Discover Beelitz: Old Town, Asparagus and Water Tower Park

The city’s history between church and mill

Beelitz’s parish church was first mentioned in a document in 1247. It was originally a Romanesque pillar basilica built from hewn fieldstone. Its early architectural form offers a tangible point of reference for the city’s long history. Beelitz’s traditions also include the Legend of the Miraculous Blood: it made Beelitz the first pilgrimage site in the area east of the Elbe, and possibly also in the German-speaking world. A chapel was built around 1340.

The roughly 800-year-old old town of Beelitz, with its historic buildings, invites you to explore. On the edge of the old town, on Mühlenstraße, stands the Ernst Vogel water mill. The church, old town and mill offer different ways to discover the area’s history—from early church architecture and legend to a specific historic landmark in the cityscape.

Asparagus heritage and routes through Beelitz

Beelitz’s asparagus tradition can be traced back to 1861. That year, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrmann, a Beelitz farmer and burgher, became the first to grow asparagus commercially in fields; one by one, other residents of Beelitz followed his example. This beginning establishes asparagus as part of local history and gives the region’s food culture a tangible connection.

The Beelitz Asparagus Route connects the asparagus farms in the districts of the town of Beelitz. It can be followed by car, as well as along cycling and hiking trails. This means you can include the theme in your travel plans in different ways: as a guide for a drive or as inspiration to explore the asparagus farms by bike or on foot.

Exercise and stargazing at the water tower

The skate park in Beelitz Water Tower Park includes a bowl, a quarter pipe, a plaza, a graffiti wall, trampolines and a “chill area.” The Activity Park complements the grounds: it combines the historic vegetation around the water tower with new facilities and lets visitors experience the site through paths, exercise and play features, and places to relax. Water Tower Park therefore offers several kinds of activities side by side.

Stargazing is also one of the activities at the water tower. The Beelitz Stargazers are based there and invite visitors to events and observations with a “view from above.” If these events are important to your plans, check the relevant dates in advance.

Explore Beelitz-Heilstätten

Nearby, in Beelitz-Heilstätten, the treetop path runs at a height of just over 20 metres through a species-rich mixed forest and historic buildings in the former A Quadrant. The elevated walkway is almost one kilometre long. Before visiting, it is advisable to check the current visitor access arrangements with the operator.

The Beelitz travel destination also includes the towns of Beelitz-Heilstätten and Fichtenwalde. You can include both in your further research if you would like to explore individual places beyond the themes described here.

Within the wider Potsdam-Mittelmark destination

Potsdam-Mittelmark also offers distinctive cultural and natural highlights. Eisenhardt Castle above Bad Belzig is a cultural landmark where visitors can experience the Middle Ages firsthand. The EuroVelo 1 route passes through picturesque landscapes and historic towns in Potsdam-Mittelmark. In the Hoher Fläming, dense forests, gentle hills and historic castles make a striking impression. These regional themes broaden the view beyond Beelitz without equating the city’s distinctive features with those of other places.

Discover more destinations: Rabenstein/Fläming, Gräben, Kleinmachnow, Marquardt, Glindow, Wusterwitz.

Go to the main travel overview: Potsdam-Mittelmark.