Recreational landscape Gehrensee From the barracks area with the largest dog squad of the GDR to a near-natural green area

From the 'Gahren Lake' to the Gehren Lake (1838-1943 )

The Gehrensee, which was still called 'Gahren-See' in the 19th century, still had a connection to the Igelpfuhl to the east as well as to the Erdpfuhl at that time. The Igelpfuhl is no longer recognizable as a pond on aerial photographs from the 1920s. The Erdpfuhl was divided into two bodies of water by the construction of the railway line from Berlin to Wriezen. The western Gehrensee pond is the western spur of the Gehrensee. It was separated from the Gehrensee in the 19th century and was connected to it by a ditch. Today it is connected to the Gehrensee by a pipe.

Structural change due to the construction of the MdI (1944-1990 )

Until the construction of the facilities for the Ministry of the Interior (MdI) in 1982, the Gehrensee and the adjacent areas up to the Erdpfuhl were surrounded by fields and meadows. In the course of the construction of the barracks, kennel facilities were built north of the lake for the largest dog squadron in the GDR. The immediate shore area of the Gehrensee, especially in the southern and western part, as well as neighbouring areas were massively reshaped by embankments. During this time, the Gehrensee ditch was also newly constructed and developed in its present form as a receiving watercourse for rainwater runoff. In the south-eastern section it was given a new course. By the construction of the rampart with the barrier wall surrounding the entire plant, a part of the ditch was piped and about half of the remaining part of the earthen pond was filled in.

With the construction of the plant of the MdI, the Gehrensee was used as a retention basin and receiving water for sewage. The water quality deteriorated and the silt layer in the lake increased significantly during this time. In addition, it was used as fishing water. Since then, there has been a severe depletion of flora and fauna. In 1961 a tree frog was still observed here and until 1982 a population of the fire-bellied toad existed here. The walling of the site isolated the occurrences. The released fish probably contributed significantly to the displacement of the amphibians and eventually the population died off.

From the care plan for the Gehrensee to the Gehrensee Park (1998 - 2006 )

The starting point for the planning was the preparation of the maintenance and development plan in 1998 (Büro Fugmann Janotta, 1998). In this plan, the necessary measures for the restoration of the lake and the design of the surrounding area were elaborated. With the dismantling of the MdI facility, the idea of creating the Gehrensee recreational landscape was born. As part of the Barnim park landscape, it was to mark the transition from the city to the countryside, the heavily silted Gehrensee was to be restored and the Gehrensee-Graben-Erdpfuhl water system restored.
The design of the Gehrensee recreational landscape was financed with funds from the Berlin environmental relief programme. The lake restoration was based on extensive water analysis. The mud layer was carried out in winter when the ground was frozen through as part of the watercourse maintenance, over 5000 m³ of mud was removed. A planning approval procedure was carried out for the ditch extension and the restoration of the earthen pond.

The implementation of the measures began in July 2004. A total area of approx. 105,000 m² was newly created. Of this, 70,000 m² of meadow areas were created with site-appropriate material using the hayrush method). The Geherensee recreational landscape was completed in 2006.

back to overview

1. From the 'Gahren Lake' to the Gehren Lake (1838-1943)
2. Structural change due to the construction of the MdI (1944-1990)
3. From the care plan for the Gehrensee to the Gehrensee Park (1998 - 2006)