Brandenburg aktuell: News from the state

Overseas Newsletter 10/2023

The greener way to get there – Railway connections with Austria being expanded

An additional [High Speed] ICE connection will be established between Berlin and Vienna via Nuremberg, just in time for the new timetable in December. The ICE route from Berlin to Innsbruck, via Frankfurt and Stuttgart, is also being expanded. On the new timetable, trains will run every day instead of only on the weekends, as was previously the case. ÖBB and DB also want to expand their co-operation on overnight routes. Plus, there are plans to roll out routes from Germany and Austria all the way down to Italy in 2024. More information can be found here.

World’s first ever “Bibi & Tina” theme park to open in 2024 on Berlin’s doorstep

Construction is underway on the world’s first-ever “Bibi & Tina” theme park in Elstal, right next door to Karls Erlebnis-Dorf, in partnership with KIDDINX. The theme park will be based on the series of kids’ books of the same name.

Set to open in 2024, visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the adventures of the famous horse-riding friends Bibi & Tina. Covering an area of nearly 15 acres, the park will offer all sorts of horse-riding activities and fun and games, plus a themed hotel. The new theme park will be dedicated to the exciting world of the successful German series “Bibi & Tina” – from the famous Martinshof square to the Falkenstein Castle and its inhabitants. The park will offer a fully immersive “Bibi & Tina” experience and will have its own separate entrance. There are also plans for live appearances from popular characters like Karla Kolumna. www.karls.de/erlebnisse/bibi-tinas-freizeitpark

Barnim Nature Park celebrates 25 years

The Barnim Nature Park, the only nature park that spans both Berlin and Brandenburg, is celebrating its 25^thbirthday this year. Covering an area of around 300 square miles, the park is nearly as big as Berlin itself, with the majority situated in Brandenburg.

The park has become well-established and stood the test of time since opening under the motto “Nature knows no bounds”. Its landscape is typified by vast woodlands and forests, plus hundreds of lakes, moors, virtually untouched river valleys and small water reservoirs (so-called Ackersölle). These small, often round watering holes are also home to the fire-bellied toad, the symbol of the park. Also hiding in this varied landscape are sites where you can find the remains of Slavic and German fortresses, as well as impressive rock and brick constructions, while the

Finow Canal tells the history of the local economy. The Nature Park is best explored on foot. The loop around the Schorfheide, for example, was named “Most Beautiful

Hike in Germany” in a nationwide competition. The first stage of the route leads you straight into the park. Alternatively, why not discover the park on two wheels on one of the many bike paths?

www.barnim-naturpark.de

www.brandenburg-tourism.com/poi/barnimer-land/hiking-tours/rund-um-die-schorfheide-hiking-trail

Munch. Cultivated Landscapes – at the Museum Barberini

Trembling Earth open between 18 November 2023 and 1 April 2024.

Trembling Earth is the first exhibition of the landscape paintings of Edvard Munch

and focuses on his interactions with nature. He saw nature as a cyclical power, capable of rejuvenating itself. But he also saw it as a reflection of his own inner strife. He projected this view of the world as an all-encompassing whole onto the forests and coastline of Norway.

This exhibition shows some of Munch’s most famous paintings side-by-side with lesser known works. The showcase highlights the artistic, scientific and philosophical ideas that influenced Munch’s work and presents his art in the context of the climate crisis. Even in Munch’s time, there was an awareness of the dangers of climate change that had begun with the increase in industrialisation and urbanisation across Europe. Set against the backdrop of the current climate crisis, the dramatic weather portrayed in his paintings is particularly striking.

To this day, the art of Edvard Munch is unmatched in its emotional expressiveness and overwhelming modernity.

www.museum-barberini.de/de/ausstellungen/9500/munch-lebenslandschaft

Louis Armstrong in DAS MINSK

“I’ve seen the wall”, which runs from 16 September 2023 to 4 February 2024 at the DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam, is an exhibition focusing on Louis Armstrong’s legendary East Germany tour of 1965.

In the midst of the Cold War, the African American jazz musician performed in several cities across the GDR. With 17 concerts in just nine days, the tour was an action-packed affair. Venues quickly sold out, with only around 2,000 to 3,000 seats available at each location.

Around 45,000 people watched Louis Armstrong and his All Stars perform live in the GDR. This historical moment is the impetus behind this exhibition at the MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam which interrogates the ambivalence of this official invitation against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in the USA and the Iron Curtain in Europe. It brings together paintings, photographs, archive material and installations from a number of artists, including Louis Armstrong, Pina Bausch, Willi Sitte, Terry Adkins and Romare Bearden. It also includes material from the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York and from the Berliner Verlag/Archiv collection, plus historical photos from the Agentur DDR Fotoerbe.

www.dasminsk.de/ausstellungen/3500/louis_armstrong_i_ve_seen_the_wall

Growth on the Brandenburg bed market

As new hotels open close to the BER Berlin-Brandenburg airport and in the state capital, Potsdam, Prignitz offers a little oasis of wellbeing that is particularly suitable for families. Among the new hotels to open by the airport are the IntercityHotel Berlin Airport BER and ipartment Berlin Airport. The latter combines the comfort of an apartment with hotel-grade services, while the classic IntercityHotel Berlin Airport BER greets its guests in the stylish design world of Matteo Thun. Potsdam, meanwhile, has two new establishments, with the niu Amity Potsdam and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Potsdam. Both are located centrally and are restrained, grounded and just plain delightful.

