Spa and Nature in Bad Freienwalde
Geographically, the Oderbruch region is bordered to the west by the Barnim Plateau. At the foot of this ridge, centrally located, lies the moorland spa town of Bad Freienwalde. Theodor Fontane, the Brandenburg poet, once praised the town with the words, "Freienwalde – a pretty word for a pretty place ." Whenever he visited his father in Schiffmühle, he likely traveled from Eberswalde to the spa town. He journeyed to Eberswalde-Neustadt by steam train and then switched to a stagecoach. Today's travelers have it more comfortable, as a regional train quickly takes us from Eberswalde to the Oderbruch. Fontane described the town as very lively: "Freienwalde is a mountain town, but no less a spa town, a town of tourists. We've only passed a single street and already we've counted five hotels and a court pharmacy; we haven't even gotten off yet, and already other stagecoaches are rattling up from the right and left."
The town's reputation was established with the discovery of a spring to which certain healing powers were attributed. Even today, visitors can be seen in the spa park filling bottles with water from the Elector's Spring. Locals have always used the springs to treat all sorts of ailments. "In any case, the reputation and fame of the Freienwalde spring was purely local until 1684, when news reached Berlin and even the Elector's palace that a 'mineral water' had been discovered in Freienwalde. The Elector, already in his old age and severely plagued by gout, was filled with hope..." so recounts Fontane in his "Wanderings through the March of Brandenburg," about the healing spring. In that same year, the Elector and his wife were the first spa guests. Just one year later, 1500 guests were counted in the town in their wake. A rapid rise to a spa and bathing resort followed.
Evidence of this urban development, with its ups and downs, is collected in the Oderland Museum, a cultural heritage site. The museum, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest in the state of Brandenburg. Since 1952 it has been housed in the Loebensche Freihaus, one of Freienwalde's most beautiful houses from the 18th century. In addition to details about the town's history, we learn interesting things about the settlement history of the Oderbruch, whose landscape was significantly changed by the drainage in the 18th century. After visiting the museum, we recommend a stroll through the renovated old town with an audio guide. "Fontane" himself leads you through the history and stories of Freienwalde. The tourist information office next to the museum has detailed information.
Through the old town, past the Freienwalde Castle, the path takes us to the second cultural heritage site, the House of Nature Conservation. Once a place of work and residence, today a memorial site for the pioneers of nature conservation Erna and Kurt Kretschmann. The small log cabin built into the hillside also became the birthplace of the well-known East German nature conservation symbol in 1952. The yellow sign with the black long-eared owl is much more pleasant than its West German counterpart, which is more reminiscent of a traffic sign. It continues its triumphal march through the federal states west of the Elbe. There is a lot to tell about the life and work of the Kretschmanns. Kerstin Götter, the director of this nature conservation museum, is happy to take on this task during a tour of the park-like garden. In 1945, the pacifist and vegetarian Kurt Kretschmann hid on the current site of the House of Nature Conservation after a leave from the front and waited in a hole in the ground for 75 days for the end of the Second World War. He later built the well-known garden house on this site. The Kretschmanns' ideal in life was to live in and with nature. A relatively small wooden house was enough for them because their living room was the garden, says Kerstin Götter.
As early as 1946, Kurt Kretschmann, as nature conservation officer for the old Oberbarnim district, also worked in the Oderbruch. He encouraged the planting of bird protection trees in village greens and ensured that they remained accessible to everyone. Wherever possible, he initiated nature conservation projects in the Oderbruch. From around 1960, the couple began to transform their garden into a public "House of Nature Conservation" as a teaching example of practical nature conservation and gardening. In the mulch garden, for example, the Kretschmanns researched the cycle of nature. There they erected a monument to the earthworm and its animal allies in the humus cycle. Nature lovers should treat themselves to a walk through the show garden. There is an incredible variety of herbs, useful and ornamental plants to marvel at. At the highest point of the site stands the approximately 13-meter-high wooden owl tower, which offers a wide view of the landscape. The House of Nature Conservation is highly recommended for families with children. It also offers overnight stays in Finnish cabins or in the “hay hotel”.
In 1976, Kurt Kretschmann founded the Europe-wide working group for the protection of the white stork. In 1991, he was appointed honorary president of the German Nature Conservation Association. Two years later, he and his wife received the European Environmental Prize.
Cultural heritage sites:
Oderland Museum
Uchtenhagenstraße 2
16259 Bad Freienwalde
Phone: 03344 / 2056
www.oderlandmuseum.de
Haus der Naturpflege eV
Dr.-Max-Kienitz-Weg 2
16259 Bad Freienwalde
Phone: 03344 / 3582
www.haus-der-naturpflege.de
Further information about the Oderbruch Museum and the cultural heritage in the Oderbruch region can be found here.