Schorfheide Nature Reserve & Wildlife Park
Photo © Ralf Roletschek
Heading NE from Basdorf on the NE27 Heidekrautbahn brings you in just 30 minutes to the last stop on the line, Groß Schönebeck. You are now truly in the middle of nature, the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, home to herds of red deer and packs of wild boar. Beavers, otters and even tortoises live in the many lakes and streams. White-tailed eagles breed here, and storks and cranes can often be seen resting in the fields.
The landscape is little changed from when it was created in the last ice-age; a mixture of ancient forest, lakes, bogs and heathland. In the past it has been protected as hunting ground for the nobility, but now it is protected by UNESCO. The Schorfheide-Museum and tourist office can be found in the Jagdschloss (or hunting lodge) in Groß Schönebeck, which was completed in 1715 for Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia.
The Wildlife Shorfheide park, accessible from Groß Schönebeck station by horse-drawn carriage in season, is a reserve for wild species native to the Schorfheide heathland. The park also has animals which are extinct in the wild like wolves, wisents, European elks and Przewalski’s horses.
Schorfheide Tourist Information (in German)
