The Döberitzer Heide is an approximately 5000-hectare area in the

Havelland Geographically, the Havelland () is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Cana ...

region, part of the southeastern

Nauen Plateau The Nauen Plateau () is a low plateau in the German states of Brandenburg and Berlin. It rises above the surrounding countryside by an average of and is a largely contiguous upland area that was formed during the Saale glaciation, Saale and Weichs ...

. The area mainly consists of the former

Döberitz military training area The Döberitz military training area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz'' or ''Heeresschule Döberitz''), was a major military training area near Dallgow-Döberitz, in Brandenburg to the west of Berlin. Döberitz was one of the largest tra ...

, which has been designated as

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

and hosts a wilderness project by The Heinz Sielmann Foundation covering about 3600 hectares, unique in Europe. The

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

is located west of the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

city border and south of the

Bundesstraße 5 The Bundesstraße 5 (abbr. B5) is a German federal highway running in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction from the Danish border near Niebüll to Frankfurt (Oder). It provides a direct route for motorists traveling between Berlin and H ...

between

Dallgow-Döberitz Dallgow-Döberitz is a municipality in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Geography It consists of the villages of Dallgow-Döberitz, Rohrbeck and Seeburg. To the east it shares border with the Spandau borough of Berlin ...

and the district of Seeburg as well as the

Wustermark Wustermark is a municipality of the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. History It was established in 2002 through a merger of the five villages ''Buchow-Karpzow'', ''Elstal'', ''Hoppenrade'', ''Priort'' and ''Wustermark''.Hauptsatzung d ...

districts of Elstal and

Priort Wustermark is a municipality of the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. History It was established in 2002 through a merger of the five villages ''Buchow-Karpzow'', ''Elstal'', ''Hoppenrade'', ''Priort'' and ''Wustermark''.Hauptsatzung de ...

. A small part in the southwest lies within

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

territory.

Military Use

Military use of the area began in 1713 with the first troop exercises under Friedrich Wilhelm I. In 1753, Frederick II conducted a large maneuver with about 44,000 soldiers. The official establishment of the

began in 1892 under

Emperor Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's ...

. Between 1903 and 1911, the

Heerstraße ''Heerstraße'' is the German word for military road, a type or road that was built to enable the rapid movement of armies. Specific roads built for this purpose include the: * Aachen-Frankfurter Heerstraße * Bernauer Heerstraße * Lüneburger ...

was built as a connection between the training area and the

Berlin Palace The Berlin Palace (), formerly known as the Royal Palace (), is a large building adjacent to Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin. It was the main residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia and Ge ...

on the

Spree Island Spree may refer to: Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers''), an episode of the television show ''Number ...

. In 1910, the associated

Döberitz airfield Doeberitz or Döberitz may refer to: *Dallgow-Döberitz Dallgow-Döberitz is a municipality in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Geography It consists of the villages of Dallgow-Döberitz, Rohrbeck and Seeburg. To the ...

was opened. In 1936, the Döberitzer Heide was used for military competitions during the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. Until 1991, the area was heavily used by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, which left a significant mark on the landscape. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

took over an area of about 550 hectares in the southern part of the Döberitzer Heide as a

military training area A military training area, training area (Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom) or training centre (Canada) is land set aside specifically to enable military forces to train and exercise for combat. Training areas are usually out of bounds ...

for units stationed in

and

Nature Reserve and Natural Landscape

The

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Naturschutzgebiet A ''Naturschutzgebiet'' (abbreviated NSG) is a category of protected area (nature reserve) within Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act (the ''Bundesnaturschutzgesetz'' or ''BNatSchG''). Although often translated as 'Nature Reserve' in Engli ...

" or NSG) Döberitzer Heide (approximately 3415 hectares), established in 1997, together with the NSG Ferbitzer Bruch (approximately 1155 hectares) designated in 1996, forms large parts of the approximately 3600-hectare "Sielmann's Natural Landscape Döberitzer Heide". The NSG Döberitzer Heide mainly consists of higher and drier areas, while the NSG Ferbitzer Bruch encompasses lower and wetter regions. The natural landscape comprises an inner "Kernzone" (core zone) and an outer "Naturerlebnis-Ringzone" (nature experience ring zone). The area was used continuously for military purposes for over 95 years until 1991, which largely spared it from agricultural use. This resulted in a valuable open landscape with

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

sandbanks Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is known for its high property prices and for it ...

