Fourth Stage “FONTANE.RAD” – from Nennhausen to Paulinenaue

You leave Fontane’s birthplace of Neuruppin behind and continue along Lake Ruppiner See and turn off just before Wustrau towards Fehrbellin: from here and all the way to Paulinenaue you will be rewarded by a stunning marshland landscape with small canals and lush meadows.

At this stage of the bicycle tour you leave the birthplace of Theodor Fontane and continue along Lake Ruppiner See. Now the tour takes you in the direction of Havelland. The next Fontane town is Fehrbellin. Here, the route of day-tour number 4 crosses the FONTANE.RAD section between Oranienburg and Potsdam. Originally, there was an extensive swamp landscape here, which an entire army sunk into long before Fontane’s time: In 1675 the Swedes lost the Battle of Fehrbellin against the Brandenburg horsemen despite being outnumbered by the Swedes. Later, Frederick William I had the area drained and peat cutting gained in importance. The route to Paulinenaue takes you through Havelländisches Luch marshland, where once Fontane marvelled at the many marsh birds.

Distance: 33 kilometres (3 hours)

Start: Neuruppin, Finish: Paulinenaue

Logo/route sign: FONTANE.RAD against a yellow background

How to get there: You take the S-Bahn (rapid transit train) from Berlin central station to Berlin Gesundbrunnen or Berlin-Spandau. From there you take the RE 6 (Wittenberge) to Neuruppin Rheinsberger Tor (about 1 hour 30 minutes).

Return journey: From Paulinenaue you take the RE 2 regional train (Cottbus) to Berlin central station (about 45 minutes).

Route: Neuruppin, Fehrbellin, Paulinenaue

Points of interest/background information:Neuruppin Old TownLake Ruppiner See Fehrbellin Kurfürstenpark park Havelländisches Luch marshland
Possible combinations:FONTANE.RAD one-day tour 3 from Neuruppin via KarweFontane town tour in Neuruppin (circular route)FONTANE.RAD variant 1 from Neustadt (Dosse)/to NeuruppinFONTANE.RAD one-day tour 4 from Wustrau via Hakenberg
Trail conditions/surface: 97% asphalted – 3% non-asphalted

Maps/Literature:For full tour details, see Tourguide FONTANE.RAD and Radkarte.
The website //www.fontanerad.de" target="_blank"FONTANE.RAD provides everything you need to know about the cycle route.