Lenzen (Elbe) can be explored through two main themes: the city’s history, centred on the castle and half-timbered old town, and the floodplain landscape along the Elbe. The Lenzen Castle Visitor Centre, exhibitions, gardens and trails provide places to experience these themes. The range of activities is also useful when planning your trip: a circular trail in the AuenReich is around 400 metres long, while circular hiking trails in the surrounding area cover considerably longer distances.
Lenzen Castle: City History and River Landscapes
Lenzen Castle is a visitor centre in the Flusslandschaft Elbe-Brandenburg Biosphere Reserve. The castle evolved from a Slavic royal castle into a European centre for floodplain ecology, environmental education and visitor information. The exhibition “River Landscape on the Green Belt” focuses on the natural and cultural history of the river landscape. It extends across four floors, reaching up to the dome of the medieval castle tower.
The Museum of City History spans the period from prehistory and early history to the present day. A diorama featuring around 8,000 tin figures depicts the Battle of Lenzen in 929 between the Slavs and the East Frankish Empire. The visitor centre also presents the city’s 1,000-year history in a cultural-historical section of the exhibition. This lets you explore both Lenzen’s longer development and a specific historical event.
Half-Timbered Old Town, Church and Contemporary Art
Lenzen’s town centre has largely retained its half-timbered architecture and has been lovingly restored in recent years. St. Catherine’s Church provides a different architectural accent: it is a three-aisled Late Gothic hall church with a transept and choir. Together, the half-timbered houses and the church represent different aspects of the town’s architectural history.
SEETOR.art, a gallery for contemporary art, is located in Lenzen’s old town. Alongside the town’s history, contemporary art and historic architecture are therefore among the cultural themes you can explore during a stay in Lenzen.
Experience the Floodplains: A Short Loop and Nature-Watching
The AuenReich at Lenzen Castle is a circular trail around 400 metres long and the first interactive floodplain experience site of its kind in Germany. Six stations explore the function and biodiversity of a river floodplain. Visitors can create a river landscape there and see how it changes during flooding. This short trail introduces the subject in a compact area and combines exercise with engaging hands-on stations.
The Nature Poetry Garden in the grounds of Lenzen Castle also brings nature and culture together. Nine artworks and quotations on the philosophy of nature line its path. A natural pond, flower-rich herb meadows, perennial beds and groves provide habitats and wildlife-watching opportunities for butterflies, grasshoppers, bats and amphibians. A platform in the castle park also invites you to pause and reflect on the nature and history of the biosphere reserve.
Just outside Lenzen, the 14-kilometre Auenwildnis circular hiking trail passes through floodplain forests and along the Elbe dyke and a former ferry embankment. After the Elbe dyke was moved back, a habitat for many rare plants and animals developed there across 400 hectares. The elevated “Auenblick” observation platform offers views of the new floodplain wilderness. Rambower Moor is also located a few kilometres from Lenzen. Its diverse habitats can be explored on a 12-kilometre circular trail; with its distinctive flora and fauna, it is considered one of the most beautiful through-flow mires in the state of Brandenburg.
Cycle Paths and Longer Routes
Lenzen and Lenzen Castle are located directly on the 195-kilometre Four-State Border Cycle Route. It explores the region along the Green Belt between the Elbe, Altmark and Wendland. The Lenzerwische Tour runs from Lenzen along the Elbe dyke; after around 26 kilometres, you return to the starting point, with the tower of Lenzen Castle visible in the distance.
The routes vary considerably in length: the roughly 400-metre circular trail in the AuenReich contrasts with the 14-kilometre Auenwildnis circular hiking trail and the 12-kilometre loop through Rambower Moor. You can choose between a short nature excursion at the castle and longer routes in the surrounding area, while the border cycle route and Lenzerwische Tour offer additional options for a cycling trip.
Discover more destinations: Berge, Bad Wilsnack, Gerdshagen, Lanz, GroĂź Pankow, Lenzerwische, Pritzwalk, Plattenburg
Go to the regional travel overview: Prignitz.
