A place steeped in history.
The lakes north and south of Briesen are located in the Falkenhagener Rinne. It was formed after the Ice Age when the meltwater drained away. In the 14th century, monks built a watermill, a fisherman's cottage, and a forester's lodge at the narrowest point. From 1542 onwards, the land and buildings belonged to the Madlitz estate. In 1759, after the Battle of Kunersdorf, Frederick the Great took up quarters in the nearby Madlitz Castle and stopped at the mill. “The soup is delicious,” Old Fritz is quoted as saying after the meal. After these events, the road that now leads through the Klostermühle estate was called Königsstraße (King's Road) for many centuries. Throughout history, Emperor Wilhelm II often went hunting in the forests of Madlitz. He had a friendly relationship with his head forester, Curt Metzner, who lived in the forester's lodge and spent his free time building violins and researching sound. In the course of land reform, the estate owner was expropriated in 1945. The East German secret police established an officer training ground and a vacation facility for their employees at the Madlitz mill. Today, the grounds at Madlitz Lake, known as “Gut Klostermühle,” offer first-class relaxation for those seeking respite. It is a good place to hide away and find oneself. On this page, we will regularly compile short stories about the origins of this unique place for you.
What our reliefs mean.
The Klostermühle estate has been home to many residents in the past and is a place steeped in history. This inspired Mr. Brune to add exciting details to the facades of the Klostermühle and Fischerhaus, which were reconstructed based on original photos. Above each window, you will find reliefs handcrafted by the builder and architect that tell over 100 years of history.
“Harvest time” These reliefs depict the grain harvest of the farmers in the region around Alt Madlitz.
“Mill” The first relief shows the mill. The second shows the miller's family, with Mr. Brune sneaking his own likeness into the picture. The stagecoach on the third relief indicates that the mill also served as a coach station in the 19th century.
“Fishing” Fishing has always played an important role on Lake Madlitz. In the 18th century, the village had only 100 inhabitants. These included a blacksmith, a wheelwright, a miller, and a fisherman. The reliefs depict the fish population, such as eel, pike, and zander, as well as fishing nets.
“Stories” The fisherman and his wife, probably one of the architect's favorite stories, was immortalized in the first relief. Cannons in the second relief bear witness to the wars that this place has experienced. The most beautiful, elaborate, and meaningful relief towers above the mill's entrance door. It tells of the time when the Stasi still resided here and the later struggle with the lower nature conservation authority during the planning and construction of the hotel complex.
Hard to believe.
Our reception building tells a fascinating story: originally a low-rise building with seven prefabricated garages, it was lovingly adapted to the historic neighboring buildings by Mr. Brune during his planning in 2006. After completion and opening in 2008, it now shines in all its glory. In our hotel reception, you will find four workstations for our reception staff and a cozy lounge. In addition to the reception area, the building houses a small shop and our events office. Two storage rooms and a fully converted attic complete the picture. An exciting innovation is coming in the next few weeks: the gas boiler will be replaced by a new energy-saving heat pump to further strengthen our contribution to environmental protection.
In the SBW process.
At Gut Klostermühle, we have been operating a fully biological wastewater treatment plant (sequential biological treatment) since we opened.
The water is already so clean that many small creatures have settled in and around the pond. To regulate the water level, the water is regularly sprinkled with rain.
For our own district heating system.
Since January 2010, we have been operating a wood chip heating system on the estate to generate heat for most of the hotel complex. Wood chips are small pieces (approx. 5 cm in size) of wood waste from natural forest wood.
We have been GreenSign certified since October 27, 2021. GreenSign is the leading sustainability certificate for the hotel industry in Europe, but has also established itself internationally with over 270 certified hotels in 15 countries. What does this mean?
And in the Oder-Spree Lake District
In the entrance area of the Fischerhaus, you will find our “interactive leisure planner” for the Oder-Spree Lake District. A screen that allows you to find out about the region in advance and put together your own individual plan. You can also find our excursion planner on our homepage, giving you the opportunity to plan your activities before you arrive.