, and

dry grassland The key characteristic of dry grasslands is that they have low-growing plants, causing the area to be quite open. They also have a mottled structure, which leads to a biome with sunny or semi-shaded areas. On top of that, their soil is relatively ...

s, providing habitats for many rare animal and plant species. However, due to the high ammunition contamination, the area initially remained a restricted zone. The Döberitzer Heide is designated according to the European

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...

. More than 5000 plant and animal species have been recorded in the Döberitzer Heide, including 847 species of ferns and flowering plants such as the critically endangered Anacamptis palustris, marsh gentian, and rosa caesia. Additionally, about 2000 beetle species and at least 236 wasp, 188 bee, 198 bird, and 48 mammal species have been identified. The Döberitzer Heide also provides habitat for rare species such as the

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

and

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

. Populations of two prehistoric crustaceans, '' Branchipus schaefferi'' and ''

Triops cancriformis ''Triops cancriformis'', European tadpole shrimp or tadpole shrimp is a species of tadpole shrimp found in Europe to the Middle East and India. Due to habitat destruction, many populations have recently been lost across its European range, so ...

'', are also known. In 2008, the construction of a nature adventure camp (certified education center) for children was planned. The construction costs were estimated at around €650,000. The children were to be offered various educational opportunities such as a "green classroom", animal observations in the showcase enclosure, and plant studies on-site. The opening was planned for 2009. So far, only the showcase enclosure to the west has been built, as planning is still ongoing. Since 2014, there has been a Karls Erlebnis-Dorf on the site.

Core Zone

The core zone covers an area of 1860 hectares (including the acclimatization zone) and is surrounded by a triple fence (a wire mesh fence and two electric fences 1.5 meters and about 2 meters high) to protect the animals. In 2008, straight clearings 20-50 meters wide were cut through the Döberitzer Heide to mark the boundary of the core zone. This construction work, which involved heavy equipment, destroyed many old oaks, hill chains, and smaller biotopes that had previously been spared from military use. The animals released in the core zone, such as

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, wisents (

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

), and

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered wild horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after t ...

s, are intended to live largely unaffected by humans. Their feeding habits are intended to protect the area from becoming overgrown and to preserve the open or semi-open landscape. In January 2008, the first Przewalski horses were released into the acclimatization zone, followed by the first wisents in March. In May 2010, eleven wisents and seven Przewalski horses lived in the wilderness core zone.. By mid-2015, there were about 14 horses, 58 wisents, and 60 red deer. They are entirely self-sufficient; they are neither fed nor vaccinated.

Nature Experience Ring Zone

The core zone is surrounded by the so-called Nature Experience Ring Zone ("Nerz" for short): This covers an area of about 1616 ha. Here, the maintenance and preservation of the diverse nature conservation areas are carried out through the use of agricultural livestock. The coordination and supervision of these grazing projects are carried out by local farmers and the Nature Conservation Support Association Döberitzer Heide. The Nature Experience Ring Zone is accessible via various hiking trails, which have been supplemented with rest and observation points. Along the trails,

Galloway cattle The Galloway is a Scottish breed of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated during the seventeenth century. It is usually black, is of average size, is naturally polled and has a thick coat suitable for ...

and

Heck cattle The Heck or Munich-Berlin is a German list of cattle breeds, breed or type of domestic cattle. It was bred in the 1920s by Heinz and Lutz Heck in an attempt to breeding back, breed back the extinct aurochs (''Bos primigenius''). Controversy re ...

, various breeds of sheep and goats, Sardinian donkeys, and

Konik The Konik or Polish Konik, , is a Polish list of horse breeds, breed of small horse or pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually dun gene, mouse dun or primitive markings, striped dun. The Bilgoray, , of south-e ...

horses can be observed and experienced.

Photo gallery

Berlin - Mai 2015 - Döberitzer Heide.jpg, Landscape DoeHeide03.jpg,

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

DoeHeide02.jpg,

DoeHeide05.jpg, Skudde Doeberitzer Heide asv2019-07 img07.jpg,

Wisent The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

Ginsterblüte in der Döberitzer Heide.jpg, Landscape

References

External links

*
Sielmanns Naturlandschaft Döberitzer Heide
' — the website of the Heinz Sielmann Foundation
''Döberitzer Heide''
— the website of the Döberitzer Heide Nature Conservation Association * Martin Conrath (Hrsg.)

— on the private website of Marion Kreißler and Martin Conrath {{coord, 52, 29, 53.69885, N, 13, 2, 44.080811, E, region:DE-BB_type:landmark, display=title Nature reserves in Brandenburg Protected areas established in 1997 Potsdam Havelland Important_Bird_Areas_of_Germany Tourist attractions in Brandenburg Special Areas of Conservation in Germany