Neuhardenberg is a village on the edge of the Oderbruch, and its palace has an unusual story of renaming. The estate was called Quilitz until 1814, when the Prussian king gave it to his state chancellor, Karl August von Hardenberg, as a reward for his service in the reform era and the wars against Napoleon, and Hardenberg renamed the place after himself. The great architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel redesigned the palace and built the church in the village, a pale, clean-lined building that is among his best small works. In East Germany the village was renamed again, as Marxwalde, and it kept that name until 1990.
The palace today is a cultural centre and hotel, with concerts, readings and exhibitions in its rooms, and a restaurant and cafe in the grounds. The park around it, laid out in the English landscape style, is open, and there is a path beside the village pond. The village is small, about three thousand people, and the main street has the quiet of a place that was once important and is now content.
For riding, the surrounding roads are an easy pleasure. The route from Müncheberg and Seelow runs across the open plateau with long views, passing through villages with avenues of cobbles and old lime trees, and the occasional dip toward the marshes of the Oderbruch. Surfaces are generally good, although some of the older avenues have uneven stretches, and the cobbled village streets are slippery after rain. Farm traffic and combine harvesters appear in late summer. Cranes, white storks and hawks are frequent. Morning light on the fields is beautiful.
Practically, there is a fuel station in Neuhardenberg itself and more in Seelow and Letschin, though it is wise not to rely on small stations being open late. The palace restaurant is the best place for a proper meal, and the village has a bakery and a small shop. Parking is easy in front of the palace. A short walk in the park and a look inside the Schinkel church take about an hour and make a pleasant break. Weekends bring day visitors, so a weekday is quieter.