Active on the estate:
The Klostermühle estate in Altmadlitz is not only located directly on Lake Madlitz, it is also only a few kilometers away from the Falkenhagener Seen Ketten (Falkenhagener Lakes Chain). The lakes are strung together like a string of pearls. The northern chain of lakes flows into the Oder River and the southern chain into the Spree River. It is the perfect starting point for hikes through the Odervorland (Oder River Valley).
Even before the first hotel buildings were completed, heavy equipment was brought in here at Lake Madlitz. The plan was to supply the entire hotel complex with groundwater, either partially or, in the best case scenario, completely independently. It was a risky undertaking with strict requirements, but it was successful. Today, there are three wells on our property, which have been supplying the entire hotel complex since the beginning:
The wastewater is treated in our own biological treatment plant, stored in a bio-pond, and in summer it rains down on the horse paddocks.
The barn was also built by Carthusian monks in 1441. Before reunification, it served as a garage and storage room. The cellar, which had been filled in by the previous owners, was probably used by the monks as a house of prayer instead of a church. During the construction phase of the overall “Gut Klostermühle” project, the barn was used as a storage facility for materials. In 2006, planning and conversion began to create the current Klosterscheune restaurant. The interior was completely gutted, and a gallery and fireplace were installed. The cellar now serves as a wine cellar. A new extension was built for the kitchen and staff area. The vaulted cellar with its beautiful natural stone walls and valuable vaulted masonry was also exposed, elaborately lowered, and is now one of the highlights of the dining room. The necessary service rooms in the basement were built into the hillside. The exterior walls on the ground floor with their natural stone were preserved in their original form.
In 2021, a 645 sq ft extension with a view of Lake Madlitz was added to create more seating capacity. A modern lighting concept was installed, a new bar was built, and the new ambience was also adapted to the old building. The exterior façade of the extension was also elaborately upgraded with a natural stone base to preserve the overall appearance.
HISTORY OF OUR RESIDENCE HOUSES
Our two residence houses, “Fontane” and “De Bruyn,” were also built on old foundations. Planning began in 2006, and the design takes into account the historical architecture found in Brandenburg villages. Both houses were deliberately designed to be environmentally friendly. Warm materials with lots of wood inside and outside were intended to promote integration into the heavily wooded landscape. The “Fontane” house stands on the foundations of a single-story building that used to house officers' apartments with beautiful lake views. The “De Bruyn” house was built on the foundations of a two-story building that STASI officers used as a forest café. The result was two hotel buildings with 32 rooms and suites, most of them with a fantastic view of Lake Madlitz.
The rooms are directly connected to the “Fischerhaus” on the level 10 meters below via an elevator and a tunnel system. The tunnel also provides dry access to the spa area and the “Finckenlounge” breakfast restaurant on the mezzanine level.
...it would be entertaining audiences with amusing anecdotes from personalities such as Armin Müller Stahl, Jochen Kowalski, Ludwig Güttler, Jochen Busse, Gerlint Böttcher, Hugo Egon Balder, Anja Kruse, Jacky Schwarz, Wolfgang Winkler, Franziska Trögner, and Wolfgang Lippert. Cabaret, readings, ballet performances, and classical music evenings fascinated audiences alike. But first and foremost, our theater is one of Brandenburg's most beautiful conference rooms, whose history began long before it opened: when the Stasi still resided at Madlitzer See, the building on whose foundations the Theaterforum was built served as an officers' canteen.
At Gut Klostermühle, you will always discover something new during your stay, including special art objects and furnishings. Over the years, the owner has collected little treasures and lovingly placed them throughout the property. Some were purchased at auctions, while others were commissioned specifically to make this place unique. We would like to introduce some of these objects to you here.
We hope you enjoy strolling through your favorite place with a new perspective during your next stay.
