It's called the Oderbruch!
The Oderbruch is located on the German-Polish border in East Brandenburg and is the largest populated river polder in Europe.
The name ‘Oderbruch’ is made up of two parts: “Oder” is the name of the neighbouring river, while ‘Bruch’ refers to an area that is temporarily flooded. The name ‘Oderbruch’ therefore refers to a historical landscape condition. Over ten generations, the landscape has developed into a habitat for 60,000 people thanks to a highly complex ditch system that is over 1,000 kilometres long.
The Oderbruch was the first cultural landscape in Europe to be awarded the European Heritage Label. You can get to know the land and its people better at more than 40 cultural heritage sites! We provide you with all the latest event information and other cultural and gastronomic recommendations.
The Oderbruch!
European cultural heritage
Over 40 designated heritage sites bring the cultural heritage of the Oderbruch region to life. We introduce you to the cultural highlights, real insider tips and the many special places in more detail.
On the trail of history
Museums & heritage centres, churches, monuments, landmarks & memorials – each of these places has an exciting story to tell. We provide you with all the information you need to visit them, current event information and the most important cultural and gastronomic recommendations. But before you put together your own tours, we’ll give you a brief introduction to the Oderbruch.
The Little Europe of Old Fritz
During the large-scale Prussian melioration programme in the 18th century, colonists from many parts of Europe created a new landscape – the Oderbruch. Using the best engineering knowledge of the time, a water system was created that today functions like a huge landscape machine with over 1,200 kilometres of waterways, almost forty pumping stations and 300 weirs and dams. The Prussian King Frederick II mobilised all his forces for this massive intervention and created the cultural basis for what is now the largest populated river polder in Europe. The people of the Oderbruch affectionately call him “Old Fritz” in gratitude. With the reclamation, colonists from many parts of Europe poured in. Numerous colonist villages emerged, which today can be easily distinguished from the older fishing villages. The settlement of the colonists also created a diverse landscape, which today is an attractive rural living and economic area for a good 60,000 inhabitants.
Thanks to a cross-regional water system that integrates technical elements from over 250 years over an area of almost 1,000 km2, the cultural landscape has been preserved and developed for more than ten generations. Today, the history of the Bruch can be experienced at the monuments, pumping stations, villages and in many small museums.
Oderbruch Museum in Altranft
The Oderbruch Museum is the ideal starting point for getting to know the unique water system, the people who live here and the region’s special rural culture. It consists of artistically designed rooms in which objects, photographs, films, texts and playful modules bring together many different perspectives to create a rich panorama of this landscape.
The exhibition tour starts at Altranft Castle, a manor house in the middle of a 19th century landscape park. The special topography of the Oderbruch is shown by artist Antje Scholz with her web, which depicts the water flow of the Oder and the complex ditch system. The flow paths of the water can be playfully explored with a large marble run. Photographs of people from the Oderbruch, films and audio stations focus on the landscape itself.
“The cultural heritage of the landscape in one space.”
The cultural heritage sites are presented in a miniature exhibition in the Oderbruch Museum. They introduce themselves to visitors in many small wall cabinets and provide you with the most important information. The free guidebook “Schau ins Bruch” is available in the exhibition and presents all the places in printed form. The brochure is also available at all tourist information centres in the Oderbruch.
Further information on the Oderbruch Museum, all current exhibitions and event dates: www.oderbruchmuseum.de
