This landscape has been inspiring visitors for centuries. Here, Cistercian monks found peace and quiet for contemplation and transformed wild nature into a fascinating cultural landscape. On this two-day cycle tour through the monastery region between the Oder River, Neuzelle and Schlaubetal, you can experience this heritage first-hand as you immerse yourself in a world full of stories along rivers and streams.
Start / finish: Neuzelle Monastery Tourist Information
Length / duration: 121 kilometres / 2 days, approx. 4.5 hours of pure cycling time each day
Logo / route sign: monk on a bicycle
Character: Scenically varied route between the stream valley and the large river, with lots of forest, floodplains and meadows, overall moderate tour with slight climbs in the Schlaubetal valley, mostly asphalted cycle paths, occasional side roads with little traffic.
Route: Neuzelle, Schwerzko, Wellnitz, Coschen, Ratzdorf, Fürstenberg, Aurith, Brieskow-Finkenheerd, Groß-Lindow, Müllrose, Mixdorf, Siehdichum, Dammendorf, Chossewitz, Treppeln, Neuzelle
Extra tip: Visit the Schlaubetal Nature Park House in Müllrose. The exhibition provides an overview of the nature park's origins and special features.
Arrival / departure:
Public transport: RE1 to Frankfurt (Oder), then RB43 to Falkenberg (Elster) or RE10 to Leipzig.
Car: E.g. public car park at Brauhausplatz Neuzelle.
Route Description
Start at the Baroque wonder of Neuzelle
Neuzelle Abbey is rightly considered the ‘Baroque wonder of Brandenburg’. Its extraordinary splendour was created during the Reformation, when the Catholic monastery deliberately countered Protestant austerity with opulent art. The monastery church was richly decorated and still shines today. Following the resettlement of monks, a vibrant monastic life has returned.
Tip: Allow time to visit the monastery complex with its ‘Heavenly Theatre’ museum and Baroque garden. Early risers can experience the monks' morning chorales in the first rays of sunlight in St. Mary's Collegiate Church.
The route leads into the Dorche Valley with its ancient forests, wet meadows and small gorges. The Cistercians once operated six mills on the stream, of which the Schwerzkow Mill is still in working order today. The monks brought the technology used for this from Italy. A tour of the mill ponds is well worth it.
The monks got physical over beer
The route leads slightly uphill through cool woods to Wellmitz, once an important monastery estate. The place became famous for the ‘Wellmitz beer mile dispute’, which was taken all the way to the emperor in Vienna. The monks defended their brewing monopoly vigorously, confiscating foreign beer and serving it publicly – an episode with far-reaching consequences for the region.
From small river to great stream
The route continues to Coschen on the Neisse, once founded as a monastic outpost. Passing along wide floodplain meadows, you reach Ratzdorf, where the Neisse and Oder rivers meet. The former boatmen's village served as a transhipment point for goods for the monks. Strict rules were intended to regulate the boatmen's activities, but led to tensions and religious change.
A wide floodplain landscape opens up along the Oder. The historic old town of Fürstenberg appears, the starting point of decades of dyke construction to Ratzdorf. The route continues carefree through the Ziltendorf lowlands, now an important birdwatching spot. As early as the Middle Ages, monks used the floodplains near Aurith for beekeeping.
Forest fires in the border region
At Brieskow, the route follows the Friedrich Wilhelm Canal, once a connection between the Spree and Oder rivers. It also marked the border between the properties of the Neuzell and Frankfurt monasteries. Conflicts over land repeatedly led to protests, during which farmers even set forests on fire. The Oder-Spree Canal is crossed at Kaisermühl. The historic Kaisermühle mill on the Schlaube invites you to stop for a bite to eat. A few kilometres further on is the Große Müllroser See lake – an ideal place to pause on the promenade and let your gaze wander over the water.
Siehdichum in the Schlaubetal – a name that says it all
From Müllrose, the route leads to the Schlaubetal, often described as Brandenburg's most beautiful stream valley. The historic Ragower Mühle mill looks like something out of a fairy tale. The route continues to Siehdichum, where monks deliberately preserved the forest and built a hunting lodge as a retreat. There are frequent views of the Hammersee lake, for example from the former hunting lodge, now a forester's house.
Of fake fish and forgers
At the Wirchensee lake, the monks used fish ponds for food, especially during Lent. A curious anecdote has been handed down, according to which pigs were summarily declared to be ‘fish’. A short detour to the Försterblick offers an impressive view.
The route leads back to Neuzelle via Treppeln. In the 18th century, the peasant leader Georg Wollenberg planned his uprising against the monastery in what is now the Gasthof Köhler inn. Forged documents destabilised the economic system, but the uprising ended tragically.
Tip: To finish, follow the signposted path up Kulisch Berg. The view from the top of the Baroque wonder of Neuzelle is an atmospheric end to this historic tour.
Sights:
- Neuzelle – Baroque abbey complex, monastery brewery, “Strohhaus Neuzelle” museum
- Schwerzko – Schwerzkoer Mühle
- Coschen
- Ratzdorf – Bicycle church, confluence of Oder and Neisse
- Eisenhüttenstadt – Documentation Center for Everyday Life in the GDR, twin-chamber lock
- Groß Lindow – Friedrich-Wilhelm Canal
- Kaisermühle (near Müllrose)
- Müllrose – historical mill
- Schernsdorf – Kupfermühle, Ragower Mühle
- Chossewitz – timber-framed church, Klingemühle, Jankemühle
- Treppeln – Schlaubemühle
- Kobbeln – glacial erratics (Kobbeln boulder)
- Wilde Klosterküche in Neuzelle
- Bollwerk 4 in the Deutsches Haus, Eisenhüttenstadt
- Hotel Kaisermühle in Müllrose
- Forsthaus Siehdichum
- Gasthof Köhler in Treppeln
- Oder-Spree-Tour
- Oder-Neisse Cycle Route
- Cycling brochure ‘Dein Rad. Deine Auszeit. Dein Flow.’, Online shop Seenland Oder-Spree (available in German and Polish)
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