FONTANE.RAD Full-day Tour 4 - from Wustrau via Hakenberg

The full-day tour starts at the bottom end of Lake Ruppiner See in Wustrau – Wustrau-Radensleben railway station is three kilometres away from the starting point – and takes you to the area south of Neuruppin, which was one of the first stops that Fontane took on his “walks”. A bicycle across further meadows and fields.
Wustrau – the first stop on this full-day tour following in the tracks of the German poet and novelist Theodor Fontane – is dedicated to the first chapter of Fontane’s work “Walks through the March of Brandenburg”. The tour initially leads alongside Lake Ruppiner See and then runs on the main FONTANE.RAD Cycle Route for a short time heading towards Potsdam. At Buskow, the tour branches off and passes through Stöffin heading towards Protzen, which Fontane described as a “prosperous village on wetlands and peatlands”. A detour to Walchow leads to the rectory, whose then superintendent Kirchner described Fontane as a person of interest. The tour continues through Fehrbellin and Hakenberg passing impressive, romantic villages and towns and former war sites along the way. The triumphal column in Hakenberg still bears witness to this today. A detour through Linum is a must for all nature lovers: there’s not just a bustle of activity when migratory birds gather in the late summer in the “stork village”. The village used to be on a much-used pilgrimage route from Berlin to Bad Wilsnack. The tour returns to Wustrau.

Length: 52 kilometres (three to four hours)

Start/finish: Wustrau-Radensleben

Logo / route sign: FONTANE.RAD on a dark blue and white background

How to get there: Take the RE6 (Wittenberge) regional express train from Berlin-Spandau or Berlin Gesundbrunnen to Wustrau-Radensleben (about 1 hour 15 minutes).

Return journey: Take the RE 6 (Berlin Gesundbrunnen) regional express train from Wustrau-Radensleben to Berlin-Spandau or Berlin Gesundbrunnen and take the S-Bahn (rapid transit train) from there to Berlin central station (about 1 hour 15 minutes).

Route: Wustrau, Protzen, Walchow, Fehrbellin, Hakenberg, Linum (detour), Wustrau

Points of interest/background information:Lake Ruppiner SeeGutspark Protzen estate parkWalchow rectoryKurfürstenpark Fehrbellin parkTriumphal column in HakenbergLinum with the Storchenschmiede nature conservation centre
Possible combinations:Main FONTANE.RAD Cycle Route between Oranienburg and PotsdamFONTANE.RAD Full-day Tour 3 from Neuruppin via KarweTrail conditions/surface: 84% asphalted – 16% non-asphalted

Maps/Literature:For full tour details, see FONTANE.RAD Tour Guide and Cycling Map.You will find full details of the cycle route on the website //www.fontanerad.de" target="_blank"FONTANE.RAD.