Oberkrämer between churches, trails and festival traditions

Church and local history

The listed church in Bärenklau was the first church in Brandenburg built in the Dutch style. Its distinctive architecture provides a tangible link to local history. The Museums Stübchen Vehlefanz preserves and presents a collection of documents, pictures and materials assembled by local historian Helmut Schönberg. The church and museum highlight different aspects: the architectural history of a distinctive building on the one hand, and the work and collection of a local historian on the other.

If you would like to visit the Museums Stübchen, check in advance what is currently available to visitors. This lets you include a museum visit in your plans without relying on fixed opening hours.

Exploring Lake Mühlensee and the trails

The landscape around Lake Mühlensee can be explored on foot, with visitors able to reach tourist destinations along the way. A cross-state network of trails runs through the districts of Bärenklau, Bötzow and Marwitz in the Oberkrämer municipality, serving cyclists and hikers. The cycling route atlas contains seven suggested tours. Tours five and seven also pass through Bärenklau, Bötzow and Marwitz. This gives you several options: exploring Lake Mühlensee on foot, using the trail network for cycling and hiking, or following one of the specific suggestions in the cycling route atlas.

Getting here and planning your visit

The RB55 regional train runs via Kremmen, Schwante, Vehlefanz, Bärenklau, Velten and Hennigsdorf, and back. Check the current timetable before travelling. In Vehlefanz, the Oberkrämer Citizens’ and Tourist Information Centre offers information materials about the districts and surrounding area, regional cycling and hiking maps, books, local chronicles and recommendations for excursions. These can help you decide between a walk, a cycling tour or an excursion with a different focus.

The traditional Krämerwald Festival is an annual event. It takes place every April at the Krämer Forest Visitor Centre in the Neu-Vehlefanz district of Oberkrämer. If you are travelling in April, the festival may be a reason to plan your stay around it. Check the specific dates in advance.

Choosing the right base

When looking for a holiday apartment in Oberkrämer, you could start by considering which local connections matter to your stay: the church and trail network in Bärenklau, the museum and tourist information centre in Vehlefanz, or the trail network connections to Bötzow and Marwitz.

Oberhavel as the wider setting

In the wider destination of Oberhavel, which is part of the Ruppiner Seenland tourism region, Oranienburg offers a distinct cultural highlight: Oranienburg Palace is the oldest Baroque palace in the Mark Brandenburg. The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum in Oranienburg provides information about various aspects of the site’s history in 13 smaller permanent exhibitions and is also a modern contemporary history museum.

The Mildenberg Brickworks Park offers another distinctive experience in the wider destination of Oberhavel. It is an industrial heritage site set in nature, in the heart of the Zehdenick clay-pit landscape, directly on the Havel. As part of a seasonal activity, visitors can drive a diesel locomotive themselves and earn a brickworks railway driver’s licence: for half an hour, they drive the locomotive and learn how to start, brake and operate points. Dates and booking conditions may change; check both in advance.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Gransee, Schönermark, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Zehdenick, Großwoltersdorf, Hohen Neuendorf, Hennigsdorf.

Back to the wider travel guide: Oberhavel.