Stechlin: Nature Trails and Local History

Stechlin is for travelers who consider nature trails and local history important parts of their stay. The places to visit offer different highlights: Menz is home to the nature park’s visitor center, circular hiking trails start in the Neuglobsow recreation area, and the Glassmakers’ House and church represent local cultural history.

Hiking and Nature

Circular hiking trails around Lake Großer Stechlinsee and Lake Dagowsee start in the Neuglobsow recreation area. The Stechlinsee circular trail follows the lakeshore to the Mordbuche, or Murder Beech, which has a gruesome story behind it. The trail descriptions offer different highlights: the circular hikes take in two lakes, while the trail around Lake Stechlinsee links the shoreline with a story at its destination. Another nature highlight is the “From Moor to Moor” nature discovery trail, which crosses a moor on a wooden walkway. Check local conditions before setting out.

The Stechlin Nature Park House in Menz is the visitor center for Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park. The site includes a sensory garden, a large aquarium with native fish, and a foot-feel trail. Each offers a different focus: the aquarium features native fish, the foot-feel trail invites you to explore by touch, and the sensory garden adds to the experience. The visitor center offers different ways to discover nature in one place.

The Glassmakers’ House and the Church

The more than 200-year-old Glassmakers’ House in Neuglobsow offers a different perspective. It houses the exhibition “Twelve Stories About Glass,” which tells the story of Madame Pirl, the founding of Neuglobsow, and the lives and hard work of the glassmakers. It brings together personal, local, and craft-related themes. If you would like to visit the exhibition, check visiting arrangements before you travel.

The church in Dollgow was built in 1767 and contains one of Brandenburg’s oldest bells. Dutch master Gerhard de Wou cast it in 1490. The bell is therefore older than the church building; the two dates give the church a distinctive historical connection.

Oberhavel as a Wider Travel Destination

The wider travel destination of Oberhavel opens up further landscape and cultural themes. The Stechlin Nature Reserve lies immediately west and southwest of the Neuglobsow recreation area. Formations created by the Weichselian glaciation characterize the area, which is considered the region with the most bodies of water in Brandenburg. Oberhavel is part of the Ruppiner Seenland lake district. For planning hikes, you can distinguish between two scales: circular trails that start in the Neuglobsow recreation area, and long-distance trails that pass through the district of Oberhavel. These include the 66 Lakes Hiking Trail and European Long-Distance Path E10. The approximately 6 km forest and water discovery trail around Lake Roofensee can complement a visit to the Nature Park House.

The cultural attractions in the wider travel destination of Oberhavel offer different highlights, too. In Oranienburg, Oranienburg Palace is considered the oldest Baroque palace in the Mark Brandenburg. Its palace museum displays 17th-century works of art, as well as a silver chamber and a porcelain chamber. An exhibition room of the Oberhavel Regional Museum in the palace is devoted exclusively to the history of Oranienburg Palace—from the Ascanian castle built around 1200 to its present-day use.

Discover more destinations: Oranienburg, Gransee, Zehdenick, Hohen Neuendorf, Leegebruch, Hennigsdorf, Zehlendorf, Großmutz.

View the wider travel overview: Oberhavel.