Beautiful spots, real treasures in fact, can be found right at our own doorstep.

“Spandau near Berlin” people used to say in the old days when Spandau was still an independent town in its own right before it was absorbed into “Great Berlin” on 1. 10. 1920, when it became one of the 20 districts of the city  by the “Development Act for a new municipal area Berlin” (Gesetz über die Bildung einer neuen Stadtgemeinde Berlin). Spandau has always held a special place in the history of Berlin. On one hand it is a town with a long military history as well as a large and important industrial site, on the other hand  Spandau offers a lot of greenery and water.
Nowadays, the enormous  military and industrial areas are a thing of the past, as is the separation of Berlin. Spandau has undergone an immense transformation. The district boasts of extensive greens  and a lot of water and offers numerous opportunities for leisure activities, recreation and relaxation.
160 hectares of wood, 895 hectares of recreational areas, and 879 hectares of water speak for themselves.
The strips of green running through the district only wait to be discovered.: there are the Spektezug and Bullengraben, the Spandauer Forst and the Eiskeller, now no longer immured by the Wall. The newly constructed paths along the riverbank of the Spandauer See also attract visitors.
Every single one of those natural treasures mirrors the contrast between the walls of the metropolis and the adjoining greens, woods and lakes which are spaces of peace and recreation.
According to the German proverb “Why look abroad when happiness lies next door?” it is the intention of this calendar with its pictures and descriptions of recommended walks  on the backside of each page, to incite further interest in forays into Spandau.