Seenrunde südwestlich von Potsdam

Thirty-two Kilometers Around Two Lakes

This loop is the most compact way to see the Potsdam lake landscape: thirty-two kilometers from the main station, once around Lake Templin and Lake Schwielowsee, via Caputh, Ferch, Petzow, and Geltow, and back. The route primarily uses asphalt roads, with some gravel and paved forest paths; the terrain remains mostly flat. The journey is the best on the whole list: RE 1 and lines RB 20, RB 21, RB 22, RB 23, and RB 33, as well as S 7, stop at Potsdam Central Station, and RE 1 takes about twenty-two minutes to Berlin Central Station, while S 7 takes about thirty-seven. There are also access points along the way: Potsdam Charlottenhof, Potsdam Park Sanssouci, Potsdam-Pirschheide, Caputh-Geltow, and Caputh-Schwielowsee are all on or near the route. One point needs to be planned for as it completes the loop: the Tussy II cable ferry crosses the Caputher Gemünde between Caputh and Geltow. It does not operate during storms, fog, high or low water levels, in which case the loop is interrupted.

Einstein’s Summer House, Caputh Castle, and a Handweaving Mill

Caputh is the highlight of the route. Here stands Albert Einstein’s summer house, here lies Caputh Castle with its park, the oldest preserved castle building in the Potsdam cultural landscape, dating back to the time of the Great Elector, and here the lido with a pier leads directly to the water. In Ferch, you’ll find the Museum of the Havelland Painters’ Colony, the Fishermen’s Church, a Japanese bonsai garden, and an observation tower on the Wietkiekenberg, from which the shape of Lake Schwielowsee truly unfolds. Petzow contributes the manor park, a Schinkel church with an observation tower, and a sea buckthorn garden. In Geltow, the Henni Jaensch-Zeymer handweaving mill operates, the oldest still-working handweaving mill in Germany. On the Potsdam side are the Old Market with St. Nicholas Church, from whose dome one can see over the city, the Freundschaftsinsel (Friendship Island), Schiffbauergasse, Museum Barberini, the Potsdam Museum, and the State Parliament, as well as the Airship Port, where zeppelins landed between 1911 and 1917 and which is now an Olympic training center. Small bathing spots along Lake Templin invite you to take a break along the way.