No, our tunnel is not a “remnant” of the Stasi, as many guests assume. It was deliberately planned and built by the architect. The owner wanted to create not a classic multi-story hotel building, but a kind of holiday village with many individual buildings on Lake Madlitz. It was important to him to create something special on the old foundations. Our tunnel allows guests and staff to walk from one building to another without getting their feet wet. It is always a special moment for our employees when they hand guests the site and tunnel map.
Around 1900, today's forester's lodge was the administrative building of the Alt Madlitz forest district. From 1900 to 1923, the head forester Curt Metzner, a former ensign in the navy, lived and worked there. After completing his state examinations and various internships in the Berlin area, he immediately took over as head forester of the forest district with its lodge in the Madlitz Forest. His Majesty Emperor Wilhelm II regularly traveled from Berlin to Alt Madlitz for hunting trips, preferably in the imperial saloon car, until his abdication in 1918/19. According to tradition, very confidential political and sometimes hobby-scientific conversations often took place between the emperor and Curt M., almost always after the traditional picnics in the forest. Metzner told the emperor about his experiments in sound physics and sound physiology with musical instruments, as well as outdoor range tests with his homemade violins. The violin maker's house contained a small wooden physics laboratory and an instrument workshop. The emperor opened a few doors for Curt Metzner, including at “his” Berlin Academy of Sciences. Metzner also became known through his publications in specialist journals. When the Stasi took over the site, what is now the violin maker's house served as a guardhouse. The large main gate was also located here. Two vacation apartments were created on the foundations of this traditional building, preserving some of the original structure. So today, you can literally breathe history in the upper or lower floors. Quelle: Chronik Briesen
Directly on the grounds of the Klostermühle estate, formerly used as an officers' settlement, there is an underground bunker that was intended to serve as accommodation and a transmission station for the various STASI commands in the GDR in the event of war. However, the bunker built here was only an outpost of the security and reporting system of the Ministry for State Security. The main bunker is located about 2 km away from the bunker here and also belongs to the property. It still contains remnants of the equipment, which suggests a high technical standard for the time. Construction began in 1977 on a site covering approximately 6 hectares. Underground rooms for approximately 200 people were set up there. Gravel was transported to the open construction pit around the clock by BMK Ost (Bau- und Montagekombinat), the largest construction company in the GDR. This was, of course, not particularly conducive to secrecy. The site was secured by a double wire mesh fence with a dog run and was permanently manned by around 50 personnel. As camouflage and to explain the heat radiation during aerial reconnaissance, fallow deer were kept in a so-called compulsory enclosure directly at the entrance. The bunker area covers around 250 m² with a floor covering of 4 m and a wall thickness of 0.5 m. It had its own water supply with a filter system. Wastewater was allowed to seep away. Containers filled with sawdust were used as toilets. The bunker was the result of general military doctrine. In 1987, the shell of the boiler house was demolished and the bunker facility was decommissioned.
The kingfisher is known as the “flying gem” because of its colorful, blue-orange, and metallic plumage. It was named Bird of the Year in 2009. The Alcedo atthis, which is native to this region, is the only one of around 90 species to have made its way north. Almost all the others live in the tropics. It also spends the winter in its native habitat. Kingfishers are specialized fish hunters and usually catch sticklebacks or minnows by diving. In cold winters, when the waters are frozen, kingfishers in many places have no chance of finding food. Kingfishers can breed up to three times a year, and in exceptional cases even four times, successfully raising at least eight young per year. This means that winter losses can be compensated for after just a few years (assuming a few mild winters). They use burrows they dig themselves to breed, typically in steep banks, but also in the root plates of fallen trees or in gravel pits, for example. Depending on the previous winter, the total number of breeding pairs in Brandenburg is estimated at between 700 and 1,300. With a lot of patience and a keen eye, you can spot this little beauty on a hike around Lake Madlitz.
Photos: Steven Hahn Photography
Source: NABU Brandenburg
