Brandenburg

Overview:

Located in the northeast, the regional state of Brandenburg surround the separate city and state of Berlin. The countryside of Brandenburg includes numerous nature reserves and parks, forests and over 3,000 lakes as well cultivated agricultural fields.

The Spreewald (Spree Forest) a protected UNESCO biosphere reserve in the south is an enormous maze where the Spree divides into tiny fingers, creating a lacy pattern of canal-like waterways, which wind lazily in every direction under a canopy of trees. For centuries the Spreewald has been home to the Sorbs who have their own language and folk customs.

Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, is home to one of Germany's star attractions: the palaces and gardens of Sanssouci (french for without care) built and designed by Frederick II between 1745 and 1747.