Glienicke: Viaduct, Sculpture and Landscape

Glienicke can be understood through its architectural history, art, and geographical location. A protected railway viaduct stands at the southern edge; the sculpture “Autumn of Life” is located in the cemetery at the corner of Hartensdorfer Straße and Radlower Straße. The themes range from historic engineering to a work of art made from the crown base of the former village oak.

The protected Glienicke Viaduct

The Glienicke Viaduct spans the Glienicke Gorge in the valley of the Blabbergraben. The brick railway viaduct is 95 metres long and has four arches. Its length and four arches indicate both the structure’s scale and its design. It was completed in 1898, rebuilt in 1949, and extensively renovated in 2014.

The “Autumn of Life” sculpture

The sculpture was carved by artist Steffen Böttger from the crown base of the former village oak. It stands in the cemetery at the corner of Hartensdorfer Straße and Radlower Straße and was installed on 2 October 2015. The viaduct is notable for its brick construction and building phases; the sculpture, by contrast, is notable for the origin of its material in the village oak.

Glienicke’s location between two lakes

Glienicke lies east of Lake Herzberg and extends in the direction of Lake Scharmützel. Lake Herzberg serves as a point of reference for its location, while Lake Scharmützel indicates the direction in which it extends. The two bodies of water therefore play different roles in describing its geographical position.

Within the wider destination of Rietz-Neuendorf

Rietz-Neuendorf provides the wider regional context: this rural municipality comprises 14 districts across 184.81 square kilometres.

Church history can be seen in several places. Herzberg Church houses historically significant protected objects, including a silver-gilt chalice from the first half of the 16th century and a brass baptismal bowl from 1668. In Neubrück, the church was formally consecrated on 15 May 1955; its half-timbered transept extension was renovated in 2018. In Buckow, both the church and the Slavic rampart next to it are protected monuments. Birkholz Church has medieval origins; its entrance door, fitted with wrought-iron straps, is about 300 years old.

Neubrück is surrounded by water on much of its perimeter, and the Spree flows through the district. On the road to Neubrück, carp ponds covering about 44 hectares lie on both sides of the main road. Near Buckow, two protected landscape areas lie along the road to Lindenberg; protected small animals and species threatened with extinction live there. The forestry ecology experiment in Sauen transformed a poor pine monoculture into a species-rich forest with high stability and resilience in a short time. In Birkholz, visitors can observe fallow deer, red deer, and other animal species in an ecologically managed enclosure. If you plan to observe the animals, check the visiting arrangements before travelling.

For the wider travel overview: Rietz-Neuendorf.