Hundeauslaufgebiet Blankenfelde

The Blankenfelde dog exercise area, known among dog owners as Arkenberge, is with approximately 20 hectares the only forest exercise area in eastern Berlin. It is unfenced within the Blankenfelde landscape protection area, and this is precisely where its problem lies: the Pankow district has wanted to relocate it for years, so far without a date.

Approximately 20 Hectares in the Landscape Protection Area

In the entire east of Berlin, there is exactly one forest exercise area, and this is it. The Berlin Forests refer to it as Blankenfelde, while dog owners usually call it Arkenberge after the neighboring elevation. The area measures approximately 20 hectares, accessible via Möllersfelder Straße on the northern outskirts of the city. There is no fence, and according to residents, the boundaries are poorly marked, which is why a pasture fence is being discussed. Responsibility is divided: The area belongs to the State of Berlin, split between the Berlin Forests and the road and green space assets of the Pankow district office. Right next to it are the Arkenberge, which, at 120.7 meters above sea level since a survey in January 2015, are Berlin’s highest elevation. The hill is not a natural landscape, however, but the result of a construction waste landfill that opened in 1984 over 36 hectares, was filled until 1998, and reprofiled in 1999. It has not yet been opened as a public park, although this was announced years ago. No authorized path leads up to the summit from the exercise area, so the peak remains excluded.

The Area is to be Relocated, and has Been for Years

Anyone who wants to walk here in the future should know the situation. The Pankow district office wants to relocate and close the exercise area, while the Berlin Forests plan neither. The district’s reasoning: The use is incompatible with the protection goals of the landscape protection area, very low species numbers were found in the area in 2015 and 2016, there is a need for replacement habitats, and adjacent farmers complain about polluted fields. Of the originally three examined replacement sites, only one is still in the running, east of Bucher Straße in Französisch Buchholz. The status in April 2025: everything is open. There is no relocation date, the concept for the replacement area has not been created, and the district assembly opposes the relocation. The area can only be closed once the replacement is ready. A citizens’ initiative has been fighting for years for it to remain. Until then, what applies everywhere applies here: The dog must be callable at all times, and must not chase wildlife.