Why this ride
From Bernau bei Berlin it runs 174 km to Bernau bei Berlin; allow about 3 h of riding. On the way it passes Wohnstadt Carl Legien, Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf, Museumsinsel and Gartenstadt Flakenberg.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The ADGB Trade Union School and Gartenstadt Flakenberg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 174 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 44
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Museumsinsel → Gartenstadt Flakenberg
20 km on Museumsinsel → Gartenstadt Flakenberg.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The ADGB Trade Union School
In the pine woods just outside Bernau, north of Berlin, a cluster of yellow brick buildings steps down a gentle slope toward a lake, and it is one of the purest expressions of Bauhaus architecture anywhere. The Federal School of the General German Trade Union Federation, known by its German initials ADGB, was designed by Hannes Meyer, the second director of the Bauhaus, with Hans Wittwer, and built between 1928 and 1930 as a training college for union officials. Every detail, from the arrangement of the dormitory wings in staggered blocks to the glass corridor that runs down the slope, was designed to encourage community, light and a healthy life. It was added to the UNESCO Bauhaus site in 2017.
Read the complete The ADGB Trade Union School write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The ADGB Trade Union School is where the day begins. Next is Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
2. Wohnstadt Carl Legien
Bruno Taut liked colour, and in Berlin in the late 1920s, he used it to make social housing feel joyful. The Wohnstadt Carl Legien, built between 1928 and 1930 in Prenzlauer Berg, is a large estate of apartment blocks arranged around green courtyards that open onto the street, with facades painted in bright, contrasting colours: yellow, red, blue and green, the balconies and window frames picking out the patterns. It was named after Carl Legien, a leader of the German trade unions, and it was built by a union-affiliated housing association to provide light, air and greenery for working families. It is one of the six Berlin Modernism Housing Estates listed by UNESCO in 2008.
Read the complete Wohnstadt Carl Legien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wohnstadt Carl Legien comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf.
3. Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Bright colours were a weapon for Bruno Taut. The architect believed that good housing could change people's lives, and in the 1920s he designed several large housing estates in Berlin for working and middle class families, with light, airy flats, gardens and shared green spaces. The Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf, better known as Onkel Toms Hütte, Uncle Tom's Cabin, after a nearby inn and the underground station, was built between 1926 and 1931 on the edge of the Grunewald forest, and Taut, working with other architects, painted the houses in strong reds, greens, blues and yellows, so that the estate glows among the pine trees. It is one of the great monuments of modern housing in Germany.
Read the complete Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf. Next is Museumsinsel.
4. Museumsinsel
The northern tip of an island in the Spree in the middle of Berlin holds five museums that between them cover about six thousand years of human history. The Museumsinsel, or Museum Island, grew out of a decision in the nineteenth century by the kings of Prussia to build a cultural centre in the heart of the capital, and the buildings, in neoclassical and neo-baroque style, were added one by one until the 1930s. UNESCO listed the ensemble in 1999. Among the treasures are the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, and the bust of Queen Nefertiti, which sits in the Neues Museum.
Read the complete Museumsinsel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Museumsinsel, about halfway. Next is Gartenstadt Flakenberg.
5. Gartenstadt Flakenberg
On the southeastern edge of Berlin, near the Dahme river, a few streets of small houses are painted in colours so bold that locals nicknamed the place the paint-box estate. This is the Gartenstadt Falkenberg, or Falkenberg Garden City, designed by the architect Bruno Taut and built in the years just before the First World War. Taut believed that colour could improve ordinary lives, and so he gave the terraced houses facades of deep blue, red, ochre and green, with gardens, tree-lined lanes and a central square. It was an early experiment in affordable housing for working families, and UNESCO included it in 2008 among the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates.
Read the complete Gartenstadt Flakenberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gartenstadt Flakenberg sits at 87 km, about halfway. Next is back through Museumsinsel.
6. back through Museumsinsel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Museumsinsel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Museumsinsel comes up about 110 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf.
7. back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf. Next is back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
8. back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wohnstadt Carl Legien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien, late in the day. Next is The ADGB Trade Union School.
9. The ADGB Trade Union School
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The ADGB Trade Union School write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 174 km.
Leg by leg
The ADGB Trade Union School to Wohnstadt Carl Legien
The ADGB Trade Union School → Wohnstadt Carl Legien is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wohnstadt Carl Legien to Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Wohnstadt Carl Legien → Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf to Museumsinsel
Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf → Museumsinsel is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Museumsinsel to Gartenstadt Flakenberg
Museumsinsel → Gartenstadt Flakenberg is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gartenstadt Flakenberg to back through Museumsinsel
Gartenstadt Flakenberg → back through Museumsinsel is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Museumsinsel to back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
back through Museumsinsel → back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf to back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien
back through Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf → back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien to The ADGB Trade Union School
back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien → The ADGB Trade Union School is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.