Ziesar: Castle, Museums and Walking Trails

Ziesar combines the history of a medieval episcopal residence with museums, a late Romanesque town church, and trails for walking and cycling. When looking for a hotel in Ziesar, you can consider whether the castle and cultural history or excursions in the surrounding area will shape your stay. The sights and routes offer different ways to explore the area.

Ziesar Castle, Museums and Town Church

Ziesar Castle was a residence of the Bishops of Brandenburg and is the only surviving testament to court culture in the late medieval Margraviate of Brandenburg. Since 2005, the castle has been home to the Museum of Brandenburg Church and Cultural History of the Middle Ages. Its permanent exhibition is titled “Paths to the Heavenly City, Bishop-Faith-Rule 800-1550” and focuses on religious and political history as its thematic framework.

A special part of the castle is the Jerusalem Room, built in the 1330s. It contains surviving remnants of large-scale wall paintings from this period, including a depiction of the Majesty of Christ and a large-format map. This map has so far been interpreted as a depiction of the Heavenly Jerusalem. The room’s theme is explored with due restraint: alongside the surviving images, their interpretation to date is also part of the history visitors can learn about there.

A flight of 125 steps leads up the keep to a height of 35 meters and the so-called Bishop’s Mitre, built in the Renaissance style after 1528. The keep offers views over the town and its surroundings. The Ziesar Local History Museum offers another perspective on the town’s history: across about 200 square meters, it displays evidence of Ziesar’s historical development. It is located in the former service courtyard of the castle complex.

The Local History Museum has set monthly opening hours: it is open every first Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional openings may be arranged with the Cultural and Local History Association. Check the hours before your visit, especially if you plan to include the museum in your day’s itinerary. Ziesar is also home to the Church of the Holy Cross. This single-nave, late Romanesque church was built from fieldstones in the 13th century; its distinctive west tower has a rectangular ground plan.

Walking and Cycling Around Ziesar

The trails also differ considerably in their routes. The 147-kilometer Burgenwanderweg (Castle Trail) passes through Ziesar and connects Eisenhardt Castle in Bad Belzig, Rabenstein Castle in Raben, Wiesenburg Palace, and the Ziesar episcopal residence. For a shorter, specifically measured route, Nature Park Circular Hiking Trail 50 starts in Ziesar and covers 15 kilometers in the surrounding area of this small town of burghers and farmers.

Nature Park Circular Hiking Trail 51, “Alte See” (Old Lake), starts and ends at the Mühlentor in Ziesar. For much of its length, it follows the former shore of the lake that once lay here. Along the way, alder carrs, willow thickets, and reed beds alternate with wet meadows featuring rare plants and dry embankments. The landscape along this trail distinguishes it from the longer castle route and the 15-kilometer trail, without conflating the three into a single hike.

For public transport to Nature Park Circular Hiking Trail 51, the recommended route is to take the RE 1 to Wusterwitz and then a bus to Ziesar. Check current services before you travel. If you prefer cycling, there is another option on the newly built cycle path along the former railway line, which connects Ziesar with the pottery village of Görzke. When choosing accommodation, you can weigh up a stay focused on the castle and museums against an itinerary featuring walking or cycling trails.

Discover more destinations: Wiesenburg/Mark, Groß Briesen, Gräben, Rabenstein/Fläming, Seddiner See, Stahnsdorf, Potsdam, Kleinmachnow

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