Top 15 Natural Monuments around Bleyen-Genschmar

When the wind blows over the Oder floodplains, you see not only ripples in the reeds, but almost something like thoughts in the landscape. A wide, quiet stream flows through the grassland, slowly and serenely, as if it had all the time in the world. And perhaps it does. There's space here, lots of space – for birds in V-formations, for skies with clouds that seem to be painted, for people who rediscover silence while cycling. The path winds along the dike, sometimes elevated, sometimes submerged, accompanied by mosquitoes, seagulls, and their own breath. If you're lucky, you might see a beaver; if you're patient, a stork. And if you simply ride, you experience a nature movie in Cinemascope – with the wind in your face and the feeling that this moment is exactly the right one. The Oder floodplains are not a spectacle. They are a promise: that simplicity can be enough. That vastness heals. And that it's worth entering the silence to hear yourself better again.

In the Steintoch district, the former royal state domain of Wollup has a history spanning over 500 years. It was here that Frederick II, as Crown Prince, completed his first agricultural and economic studies, and it was here that his particular interest in the Oderbruch region was awakened. In 1852, the German agronomist and agricultural reformer Johann Gottlieb Koppe commissioned the landscape architect Eduard Neide to transform parts of the estate into a landscape park. The overgrown, woodland-like park, as it was during its last intensive development by the landscape architect Eduard Neide, retains open and enclosed areas, modeled on English landscape gardens, divided into lawns, meadows, and denser stands of trees and shrubs. Many old deciduous trees, which characterize the park's landscape, can be seen.

Beautiful landscape on the Oder.

The incense oak stands south of Friedrichsaue next to an old arm of the Oder, facing a field. The old arm, called incense, was separated from the Oder in 1786. About ten years ago, the old Oder arm was renaturalized and now carries water again. The oak stands on the edge of a small forest called Sanssouci, a scenic gem that was given forest protection status in 1959/60. Near the oak is a dam built in 1920 by the Oderbruchbahn. The railway line has since been abandoned, and a cycle path now runs over it. The oak is still unknown in literature; it is a new discovery. The trunk shows rot on one side, the bark is partially missing but is still completely closed. A fairly large crown sits on the trunk, which is still completely intact. It shows very little dead wood, although the oak has been struck by lightning several times, most recently in 2012. The vitality of the monumental oak is still good. Development of the breast height circumference 1997 7.41 m Unknown 2022 8.10 m Rainer Lippert Location: Friedrichsaue Municipality: Zechin District: Märkisch-Oderland Federal state: Brandenburg Height: 10 m above sea level Tree species: Pedunculate oak Age: around 400 years Breast height circumference: 8.10 m (waist) Waist circumference: 8.10 m Height of the tree: 19 m Crown diameter: 20 m Year of measurements: 2022 https://www.monumentale-eichen.de/brandenburg/friedrichsaue/

A beautiful park, which one would not have expected. The estate owners were probably very wealthy back then, from which we all benefit today.

Many opportunities for picnics

The castle park is worth seeing, but the castle itself is unfortunately no longer as beautiful.

Palace park, from the end of the 18th century. Originally it had the form of a French baroque garden. At the beginning of the 19th century, the park was transformed in the style of English Romanticism by Peter Lenné. In the park there is the Victoria Monument, considered to be the work of the Berlin sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch (1777-1857). It was dedicated to the Prussian king Frederick II.