Oranienburg: Palace, history and cycling routes

Discover the palace and its history

Oranienburg Palace is one of the most significant Baroque buildings in the Mark Brandenburg region. At the palace museum, you can explore different facets of its collection, including paintings featuring masterpieces by the Flemish artist Anthonis van Dyck and selected examples of royal ceremonial silver in the Silver Vault. Visitors interested in architecture, painting or courtly art will find a range of points of interest under one roof. The palace is therefore a distinct cultural focus for planning your trip, without limiting a visit to just one subject.

The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum offers a different historical perspective. At the authentic site, it commemorates the history of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp from 1936 to 1945, Soviet Special Camp No. 1/7 from 1945 to 1950, and the development of the National Memorial and Museum from 1945 to 1961. These successive periods differed in function, yet together form part of the history of this place. Thirteen permanent exhibitions can be visited in surviving camp buildings, each linked to the site through its particular thematic focus. The memorial also offers an extensive educational programme.

If you would like to explore Oranienburg with children or as part of a group, the tourism portal offers a variety of themed tours as well as tours that can be booked individually. They are suitable for groups, families or individuals and can take place on foot, by bicycle or by bus. This gives you several ways to explore the city, without having to limit yourself to just one type of tour.

Cycling routes with different connections

Within Oranienburg, the 300 km Regional Park Route “Around Berlin” comes from Leegebruch, passes through Eden and continues to the palace. From there, it runs through the centre and on via the Lehnitz lock to Schmachtenhagen and Wensickendorf. This sequence describes the route through Oranienburg; it forms part of a much longer tour around Berlin.

The approximately 300 km Fontane Cycle Route starts in Oranienburg and leads through Brandenburg in the footsteps of Theodor Fontane, the poet and thinker. If you are looking for a tour with literary and regional connections, you can compare its route with other cycling options. The 50 km Dutch Loop is a shorter, designated route connecting Liebenwalde and Oranienburg. Both distances refer to the respective routes, not to a single stretch within the city.

Another option is the 215 km Lakes and Culture Cycle Route in the Ruppiner Land region, which connects Neuruppin, Rheinsberg and Oranienburg, among other places. It is a circular route. The Historic Town Centres Cycle Route 2 has a different focus: this circular route connects Gransee and Kremmen and passes directly by Oranienburg Palace. The tours described therefore differ in length, route type and the places they include; this does not mean they follow the same itinerary.

These different interests can help guide your choice of holiday apartment: would you like to focus your stay mainly on culture and history, or get to know Oranienburg as the starting point for a longer cycling tour? The routes described range from one that starts here to circular routes and connections between several towns. When planning, check the overall distance and the stated route; this will help you decide which option best suits your travel plans.

Find more information on nearby places on the pages for Lehnitz and Friedrichsthal.

For the broader travel overview: Oberhavel.

More destinations

More places in the same destination:

Liebenberg, Leegebruch, Großmutz, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Oberkrämer, Hennigsdorf.