Hiking & Nature Tours Märkische Schweiz - Brandenburg Switzerland

When you think of »Switzerland« you think of peaks, ravines
and views across the countryside. The Brandenburg Switzerland
Nature Park has all this to offer – a good 30 kilometres from
the eastern edge of Berlin. Even if the peaks are not as high
and the ravines (also called gorges) are not so deep: the ups
and downs of some routes are as breathtaking as the beauty of
the landscape. It has been pri

marily shaped by the last Ice Age
which came to an end here around 12,000 years ago. There are
also broad views across the countryside and you can hear an
echo can be heard at the »Kleiner Tornowsee« lake. 160 years
ago the hilly area got its name as city dwellers in search of relaxation
and fresh air increasingly move into the countryside. Since this time almost 70 landscapes in Germany have been
given the attractive epithet of a dream landscape: Switzerland. The nature park established under the National Park Programme
of the last East German government is, with 205 square kilometres,
the smallest yet »longest-serving« in the State of Brandenburg,
which today has a total of 15 large conservation areas. It is situated in the district of Märkisch-Oderland between the
towns of Strausberg, Müncheberg and Neuhardenberg, well
known for its Schinkel-designed buildings and Lenné park. In just
a small area almost all types of landscape can be found: lakes
and kettle ponds, springs and streams, fish ponds and ditches, beech forest and pine forests, »mountains« and ravines, bogs,
fields, meadows, hedges and even an inland dune. Melting water in the Ice Age washed out the Buckower Rinne
which runs through the nature park.