Mining Tour in Guben

The Gubener Mining Tour takes you along a well-asphalted segment of the Oder-Neiße Cycle Path through landscape that is defined by mining to this day. Skaters can peer down into the lignite mining and across the endless landscape from the viewpoint near Grießen. There’s more than just mining to this route, though: The tour is complemented by Guben’s former hat industry and the town’s proximity to its Polish neighbour, as well as the fascinating terminal moraine landscape between Guben and Forst (Lausitz). All of this can be capped off by a visit to the East German Rose Garden in Forst.
Length: 34 kilometres (simple route)
Start: Guben
Finish: Forst (Lausitz), alternatively this route can lead back to Guben
Route: Guben – Groß Gastrose – Grießen – Briesnig – Sacro – Forst (Lausitz)
Route description: Cross dyke paths and an asphalted railway line from Guben to Forst (Lausitz) along a segment of the Oder-Neiße Cycle Path. From up in Grießen you can take a look down into the lignite mining at Jänschwalde. From the starting point in the double town of Guben/Gubin it’s easy to cross a bridge over the River Neiße and pay a visit to our Polish neighbours. The German-Polish border runs right through the middle of the two border towns, known for their hat industry. The Niederlausitz landscape around Guben is characterised by the river valleys, mountains to the east and west of the town, and the terminal moraines from the Ice Age. Whiz through small villages like Grießen, Briesnig and Sacro on skates all the way to the small town of Forst (Lausitz), which is also situated by the River Neiße. The 17-hectare East German Rose Garden in Forst (Lausitz) is open all year round and is a destination for a day out that is well-known far beyond the town. Come in the summer and be amazed by a sea of 40,000 rosebushes and almost 1000 blossoming types of rose.
Surface: Very well-developed with asphalted cycle path, passing through two villages there are approximately 100 metres each of cobbles and gravel.
Difficulty: easy
Points of interest along the route:Forst (Lausitz): East German Rose Garden, Brandenburg Textile Museum, cycling and riding station, St.-Nikolai-Kirche (cycle path church)Grießen: Take a look at lignite miningGuben: Stadt- und Industriemuseum with a hat museum
How to get there:Train: Take the RE1 to Frankfurt (Oder), then the RE11 to Guben stationCar: From the A15 take the B115 or the Cottbus exit onto the B97 until Guben. From the Berliner Ring (A10) until Frankfurt (Oder), then take the B112 until Guben.
Map tip: “Bikeline-Radtourenbuch Oder-Neisse-Radweg”, 1:75.000, Esterbauer Verlag, Auflage: 13. Auflage (August 2019), ISBN 3-85000-803-7, Euro 14.90