| The Grunewald Forest is the second largest forest in Berlin and is bordered on the west by the Havel River, with its many bays and a series of connected lakes (all of which arose in the second-to-last ice age).
At the beginning of the 20th century the forest was saved from aggressive settlement plans by the expanding city.
The Grunewald Hunting Lodge is the oldest preserved palace construction in the Berlin metropolitan area. It was built in 1542 on the edge of the Grunewald Lake by Caspar Thieß, the architect of Prince Joachim II, who happened to be a hunting enthusiast.
The major landmark of the Grunewald Forest is the 55 meter-high Grunewald Tower, which can be seen from miles away. It lies on the Havel River and was built in 1899 on the steep Karlsberg Mountain, itself a relic of the ice-age glacier landscape.
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The Schildhorn Monument is dedicated to Prince Jaczo, who in 1157 was forced to flee from Albrecht the Bear after a terrible defeat at Spandau.
The prince attempted to cross the Havel River on horseback and, just before drowning, promised to convert to Christianity if the Christian God saved him from his impending doom.
After reaching safe harbor on the opposite riverbank, the prince removed his shield, sword and horn and fulfilled his religious promise.
Berlin’s highest “mountain” (115 meters) was created from the rubble of bombed-out Berlin after the Second World War. The Teufelsberg is a popular destination for sports enthusiasts and features a ski slope and the longest toboggan run in the city.
The white domes of the former American radar facilities, with which NATO sought to listen in on East Germany, can be seen for miles. These facilities were shut down years ago and it has yet to be decided what use to make of them after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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