Spreewald, Biosphere reserve in Brandenburg, Germany
Spreewald is a floodplain in Brandenburg, southeast of Berlin, where the Spree River splits into more than 200 narrow waterways. These channels wind through alder swamps, wet meadows, and small settlements that are sometimes reachable only by boat.
The Spree shaped this branching landscape at the end of the last Ice Age, when meltwater cut through the sandy plains. Slavic settlers arrived in the early Middle Ages and began managing the wetlands with channels and embankments.
Sorbian families have lived here for generations and still speak their West Slavic language at home and in shops. Visitors notice bilingual signs along the footpaths and hear Sorbian spoken in the village cafés.
The narrow channels are best explored by flat-bottomed wooden boats poled by experienced boatmen. In summer, visitors can also rent kayaks and canoes to paddle the quieter stretches between villages on their own.
In some villages, the postman still delivers letters and parcels by boat because many houses have no road access. On warm days, you also see milk carts and delivery vehicles floating across the channels on flat boats.
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