Märkische Schweiz and Buckow

The Märkische Schweiz is a small area of terminal moraine east of Berlin where the ice sheet left ridges, kettle lakes and steep gullies in a landscape that is otherwise almost entirely flat, which is why nineteenth-century visitors reached for the Switzerland comparison. It became a protected area in 1990 as one of Brandenburg's first nature parks, and parts had been protected since 1907. Buckow at its centre is a small spa town on two lakes. Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel had a summer house there from 1952, now a museum. The Buckower Kleinbahn, a historic tram line from Müncheberg, runs at weekends in season.

Highlights

• The moraine landscape - hills, kettle lakes and gullies in flat country.
• The Brecht-Weigel house - the writers' summer home, kept as a museum.
• The Kleinbahn - a historic tram line running to Buckow in season.
• The lake walks - paths around the Schermützelsee and neighbouring waters.

When to go

April to October; the historic tram runs at weekends in season. The Brecht house closes Mondays and in winter. Autumn colour in the beech is good.

Good to know

The Switzerland name is nineteenth-century marketing; the hills are low. The tram runs only some days. Buckow is very small.

Nearby

Berlin lies west; the Oder valley is east.