Werbellinsee
As Theodor Fontane famously stated, ‘Where we are sitting is like a scene from a fairytale. We are sitting on the shore of Werbellin’. Looking out at the dark green forests and little clusters of visitors that form the lake’s landscapes, his words echo in our heads, and we can sense that summer is coming. The season’s first swimmers brave a dip in the lake’s cool waters while children happily build sandcastles on the shore. A couple of canoeists get ready to paddle out onto the lake. A lonesome man secures his hammock between two trees at the edge of the water.
Werbellinsee is located in the Schorfheide-Chorin UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It is one of the largest and deepest lakes in Brandenburg, with a maximum depth of 55 m and a surface area of 7.95 km2. You have several bathing spots to choose from at this lake, each with its own flair. With our Berlin Edition in tow, we selected four of the best bathing spots from our book and paid each a visit. Some of our favourite places at Werbellinsee are the sections of shoreline that you can only reach on foot. Most of these smaller and more hidden spots are located on the lake’s southern shore and can be reached via a short stroll through the forest.
Explore the surroundings
Schorfheide is renowned for its mixed woodlands and abundance of lakes, several of which are incidentally also featured in our book. That being said, be sure to check the charge on your battery before adding more stops to your road trip—you might need to add a tiny detour to a nearby charging station to your agenda if you want to make it back home to Berlin. North of Werbellinsee, we recommend stopping at Grimnitzsee or taking a stroll through Joachimsthal. And it’s certainly worth paying a visit to Buchenwald Grumsin which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Choose from any of these hiking trails and let yourself be impressed by the forest’s towering beech trees. Alternatively, you can also stop by Liepnitzsee or Wandlitzer See on your way home. Both are located just off the A11 highway that leads all the way back to Berlin.
Werbellinsee (Berlin Edition, p. 67)
Car 60 Min. | 60 km vom Berliner Zentrum | 16247 Joachimsthal
