At last! Spring is letting its blue ribbon flutter through the air again and the desire for exercise in the fresh air is increasing! The spa town offers a number of opportunities for this, including climbing the four Bad Freienwald towers, which will be open again from Good Friday.
"Our tower quartet is still very popular with our guests," says Head of Tourism Ilka Krüger, "hiking enthusiasts are particularly happy about the tower diploma that they can receive after successfully climbing all the towers." For 20 years now, it has been possible to become a certified tower hiker, but this involves around twelve kilometers of hiking and a total of 425 tower steps. This is certainly challenging, but no one has ever been so exhausted that they have been "on all fours on all fours", according to the tourist information office.
The highest of the four towers at 38 meters is the Schanzenturm, which is part of Germany's northernmost ski jumping facility. Alvine Holz also trains here, she competes for the local winter sports club and is the first female World Cup jumper from Bad Freienwalde.
Not far from the ski jump tower is the 13-metre-high Eulenturm on the grounds of the Haus der Naturpflege. It was erected in 2003 to mark the 90th birthday of Kurt Kretschmann, who, together with his wife Erna, was one of Germany's best-known conservationists.
The Bismarck Tower, built in 1895 between Bad Freienwalde and Falkenberg, is 28 meters high. From here, you have a fantastic view over the hills and gorges of the Oberbarnim and the Niederoderbruch with the island of Neuenhagen. On a clear day, the view extends as far as the Niederfinow boat lifts and the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve.
The tower quartet is completed by the 26-metre-high lookout tower on the Galgenberg. It was built in 1879 and offers a magnificent panoramic view of Bad Freienwalde and the surrounding area.
And because the journey is often the reward, the paths between the towers also have plenty to offer. There are also some Playnetic stations on the tower trail, which play short audio games with entertaining information about the region through physical activities such as jumping or turning a crank.
"And because the start of the tower season coincides with Easter this year, we have also hidden a few Easter eggs around the four towers," reveals Ilka Krüger, "you can search for them from 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday. Have fun finding them!"
Opening hours and tickets
The four towers are open from Wednesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until October 31.
The Tower Diploma Ticket is available for 6 euros, reduced 3 euros, at all towers and at the Bad Freienwalde tourist information office.