Did you know there are over a hundred scenic routes in Germany? Yeah, that’s a lot, right? However, I have yet to find one that’s totally dedicated to Brandenburg’s village churches.
Wait, is this a webpage on village churches or on the town of Wusterhausen (Dosse)? A little of both, considering you’ll find a bunch of these little architectural gems here.
You know what? Forget petitioning some government agency to create some sort of Dorfkirche scenic route — I’ll make my own. How about we call it the Brandenburg Village Church Route, or something like that?
I’m watching — no better steal my idea. ;-)
Whatever its “name,” I’d make sure the Dorfkirche Bantikow would be on it — mostly because of its stained glass windows. The ruins of the Dorfkirche Ganzer would be on the route, too. Ruins are great, because they force you to use your imagination.
And I’d save the half-timbered Dorfkirche Kantow to see late in the day. That’s because the setting sun reflecting off the dark dome is flattering to this old girl.
My Village Church route would have to give us two days in Wusterhausen, because you’d have to get in visits to the Kirche Brunn; 13th century Kirche Nachel; and the yellow-sided Kirche Lögow.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by stained glass windows over at the Kirche Dessow, an unassuming building along a car-lined street.
It’s two for one in the village of Metzelthin, a 13th century church (that had to be rebuilt in 1698 thanks to the Thirty Years’ War); and a castle: Schloss Metzelthin.
But, of all the churches in Wusterhausen, it is the Evangelical Church of Saints Peter & Paul that’s the most famous. Come to think of it, it’s the tower of the church that’s famous. No, make that the famous Wagner Organ that’s famous.
FYI, not Richard Wagner the famous German composer, but Joachim Wagner — one of the best German organ makers of his (or any other) day.
Because even I know you can’t live by church visits alone, I’d make sure to add in on my personal scenic route a stop to Wusterhausen’s Local History Museum, housed in a half-timbered building from the 1760s. And I would leave time for everyone to take a walk around the Klempowsee, the picturesque lake in the north.
Hopefully we could make it for the annual Dorffest in Barsikow, the 2-day Village Festival in Bückwitz (in August), or the September Harvest Festiva in Läsikow.
Ahh, nevermind my “created” church scenic route — there’s too much to do in Wusterhausen alone… we’d never get any further than right here. ;-)
