Großes Fenn

Can you smell the damp earth? The faint scent of decaying leaves mingles with the fresh, green aroma of the living forest. We’re standing at the edge of the Großes Fenn in Potsdam. This isn’t just a patch of swampy wilderness. It’s a place steeped in history. A place where the ambition of kings clashed with the harsh realities of nature. The Großes Fenn, or “Great Bog” as it translates, tells a story of struggle and resilience. This protected area, nearly 100 hectares, stretches along the Potsdamer Chaussee towards Seeburg. It forms a vital part of the Gutspark Groß Glienicke. Think of a mosaic of small bodies of water, marshes, sedge meadows, reed beds, and forests. This is Großes Fenn. The very name “Fenn,” derived from the Dutch word “Veen” for bog, hints at its watery past and the influence of Frederick the Great. In his efforts to cultivate and settle Prussia, he often brought in colonists familiar with wetlands, many from the Netherlands and Flanders. This “moor colonization” actually began under the Great Elector, Frederick William. He sought to revitalize the Mark Brandenburg after the devastating Thirty Years’ War. The war had decimated the population. The colonists faced a monumental task here in the Großes Fenn. Draining swamps, implementing water management systems, and then cultivating the land was backbreaking work. An old saying captures the hardship: “Des Ersten Tod, des Zweiten Not und des Dritten Brot.” The first one dies, the second suffers hardship, only the third one gets the bread. A land surveyor’s description from 1757 paints a vivid picture of the challenges. He described the area around the Potsdam district of Schlaatz as a wilderness. Nothing but water, streams, bushes, and reeds surrounded them. They had to carefully test the ground to avoid sinking. Today, the Großes Fenn, part of a natural drainage system that also includes the Großer Glienicker See and Sacrower See, offers a tranquil escape. But the echoes of those who toiled to transform this bog into usable land still resonate here among the trees and the water.