From Reitwein to Gorgast – On the Alte Oder

Boats without engine noise and the silence of winding rivers in untouched nature are the ingredients that make the Alte Oder an ideal water hiking route. History tells us that the Oderbruch was straightened and made suitable for agricultural use by the Old Fritz. Fortunately, the original course of the Alte Oder has been preserved here and invites you to take a relaxing paddle tour in beautiful and peaceful nature.

Start: water hiking rest area near Reitwein
Goal: water hiking rest area near Gorgast
Length/Duration: 13 km// approx. 4 hours

Arrival: 

• From Berlin by car via the A113, A12 and the B112 to the water hiking rest area near Reitwein (1,5h)

Check out:

• From the water hiking rest area near Gorgast to Berlin via the B1/B5 (approx. 2h)

Tour description:
The starting point on the Reitweiner Sporn, a wooded ridge with climatic health resort quality, is not only a household name for water lovers. Due to its hillside location, paragliders meet here on sunny weekends for excursions and every year the Reitweiner Skater Half Marathon attracts its fans. The immediate proximity to the straightened Oder endangers the area up to its hills through recurring floods. Memorial stones for the tragic floods in 1947 and 1997 commemorate dramatic operations to save the dam.
 
Tip: A special historical place that will never be forgotten in Reitwein is the dugout of the commander-in-chief of the Red Army in the legendary Battle of the Seelow Heights. The weekend after Pentecost is also a fixed date in Reitwein's calendar: the annual marriage market attracts guests.
 
The green strips in the Alte Oder offer fantastic views and plenty of shade, where you can linger and take in the vastness. At Maschnow, the Oder flows under the B1, Germany's well-known east-west connection by land. Shortly afterwards, the water path leads under the Berlin-Küstrin/Kietz-Kostrzyn railway line.
 
The destination of the tour is the water hiking rest area in the immediate vicinity of the town center of Gorgast. In Gorgast, the fort, built in 1880, which remained largely undamaged due to its lack of strategic importance for the military, is worth a visit. Not far from there is the village of Golzow, which became famous through the long-term documentary by the filmmaker Winfried Junge "The Children of Golzow". A film museum reflects the history in a chronicle and exhibition.
 
Tip: From Gorgast it is only a stone's throw of 5 km across the Oder to the Polish side. It is worth visiting the Küstrin Fortress, where, for example, a childhood friend of Frederick II was executed. Parts of the fortress have been made visible again, while others have been taken over by nature.

Nautical information:  original, special flora and fauna

Maps / Literature:

• "DKV Water Guide for Eastern Germany: Canoe Guide for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony (DKV Regional Guide)", German Canoe Association; Edition: 4 (1 April 2011), ISBN-13: 978-3937743288, 19,95 Euro
• "Tour Atlas Water Hiking / TA5 Berlin-Brandenburg with Spreewald: Oder, Havel, Spree + tributaries", 1:75.000 & 1:25.000, Publisher: Jübermann, Edition: 5 (5 July 2013), ISBN-13: 978-3929540666, 25,- Euro