Brandenburg

Brandenburg is the surrounding region of Berlin, but now its difficult to find the difference between the fast paced capital and the quiet countryside. It is about the size of Belgium as it stretches between the Elbe and Oder rivers and from the lakes around Rheinsberg in the north to the lakes in the south around Cottbus. The State of Brandenburg spans over an area of 29,056km² . Apart from pine and fir forests this region mostly consists of sandy plain. The area boost around 3000 rivers and lakes - the Havel and the Spree rivers flow through it as well. The town has a population of around 2.53 million people.


Phenomenally, there were 500 hectares of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916. The complex of palaces and parks of Potsdam form a unique whole which lines the banks of the Havel and the Glienicke Lakes. It is important to note that Voltaire lived in the Sanssouci Palace, built under the guidance of Frederick II during the period between 1745 and 1757. Other tourist attraction in this state are the St. Jacob's Chapel in Perleberg and St. Katherine's Church in Brandenburg an der Havel, dating back to fourteenth century. In Brandenburg, there is also a Romanesque cathedral which had its foundation laid in the twelfth century, and was reconstructed in the fourteenth century in the Gothic style and it was restored in the 1960s.


Other popular tourist spots in Brandenburg includes the Spree Forest , Frankfurt/Oder, Wittenberg and Sachsenhausen with its former Nazi concentration camp.