Neustadt (Dosse) – City of Horses

There are several distinct points of interest to consider when staying at a hotel in Neustadt (Dosse): its connection to horses, a distinctive church building and a testament to Europe’s gas history. You can start by deciding how to balance local history with architectural and industrial history. The wider travel destination of Ostprignitz-Ruppin also offers a broader natural setting and network of routes.

Horse history and tour starting point

Neustadt (Dosse) is known as the “City of Horses.” Germany’s largest stud farm complex has shaped the town for more than 200 years. The nickname thus reflects a long-standing equestrian heritage that is important to Neustadt’s identity. The Kleeblatt Cities Tour also starts here, at the main stud farm. The nickname describes the town’s enduring character; the tour’s starting point is a specific reference point for planning your trip.

The Kreuzkirche and the gasworks

Completed in 1696, the Kreuzkirche offers another way to explore the town’s history. Its square octagonal floor plan is complemented by four rectangular arms forming a cross. It was the first church built to a centralized plan in the Mark of Brandenburg. The date places the building in its historical context; its floor plan and cross-shaped arms illustrate its distinctive architectural form.

The gasworks adds an industrial history perspective. It is one of the last surviving witnesses to more than 150 years of gas production in Europe. While the Kreuzkirche stands out for its architectural form and place in the history of churches in Brandenburg, the gasworks points to the long history of energy production. Different historical perspectives thus sit side by side in Neustadt.

Nature and routes in the wider travel destination of Ostprignitz-Ruppin

In the wider travel destination of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, the focus shifts from individual buildings to the landscape. The Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide covers 12,000 hectares in Ostprignitz-Ruppin and has been part of the Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park since 2021. It is one of Europe’s largest contiguous heathland areas with Calluna heath. Numerous protected and endangered animal species live there, including more than 70 bird species; the heath has also provided a habitat for wolves since 2008.

Ostprignitz-Ruppin is predominantly rural: wide-open spaces and tranquillity, green beech and pine forests, meadows, tree-lined avenues offering shade, and numerous lakes and rivers define the landscape. The Ruppiner Seenland is one of the district’s tourist regions. Part of the Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park lies within Ostprignitz-Ruppin and invites visitors to hike and cycle.

The routes, too, offer different perspectives on the wider travel destination. The Ruppiner Land Circular Hiking Trail partly follows the European long-distance path E 10. The Fontane Cycle Route takes cyclists to places and landscapes described by Theodor Fontane in his work “Walks through the March of Brandenburg.” The 108-kilometre Bischofstour cycle route passes through Heiligengrabe and Wittstock, among other places, and invites visitors on a journey through the Prignitz landscape back to the Middle Ages. For an equestrian connection, there is the 160-kilometre Gestütsweg between the Redefin and Neustadt (Dosse) stud farms, which forms a regional network of bridleways together with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

This lets you distinguish the local focus from your nature and route interests when planning the rest of your trip.

Discover more destinations: Heiligengrabe, Wittstock/Dosse, Rheinsberg, Fehrbellin, Temnitztal, Lindow, Temnitzquell, Berlinchen

Back to the overview of the wider travel destination: Ostprignitz-Ruppin.