Two of the most important figures in Prussian culture were born in Neuruppin: the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1781 and the novelist Theodor Fontane in 1819. Fontane went on to write the Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg, a multi-volume account of his travels through the region, and the first volume opens with the county of Ruppin. Reading even a few pages before riding these roads gives them a depth they might otherwise lack.
The town was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1787 and rebuilt to a strict, classical plan, with straight streets, wide squares and uniform houses. The result is unusually elegant for a small Brandenburg town. Neuruppin lies on the shore of the Ruppiner See, a long, narrow lake formed by glacial meltwater, and the lakeside promenade invites a slow amble. In the nineteenth century, the town was famous for the Neuruppiner Bilderbogen, cheap, colourful prints depicting news, stories and morals, which were sold all over Germany.
North of the town lies the Ruppiner Schweiz, a small area of wooded hills and deep valleys with lakes, streams and old mills. The name, like many Swiss references in German landscapes, is a romantic exaggeration; there are no mountains here. But it is a beautiful area, with quiet roads through beech forests, along lakes and past small villages. The roads are narrow and winding, sometimes with cobbled sections, and the forests are cool and shady on hot days.
Neuruppin is a good place for lunch. There are restaurants and cafés in the old town and along the lakeshore, serving local fish and Brandenburg specialities. Fuel and other services are easy to find. The Ruppin area is popular with day-trippers from Berlin, especially on summer weekends, but on weekdays it is quiet and peaceful. In spring the forests are bright green, and in autumn the beeches turn gold and copper, making it one of the most beautiful times to visit.