Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve

Coordinates: 52°58′N 13°49′E / 52.97°N 13.82°E / 52.97; 13.82

The Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, often shortened to Schorfheide, is a biosphere reserve in the German State of Brandenburg near the Polish border. The reserve was established on 1 October 1990 following the German Reunification and is under the protection of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme. It stretches over the German districts of Barnim, Uckermark, Märkisch-Oderland and Oberhavel and incorporates an area of 1291 square kilometers. Notable towns are Eberswalde, Joachimsthal and Friedrichswalde. The core area of the reserve is formed by the Schorfheide forest, one of the largest cohesive woodlands of Germany.

History

From the Early Middle Ages until the period of the Thirty Years' War, the area fell under the responsibility of the cloister of Chorin which led to a cultivation of suitable spaces. Forest clearances took place for the sake of producing weapons for the Prussian army, but the woods were usually afforested. Large parts of the woodland were left untouched as hunting area for the nobility, which marked the creation of today's wilderness. During the Third Reich, Hermann Göring chose the spot for his countryside residence Carinhall. After World War II, the forests were again used as an exclusive hunting and leisure area for the East German leaders. The title of a Biosphere Reserve was awarded in 1990 following an initiative of then East German head of state Lothar de Maizière.

Schorfheide (municipality)

Schorfheide is a municipality in the Barnim district of Brandenburg, Germany. It was established in 2003 by the merger of Finowfurt and Groß Schönebeck.

Overview

Schorfheide further comprises the villages of Altenhof, Böhmerheide, Eichhorst, Klandorf, Lichterfelde, Schluft and Werbellin. It is situated immediately west of the district's capital Eberswalde and about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of the Berlin city centre. Schorfheide is the largest municipality of Barnim by area. Large parts belong to the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve.

In the 13th century the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg built a castle at the southern end of the Werbellinsee. In 1879 Prince Charles of Prussia had the Ascania Tower erected at the site. Groß Schönebeck houses a hunting lodge erected from 1680 on the behest of the Brandenburg Elector Frederick William I of Hohenzollern, tody a museum. From 1950 until 1989 Altenhof was the site of the Pionierrepublik Wilhelm Pieck, a large camp of the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation.