Berlin · Fläming Castles and Empty Roads

A 196 km loop from Beelitz

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Why this ride

Rolling south-west roads, brick villages and a low-stress rider day. 196 km round from Beelitz - plan on about 3 h 23 of riding. On the way it passes Bad Belzig castle hill, Wiesenburg park roads and Rabenstein castle. Back roads rather than main roads, where the map allows.

Roadbook

1. Beelitz fuel gate fuel

   There are stations at the edge of town, supermarkets, and a handful of bakeries, and the A10 motorway is close enough that the town gets its share of passing trade. From here, the roads south and west leave the flat farmland and climb gently into a country of old castles and quiet villages.

   The castles are the point of this ride. West of here, on a wooded hill above Bad Belzig, stands Burg Eisenhardt, a medieval fortress with a tall keep that you can climb for a view across the Fläming. A few kilometres away, Burg Rabenstein, a restored hilltop castle, hosts falconry displays and has a forest setting that looks as though it came from a fairy tale. Nearer, at Ziesar, lies a bishop's castle, now a museum. The Fläming never had grand princes, and its castles are modest but atmospheric, standing in woods and old villages, with a sense of having been forgotten.

   The Fläming is also a landscape of unusual quiet. It is a glacial ridge, rising to about two hundred metres at its highest point, covered in pine, beech and heath, with long views from the heights. The villages have stone churches, thatched roofs in places and few visitors. The roads are among the best empty ones in the region, with gentle gradients, long curves, and tree-lined stretches.

   Before leaving, it is worth taking time to walk around the old centre of Beelitz, which has a Gothic church and a few remaining parts of its walls. Then fill up, buy water, and head out. Services in the Fläming are limited, with small villages offering little more than a bakery or an inn, and some closed on Mondays. The best months are May to October, with golden autumn light making the castles look their best.

2. Bad Belzig castle hill sight

   Above the little spa town of Bad Belzig, on a low hill with a view across the Fläming, stands Burg Eisenhardt, a medieval castle that has survived better than most in Brandenburg. Its round keep, nicknamed the Butterturm, rises over the walls, and the castle's courtyards and bastions hold a museum and a youth hostel. The hill itself was a lookout for centuries, guarding a trade route across the heath. The town below has about twelve thousand people and a pretty, cobbled centre, with timber-framed houses and a market square, and the castle gives it a faintly storybook air.

   The Fläming is a ridge of glacial moraine that runs through western Brandenburg and into Saxony-Anhalt. At about two hundred metres it counts as high country here, and the ridge supports oak and beech forest, heath and farmland, with a patchwork of small villages. A few kilometres away, the hill of Hagelberg was the site of a battle in 1813, in which Prussian forces beat a French army during the Napoleonic Wars. Wiesenburg, a smaller town to the west, has a castle and a big landscape park with rare trees and a lake, well worth a visit.

   For riding, this is some of the best country near Berlin. The roads roll gently over the moraine, with long, curving straights, avenues of cherry trees that blossom in April, and views over fields and woods. The surface is mostly good, and the villages have a quiet charm, with thatched barns and old churches. Traffic is light, and the hazards are the usual ones of boar, deer and tractors. Spring and autumn are the best seasons. In summer, heat on the open ridge can be strong, and in winter the north wind is bitter. Fog gathers in the hollows.

   Practically, Bad Belzig has a fuel station, supermarkets, bakeries and several cafes and restaurants, as well as a thermal spa that makes a good place for a soak after a long day. Niemegk, with about two thousand people, has smaller services. The castle is open daily in season, and a climb of the keep gives a fine view. Parking at the foot of the hill is easy, and the walk up takes a few minutes. Bring cash for the village cafes.

3. Wiesenburg park roads scenic

   Wiesenburg lies on the northern edge of the Hoher Fläming, a ridge of low hills, forest and heath south-west of Berlin that counts as the highest ground for a long way around. The town has about five thousand people and a small palace with a landscape park, laid out in the English style, where old and unusual trees stand in wide lawns and a stream winds through. The park is open to visitors and is a pleasant place for a short walk.

   The Fläming is a quiet landscape. Pine and oak woods cover the slopes, sandy fields and heaths lie in the hollows, and villages are small and far between. The ridge was shaped by glaciers, which left behind a pattern of hills and valleys that rolls gently to the horizon. Avenues of old trees line many of the roads, and cobbled sections are common near villages. The area is a nature park, popular with walkers, cyclists and riders on horseback.

   For a motorcyclist, the roads are some of the best in this part of the country. They are narrow, winding and well surfaced, with bends that are gentle enough to flow and tight enough to keep you awake. Traffic is very light, especially on weekdays, and you may go a quarter of an hour without seeing another vehicle. Watch for gravel and leaves on the corners, and for farm machinery in harvest season.

   Fuel and food are in Wiesenburg, which has stations and a few restaurants and bakeries. A railway runs through the town, and the old station is a reminder of its past as a junction. If you need a larger town, Bad Belzig, about ten kilometres away, has everything, including a hospital and a medieval castle.

   Autumn is a good time here. The beeches and oaks turn red and gold, and the heath is purple in late summer. In spring, the fields are green and the forests fill with birdsong. It is a place that rewards a slow, unplanned ride, with a stop wherever the view or the smell of the woods tempts you.

4. Rabenstein castle photo photo

   Burg Rabenstein is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Brandenburg, standing on a wooded hill in the Hoher Fläming, and it looks every bit like a child's picture of a castle: a round keep, stout walls and a pointed roof rising from the trees. It dates back to the twelfth or thirteenth century, and it has been a lookout, a family home, a ruin and, in modern times, a museum and a venue for events. Falconry displays have long been a feature, and the site has an owl and eagle collection that draws families in summer.

   The setting is the reason to stop for a photograph. The castle sits above a village, and the approach road climbs in a gentle curve through beech forest, with a view of the walls appearing and disappearing between the trunks. In autumn the leaves turn gold around it, and in winter, with frost on the branches, it looks like something from a fairy tale.

   The Hoher Fläming is one of the highest parts of the region, though high is relative: the Hagelberg, the summit of the range, is about two hundred metres, and was the site of a battle in 1813 in which Prussian troops beat a French force. The hills and forests around the castle are criss-crossed by quiet roads, cobbled lanes and avenues of lime and oak, and they are among the most pleasant riding in the area. Surfaces vary, and the cobbles can be slippery when wet.

   Niemegk, a smaller town, is closer and has the basics. The castle has a cafe and a small restaurant, though hours vary, so do not rely on it.

   The best time is a clear morning on a weekday, when the car park is empty and the light is low on the walls. Walk up to the gate, look at the stonework, and breathe the smell of old wood and damp stone. It is a small journey into the Middle Ages.

5. Back to Beelitz finish

   Back at Beelitz. That is the ride.

Where this sits

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