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Lower Lusatia

Elbe-Elster

Elsterwerda

Biehla Bell Tower – Elsterwerda-Biehla Signal Box loop from Elsterwerda

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Lower Lusatia

Elbe-Elster

Elsterwerda

Biehla Bell Tower – Elsterwerda-Biehla Signal Box loop from Elsterwerda

Easy

5.0

(1)

hikers

Biehla Bell Tower – Elsterwerda-Biehla Signal Box loop from Elsterwerda

01:13

4.79km

10m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: July 2, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft

Waypoints

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Parking

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312 m

Biehla Bell Tower

Highlight • Monument

The bell tower was built in 1862, as Biehla had no church until then.

Translated by Google •

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341 m

Former Water Crane for Steam Locomotives

Highlight • Monument

You have to look closely to spot it – the old water crane at the edge of the tracks at Elsterwerda station. It stands there like a forgotten iron index finger, tall, rust-red, shrouded in time. Those waiting for the train here might glance at the display, the track, or their cell phone – but hardly anyone looks at it. Yet it carries history in its joints.

In the past, when locomotives still steamed and puffed, it was a lifeline. This is where they refueled – not diesel, not electricity, but water. Lots of water. The iron boom swung over the locomotive, and from the heavy pipe, the water flowed into the thirsty bellies of the engines. Today, it's decommissioned. A relic. But anyone with a little imagination can still hear it at work: the squeaking as it swings, the gurgling as the arm empties, the hissing rearing of the steam engines as they start moving again.

Nature has long since reclaimed it. Vines wind around its base, bushes press closer as if to embrace it. The light also seems to fall differently as it breaks through the rusty pipe. And the crows gathering on the signal beside it seem as if they are sending a final salute to the great days of the railway.

Not a museum, not a monument – simply an old water crane at the edge of an everyday track. But if you stop and look, you'll notice: something still flows here. Not water – but history. Quiet, rusty, but alive.

Translated by Google •

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