Teltow’s cultural and social center is also its oldest. Dating back almost 1000 years, this town on the outskirts of both Potsdam and Berlin has one of the best preserved Old Towns in the area.
Andrew’s church, the geographical and historical center of Teltow, dates to the 12th century. Destroyed by fire several times in the intervening centuries, the church now displays the neoclassical and neo-Gothic style of architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
After the most recent fire, in 1910, the ceiling was redone, giving the church excellent acoustics. This makes it a popular venue for concerts.
Ruhlsdorf Church, on the fringes of the former village of Angers, is a 13th century structure made of stone carved from granite boulders. Three of the original narrow windows, set in the thick stone, can still be seen today. The church also has the vestiges of medieval paintings and three medieval consecration crosses. Its pulpit dates to 1594.
A war memorial in the Old town was erected in 1913 and honors the war dead from the time of the Napoleonic Wars through the end of the 19th century.
Looking for something different from the usual churches and monuments? Learn all you want to know about pigs at the Pig Museum sponsored by the Teaching and Research Institute for Animal Husbandry.
While in Teltow, be sure to sample its famous turnips. These are not your typical grocery store turnip and are revered for their flavor. They are so good they were once eulogised by Goethe.
On Sunday afternoons, be sure to visit the Heimatmuseum, housed in the oldest house in Teltow. The house dates to 1711 and is the only structure to survive a fire that destroyed the rest of the town.
Hiking and cycling trails abound and meander through forests and wetlands, passing fieldstone churches, old cemeteries, and historic buildings.
