7th stage FONTANE.RAD – from Brandenburg an der Havel via Plaue

Water, water everywhere: there is plenty of it on this tour. The River Havel and its expansive lakes ensure an ocean-like breeze. Our stops lead to where one of Fontane’s best friends lived – Plaue Palace, where there is now a newly created walking tour.

This day tour leads from Brandenburg an der Havel – the cradle of Mark Brandenburg with its almost 1,000 years of dazzling city history – to a place often visited by Fontane: Schloss Plaue. A newly created tour of the palace and park provides information about Fontane. It is one of five lordly residences that Fontane described in detail in the concluding volume of his Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (“Walks through the Brandenburg Marches”). Fontane came here often – not only because he regarded the building as a “genuine palace”: his good friend Carl Ferdinand Wiesike lived in Plaue, and the remains of the latter’s villa are still preserved to this day. The village of Reckahn is definitely worth a detour. Fontane came into contact with the lords of Rochow manor several times: they were school reformer and prominent advocates of progressive thinking whose influence was felt throughout the whole of Prussia. The tour can be rounded off with a refreshment at one of the lidos directly within the municipal boundaries of Brandenburg an der Havel or with a walk through the wonderful old town and along the waterside.

Length: 37 kilometres (2.5 – 3 hours)

Start/finish: Brandenburg an der Havel

Logo/route sign: FONTANE.RAD against a purple and white background

How to get there: From Berlin central station take the RE 1 regional train (Brandenburg central station) to Brandenburg an der Havel (approximately 50 minutes).

Return journey: From Brandenburg central station take the RE 1 regional train (Frankfurt (Oder)/Cottbus) to Berlin central station (Hauptbahnhof) (approximately 50 minutes).

Route: Brandenburg an der Havel, Kirchmöser, Plaue, Brandenburg an der Havel

Points of interest and background information:Brandenburg an der Havel historic town centreSt. Peter and Paul churchSt. Gotthardtkirche churchSt. Katharinenkirche churchPlaue palace and park
Possible combinations:FONTANE.RAD Variant 2 from Werder (Havel) to Brandenburg an der Havel
Trail conditions/surface: 92% asphalted – 8% non-asphalted

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