Ziesar was once the home of bishops. For several centuries, the Bishops of Brandenburg made the castle here their main residence, and the brick keep and the chapel with its medieval wall paintings still stand. The castle now houses a museum on medieval Christianity and episcopal life, a surprising treasure for a small town of a couple of thousand people on the edge of the Fläming.
The landscape around Ziesar is the transition between the flat Havel lowlands and the low, forested hills of the Fläming to the south. The Fläming takes its name from Flemish settlers who came in the twelfth century to farm the land and drain the marshes, and their villages, with brick churches and fieldstone walls, still dot the countryside. The forests are mainly pine, with some oak and beech, and in spring the fields are bright yellow with rapeseed.
Riding here is gentle and relaxing. The roads are quiet, with long straights and gentle bends, and the occasional hill gives a view over the surrounding countryside. Some country roads are narrow and lined with trees, and cobbles still appear in villages. The A2 motorway passes nearby, convenient for a fast return to Berlin or a quick escape west towards Magdeburg.
Ziesar has a few shops and places to eat, but it is small, so for a full range of services the larger towns of Brandenburg an der Havel or Genthin are the reliable choice. A visit to the castle makes a good break, and the town has the quiet air of a place that once mattered more than it does now, which is part of its charm. From here, routes lead north towards the Barnim forests and the Werbellinsee, a very different landscape of beech woods and deep lakes.