürstenberg/Havel, Stechlin, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Mühlenbecker Land, Wesendorf, Amalienfelde, Kremmen, Löwenberger Land, Leegebruch, Oberkrämer, Zehlendorf, Großmutz, Großwoltersdorf, Schönermark.
For the main travel overview: Brandenburg.
