BIKE ADVENTURES
Depressing charm of villages east of Berlin. Part 2
Fieldstone churches, brick stables, and horses
Remember, in the “The Lord of the Rings” lore, there was a kingdom of horsemen — Rohan? So, if some low-key Rohan exists in reality, I believe it’s in the Brandenburg Switzerland Nature Park, 30 kilometers east of Berlin. After my first bicycle journey, I returned there again but took a different, no less exciting route…
This time I was better prepared. I took snacks because I couldn’t find a single store or cafe in the wilderness last time and also created a Dark Country playlist to listen to while riding. I took a train from Berlin to Strausberg and then rode around 6 kilometers southeast. The first place I visited was Werder, a tiny village that is nowadays a district of the Rehfelde community.
When I entered the village, I noticed very peculiar stone and red-brick buildings (I guessed these were stables or barns). I didn’t know how ancient they were because they were built of the same fieldstone as local centuries-old churches.
And since I mentioned medieval churches, here is one — the village church of Werder. It was erected in the 13th century in the Romanesque style, which preceded Gothic and was much more minimalistic and, in my opinion, more atmospheric.
There was no one around, and I felt like in one of those zombie apocalypse movies. On the other hand, there is nothing more pleasant to me than exploring beautiful places without noisy crowds of tourists and ugly tourist infrastructure that only spoils the view.
After walking here for several more minutes, I checked the route to the next village, which was only a couple of kilometers away. But it took me much longer to arrive there because I met them — beautiful grazing horses. Of course, I had to take several photos.
Finally, I was in Garzau, one of the two villages that merged into the Garzin-Garzau community not a long time ago. The church of Garzau was initially built in the 13th century, but four centuries later, it was destroyed in the war and rebuilt only in 1724. The grassy lawn around the church used to be a cemetery.
Although the other village, Garzin, is a bit younger, its medieval church avoided destruction, and I’ll show it to you in a couple of minutes. But first, look at this fascinating frozen creek, Lichtenower Mühlenfliess. It turns into a miniature lake in the lowland near the road. Since the temperature that day was around 0°C, the water froze, and fallen trees reflected like in a huge mirror.
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On my way to Garzin, I noticed a colorful mural showing some weird pyramid. It seemed to be a real place in the village. Due to Google Maps, it was nearby, indeed. I even assumed it should be a not-so-old decoration, probably commissioned by a local lord.
And I was right. Garzau Pyramid (1784) stood in the middle of Earl von Schmettau’s landscape park. After the earl sold his estate, the castle burned down, and the pyramid fell into disrepair. Its ruins were discovered only in 1999 and carefully reconstructed.
The pyramid reflects the spirit of its time: in the 18th century, Europeans were keen on everything Egyptian. This interest was so crazy that people even bought mummies and organized barbaric “unpackings” with friends. The architect of the building is unknown, but indirect evidence says it could’ve been Carl Gotthard Langhans, who designed the well-known Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Frankly speaking, the story behind the pyramid feels more attractive than the building itself. Oh, those bizarre Baroque tastes…
Well, I still had to pedal several kilometers to Garzin. The weather was chilly but very calm. I was thinking about something and almost rode past a stunning place, Langer See (“Long Lake” in German).
I spent around half an hour at the lake and didn’t see anyone else — only one car passed by. The zombie apocalypse vibes intensified.
I was sitting on the wooden pier and watching swans on the opposite side of the lake. The water was half-frozen and so serene that trees reflected in it without any distortion.
Then I recalled I was heading to Garzin and quickly covered the remaining kilometers. In the center of the village stands a gorgeous Romanesque church dating back to the 13th century, with a Gothic tower added in the 15th century. Unlike the previous churches, this one is tightly encircled by houses on three sides.
Only now, while writing this article, I learned that Garzin church had a Gothic altarpiece from 1490! But the building looked closed that day, so I might not have seen it anyway.
It was time to leave the Garzau-Garzin community and go farther to the east to the village of Bollersdorf, located right in the center of the Brandenburg Switzerland Nature Park.
I saw a thin stripe of orange light above the horizon. It was gradually becoming darker. In 20 minutes, I finally reached Bollersdorf.
The stone church of Bollersdorf supposedly dates back to the village’s foundation. It was built around the 13th or 14th century and combined Romanesque and Gothic features.
Like the temple in Garzau, the Bollersdorf church was severely damaged in the Thirty Years’ War (17th century) and remained unused for a long time. Extensive renovations were carried out only in 1861. It was damaged for the second time by fire in 1945 and renovated soon afterward. As a result, it has many neo-Gothic features and feels less genuine compared to the truly Gothic Garzin church.
The sky was still blue, not too dark, but the first street lights switched on — it was the best light for photos. Such light provides the finest naturally saturated color, but it’s a very limited time of the day, only the first half an hour after sunset.
Then I rushed to the S-Bahn station — around 11 kilometers in darkness. Half of my route ran through the fields, and it was pretty scary to hear the wind and wild animals rustling.
On my way to the Strausberg station, I rode through Klosterdorf, which was the first point in my previous adventure.
Unfortunately, the camera battery was almost empty, and I could take only one shot. So, without a second thought, I illuminated the church with my bike’s front light and snapped the most gothic image of the day:
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