Why this ride
A 105 km round trip from Bernau bei Berlin - roughly 1 h 58 in the saddle. The stops in between: Wohnstadt Carl Legien, Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf and back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The ADGB Trade Union School and Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 105 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 58
- 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.
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 31 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 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf. Next is back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien.
4. 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.
5. 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
Back at The ADGB Trade Union School. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The ADGB Trade Union School to Wohnstadt Carl Legien
The ADGB Trade Union School → Wohnstadt Carl Legien is 31 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 back through Wohnstadt Carl Legien
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.