Although it will still be about a year until the opening of Germany’s first Bibi & Tina theme park, there’s certainly no chance of getting bored in the meantime. If you want to spend a fun-filled summer day with the kids, the water parks around Berlin are just as great an option as exciting destinations that offer plenty of adventure. One of these is the Ziegeleipark Mildenberg: Located about an hour north of Berlin, the former brickworks site combines an industrial museum with amusement park elements, nature experiences, and numerous interactive stations for the whole family.
What is now a popular destination for day trips was once the largest contiguous brick-making region in Europe. After vast clay deposits were discovered in 1887, numerous brickworks sprang up around Mildenberg, supplying Berlin with building materials. At the beginning of the 20th century, up to 625 million bricks were produced here annually. A large portion of Berlin’s “Gründerzeit” buildings were constructed using bricks from Mildenberg. Production did not cease until 1991. The site was then gradually transformed into an interactive and industrial museum that continues to bring the region’s history to life to this day.
The heart of the park is the historic brickworks railway. You can ride the original light railway across the grounds and discover historic ring kilns, former brickworkers’ barracks, old machine shops, a working steam engine, an extensive collection of light rail vehicles, and the former Stackebrandt brickworks . The ride offers a vivid glimpse into how brick production used to work.
The exhibits also focus on hands-on participation rather than just watching. Visitors can try their hand at making bricks, working with clay, or operating historic machinery. At the same time, you’ll learn what the production processes were like in the past and get a sense of the conditions under which people worked back then. Other exhibits tell the story of Berlin’s construction boom, showcase the lives of brickworkers, trace the development of brick production in the GDR, and feature historic workshops and scenes from daily work life at the time.
The Ziegeleipark was deliberately designed as a family destination and offers far more than a traditional museum. Children can let off steam on a large adventure playground, explore various climbing areas, or play in the water playground. A rainbow shower, water bouncers, and a swimming area right on the grounds provide refreshment. Large picnic lawns and expansive open spaces also invite visitors to relax and let off steam.
It’s not just the industrial heritage that makes the Ziegeleipark special, but also its unique landscape. The former clay mining created numerous flooded clay pits, which over the years have transformed into an idyllic lake landscape . Today, the lakes are perfect for swimming and are surrounded by bike and hiking trails. At the same time, they provide an important habitat for numerous bird species. The combination of water, forest, and historic industrial sites is what gives the area its special charm.
