Neustadt (Dosse) is known as the “City of Horses” and combines its stud-farm tradition with industrial heritage and striking architecture. The gasworks and Church of the Cross offer different historical perspectives from the stud farm. This makes it possible to explore the town through several themes, while the wider travel destination of Ostprignitz-Ruppin also brings landscapes and routes into focus.
Horse History and Industrial Heritage
Germany’s largest stud farm complex has shaped Neustadt (Dosse) for more than 200 years. The Brandenburg State Stud in Neustadt (Dosse) also holds a special place in the wider travel destination of Ostprignitz-Ruppin: it is a draw for equestrians. Horses are therefore part of both the town’s identity and the region’s travel appeal.
The gasworks in Neustadt (Dosse) offer a different perspective. They are one of the last surviving witnesses to more than 150 years of gas production in Europe. Alongside the stud-farm tradition, they represent a chapter of industrial history that highlights another side of the town.
The Church of the Cross: A Distinctive Floor Plan
Completed in 1696, the Church of the Cross has a regular octagonal floor plan with four rectangular arms forming a cross. It was the first centralized church building in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Its clear geometric form and historical significance make it a distinctive architectural feature of Neustadt (Dosse), alongside the stories of the stud farm and gasworks.
Start Your Tour at the State Stud
The town also offers a specific starting point for route planning: the Cloverleaf Towns Tour begins at the State Stud in Neustadt (Dosse). This gives anyone including the tour in their trip a named starting point in town. The 160-kilometer Stud Farm Trail between the Redefin and Neustadt (Dosse) stud farms forms an interregional equestrian trail network with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It adds a longer-distance route perspective to the town’s history, with a direct connection to the stud farm in Neustadt.
Ostprignitz-Ruppin as a Wider Travel Destination
Ostprignitz-Ruppin is predominantly rural: its defining features include open spaces and tranquility, green beech and pine forests, meadows, shady tree-lined avenues, and numerous lakes and rivers. The Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide covers 12,000 hectares in Ostprignitz-Ruppin and has been part of the Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park since 2021. It is one of Europe’s largest contiguous areas of Calluna heathland and provides a habitat for numerous protected and endangered animal species, including more than 70 bird species and, since 2008, wolves.
The region offers a variety of ways to experience its landscapes. The Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park lies partly within Ostprignitz-Ruppin and is ideal for hiking and cycling. Electric-assist fat bikes also make it possible to explore the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide on unpaved, often sandy paths, allowing visitors to experience its wildlife and plant life with care.
The difference between the destinations is clear: Neustadt (Dosse) is particularly known for its horse history, industrial heritage, and architecture; Ostprignitz-Ruppin complements this focus on the town with landscapes and activities across the wider region.
Discover more destinations: Wittstock/Dosse, Kyritz, Temnitzquell, Wusterhausen/Dosse, Rüthnick, Heiligengrabe, Rheinsberg, Fehrbellin
Return to the broader travel overview: Ostprignitz-Ruppin.
