Bike Tour through Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen

The bike tour through Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen takes a good hour and a half from the memorial in Genslerstraße via the Mies van der Rohe House from 1932 to Obersee and Orankesee. Afterwards, it becomes rural: The Malchower Aue has been a nature reserve since 1995, and Scottish Highland cattle graze on the Malchow Nature Farm.

Bike Tour through Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen: Prison, Bauhaus, and Lakes

The bike tour through Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen begins on Genslerstraße, where the central investigative prison of the State Security was located from April 1951 to January 1990. As early as 1946, the Soviet occupation forces operated their investigative prison for East Germany in the cellar, known as the “U-Boot” (submarine). 44 years of political persecution in one place; the permanent exhibitions are freely accessible. The pure riding time for the round trip is about one hour and twenty minutes; the paths are well-maintained and the terrain is flat.

Less than two kilometers further, on Oberseestraße, stands the Mies van der Rohe House, built in 1932 and 1933 as a country house for graphic entrepreneur Karl Lemke and the last commission Mies van der Rohe accepted before his emigration. Later, it served as a kitchen, garage, and janitor’s apartment; since 1990, it has been publicly accessible. The garden also follows a design by the architect, and admission is free.

Obersee, Orankesee, and the Malchower Aue

The Obersee in front is artificially created; the park on its shore dates from 1913 and features old trees and sculptures along the path. On the small island, there once stood a tea house that could only be reached by gondola. The lake is not suitable for swimming; it serves for rainwater treatment. The neighboring Orankesee, however, is different: about four hectares in size, with approximately 940 meters of shoreline, 6.70 meters at its deepest point, formed from dead ice after the last ice age. The lido there has existed since 1929.

Northwards, the route leads into the Malchower Aue, a 22-hectare nature reserve established in 1995. On the former fen, 318 plant species and around 40 bird species have been identified, from white storks and whinchats to kingfishers. The Malchow Nature Farm features 16 hectares of orchards with nearly 900 trees, where Scottish Highland cattle keep the areas short. In Falkenberg stands the village cottage from 1820, Berlin’s only clay house.