The Elsthal

The skating trail leads through an allotment area past the zoo and the city park. To look at the Nuthe again you have to unstrap your rollerblades. You take the dirt road called Elsthal and reach the Elsthal villa which is also called Fähndrich villa. It stands nearby a thousand-year-old linden tree (7). The Elsthal with its parks used to be just as important for the Luckenwalders as the Tiergarten is for the Berliners today. Nowadays, rank growth covers the Elsthal. Where the Nuthe is dammed at a weir, Zinna monks are supposed to have built a mill in 1250.

A clothier family called Prätorius built the great villa. The family was friends with Theodor Fontane. All the untouched arms of the Nuthe are creating the Luckenwalde Spreewald here. They also inspired romantic stories which tell about "Schönhannchen": An orphan girl sat under a linden tree with her spinning wheel and yarned – until one day a knight came and took her as his wife.

We return to the skating trail which leads to the open air bath. In 1925 craftsmen built the 50m-bassin and a diving platform. The bassins were nourished by the Nuthe. The "successor" (8) is located on the other side of the Nuthe. Thanks to its idyllic location it is a very popular place to be during summer. Close to it there is a big area where BMX artists can show their skills. Also, there is Brandenburg’s largest high wire garden (9).

The obstacle course 12 metres above the ground offers a great view towards Zinna monastery, Jüterbog, the villages Niedergörsdorf and Dennewitz where the Nuthe has its source. And you can only agree with Theodor Fontane’s résumé: "... the old feud between the neighbouring cities has come to an end" and we can add that Luckenwalde and Jüterbog have much in common: the Fläming’s great nature, the nature park and especially the Nuthe, this little river that connects both cities with each other.

Link - Staetekranz Link - Horizinte