There are also four apartments for unwinding at the Hof Rosenstein, close to Heiligengrabe in der Prignitz. Nestled in the countryside, they offer outstanding interiors with clay walls and organic colours

www.hrewards.com/de/intercityhotel-berlin-airport-ber

www.ipartment.de/standorte/berlin/airport

https://the.niu.de/hotels/deutschland/potsdam/the-niu-amity

www.the.niu.de/hotels/deutschland/potsdam/the-niu-amity

www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/de/de/potsdam/xxpsd/hoteldetail

www.hof-rosenstein.de

20^th Pumpkin Showcase opens at the Spargel-und Erlebnishof Klaistow

This year, “In the Jungle of the Pumpkins”, you will find 16 huge pumpkins carved to resemble a chameleon, a parrot, a crocodile and an orangutan, plus two life-sized giraffes from the 5^th“Noah’s Ark” exhibit. All artworks are adorned with all manner of pumpkins. And of course, what would a jungle be without Mowgli and Baloo from The Jungle Book? Those looking to buy a pumpkin can choose from more than 35 varieties of decorative and edible pumpkins, all grown onsite. Brandenburg’s biggest pumpkin exhibition is open until 5 November.

www.spargelhof-klaistow.de

A unique experience in Germany – Taking the Spreewald punt to the Christmas market

Christmas at Spreewald begins at the Große Spreewaldhafen in Lübbenau on the 1^st and 2^nd weekends of advent. Passengers will board a traditional Spreewald punt for a thirty-minute trip to the Lehde Open Air Museum. During advent, the museum turns into a magical winter wonderland where you can experience “Christmas the way it used to be”. That includes historical buildings getting dressed up in festive garb and demonstrations of typical winter activities and handicrafts like rope-making or basket-weaving. The Bescherkind (literally ‘Gift Child’) is a long-running tradition and symbolises fortune and blessing for the new year. You might also run into the Rumpodich, bringer of gifts, as you wander the craft market.

At the market stalls, you will find all manner of local Spreewald products and handmade gifts. Before you head back to the starting point on the punt.

The state capital, Potsdam, is particularly pretty around advent. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city provides a fairy-tale backdrop in the run-up to Christmas, with its castles, its lakes and its historic buildings. The Christmas markets are, in part, a reflection of the history of Potsdam which has been shaped by European immigrants.

The Blaue Lichterglanz will light up the historic old town between 27 November and 29 December. It is open daily between 11:00 and 20:00, and until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. It will be closed on Christmas Eve, and open until 18:00 on 25 and 26 December and until 17:00 on 29 December.

The traditional Bohemian Christmas Market will be held in the Babelsberg district where Bohemian weavers settled more than 270 years ago. Bohemian music groups will set up shop next to sellers, artists and caterers to create a really Christmassy mood. Come and visit on 1/2/3 December and 8/9/10 December. The Christmas market will be open Fridays from 17:00 to 22:00, Saturdays from 11:00 to 22:00 and Sundays from 11:00 to 18:00.

The Sinterklaas Festival(traditionally the most important family celebration in The Netherlands) will open on 9 December with Sinterklaas riding his white horses into the Dutch Quarter. You will be able to see Sinterklaas in all his winter colours between 11:00 and 20:00 on opening day. On 10 December, local and Dutch sellers and caterers will cook up a vibrant potpourri of all sorts of tasty treats, exquisite items and fascinating handicraft demonstrations between 11:00 and 19:00.

In the coach stall at Neuer Markt, the

Sternenmarkt (Star Market) will be serving up handicrafts and delicacies from Poland. Potsdam’s most beautiful market and the historic domed hall of the coach stall will be transformed into a meeting place for Germany and Poland. Father

Christmas will be in his grotto, welcoming all our littler guests. The market will be complemented by the Star Festival, including circus acts and concerts. Visitors to

the Star Market can also visit the Brandenburg Exhibition in the House of Brandenburg-Prussian History for free on the days when the Star Market is running.

The Star Market is open on 1 December between 16:00 and 20:00, on 2 December between 11:00 and 20:00 and on 3 December between 11:00 and 19:00.

Entry costs €3.00, while kids and young people under 14 years of age go free.

www.brandenburg-tourism.com/events/christmas-markets

Brandenburg Waldmöpse all presented and accounted for once more

In the old town in Brandenburg an der Havel, you’ll find so-called Waldmöpse – woodland pugs that combine art, remembrance and humour. These little bronze figures are a homage to Brandenburg’s poster child, Vicco von Bülow, better known

as Loriot. Born in the city of Brandenburg, this comedian’s sketches remain immensely popular to this day. True to Loriot’s motto, “A life without a pug is possible but meaningless”, the very first Waldmöpse were released into the city wilderness in April 2015 and have only increased in number since.

Around 50 centimetres in height, the bronze figures can be found all around the centre, sitting, standing, sleeping, snuffling and cocking a leg. A year or so ago, Waldmops no. 20 was kidnapped. Now, he is back in his rightful place. Which is cause for celebration. Anyone wanting to learn more about these cute little critters – or about the life of Loriot himself – can head out on a solo hunt or join a two-hour tour led by the Brandenburg an der Havel Tourist Information Office.

www.erlebnis-brandenburg.de/loriot