Welcome to Brodowin!

Brodowin is a village in the uckermark with around 450 inhabitants and is located in the middle of a picturesque lake landscape in the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve, around 80 km north-east of Berlin in the Barnim district. The views from Gotteswerder, Mühlberg and Kleinem Rummelsberg are breathtaking.

There are exciting excursion destinations in the surrounding area - including the oldest nature reserve in Germany, the Plagefenn, as well as Lake Parstein, Chorin Monastery and the Niederfinow boat lift. You can find some beautiful excursion and hiking destinations here and on the website of the Ökodorf Brodowin e.V.

Here you will find information on travel and accommodation.

Brodowin's long history

"Brodewin" was first mentioned in a document in 1258

Brodowin lies in a so-called 'tongue basin', framed by the terminal moraine of the 'Pomeranian Ice Margin of the Vistula Late Glacial', which gives it a unique geographical location. The oldest traces of human settlement in this area date back to the Bronze Age. Brodowin is first mentioned in a document dated September 1, 1258, when the area was handed over by the margraves to the Cistercian monastery of Lehnin with the plan to build a monastery called "Mariensee". However, the building on Lake Parstein was abandoned and the monks moved to Chorin Monastery, which was under construction a little further west, instead.

In the 17th century, wars and the plague depopulated the village until Huguenots settled here around 1691. A tragic event, the fire of 1848, destroyed almost the entire village, including the church and school. But new life grew from the ashes: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV took pity on the plight of the villagers and commissioned the architect Friedrich August Stüler to build a new church. This church is still the heart of Brodowin today.

The nature around Brodowin was also protected early on: The Plagefenn, a moor around the Großer and Kleiner Plagesee lakes, was established as early as February 1907 as the oldest nature reserve in northern Germany. These historical and natural elements make Brodowin a place of special charm and historical significance.

A sign of resistance against National Socialism

The secret confessional synod of the "Confessing Church", an opposition movement of Protestant Christians against National Socialism, took place in Brodowin in 1937.

After the Second World War, refugee families from the East found a new home in Brodowin. In response to political pressure, individual old farmers from Brodowin joined forces with new farmers in 1955 for the purpose of joint production. Later, the Brodowin Agricultural Production Cooperative (LPG) was founded.

A vibrant village community

Focus on children: Children in particular are at the center of numerous activities. On weekdays, an entire school bus fills up with children from Brodowin. After school, the sports club, Christian education, a variety of music lessons, the children's choir or simply running around on the village green offer plenty of variety. Dedicated Brodowin residents even run an ecological children's workshop in the Mensch Brodowin Haus to promote creativity and environmental awareness among the little ones.

Sport and culture: Of course, Brodowin also has a soccer team. SG Brodowin 1963 e.V. plays in the Kreisliga Ost. You can find current information on matches and league positions here[1]. The club is very active in the area of youth development. Since 2023, there has been a women's team in addition to the men's team. The club also organizes the annual Brodowin nature run, which leads through picturesque landscapes around Brodowin and the surrounding forests.

A dedicated amateur dramatics group rehearses a fairy tale every year for the village festival and other occasions. The village festival itself is a highlight in the annual calendar, in which almost all clubs take part and which often only ends in the early hours of the morning with exuberant dancing.

The Brodowin Church Summer is a traditional event with musical evenings, lectures, discussions and cabaret on the program. In 1980, artists, scientists and people interested in ecology and culture came to the village for the "Brodowin Talks", and in 1991 the Ökodorf Brodowin e.V. association was founded.

Farm festival An annual highlight is the Brodowin farm festival, where visitors can tour the farm. Every part of the farm, whether cowshed, dairy, market garden or farm store, is open to interested visitors. There are also exhibitors, games for children and delicious organic specialties from the Brodowin eco-village.

Nature conservation and commitment: Ökodorf Brodowin e.V. meets regularly to support nature conservation projects in the area. Committed citizens remove unwanted shrubs in dry grassland areas, document the breeding behavior of tern colonies and erect protective fences for amphibians. The association has supervised a 5-year research project to resolve conflicting goals between organic farming and nature conservation.

The Gisela and Werner Upmeier Foundation of the Brodowin eco-village was established in 2012 to support nature conservation projects, social projects and regional associations outside of the day-to-day running of the business. Further information can be found here.

[1] https://www.fussball.de/verein/sg-brodowin-63-brandenburg/-/id/00ES8GNBJO00006SVV0AG08LVUPGND5I#!/