Bad Saarow: from Manorial Village to Spa Town

In the year 1774 just 225 people lived in Saarow and the neighbouring villages of Pieskow and Silberberg. A little over 100 years later the residents of Berlin began to discover the natural beauty of the area and transformed Saarow into the perfect spa town.

Then Theodor Fontane visited the Scharmützelsee lake in 1881, Saarow and Pieskow were humble manorial villages. The poet and novelist wrote "everywhere you go, you feel like you are treading on untouched land."

Around the year 1900 a number of rich Berlin residents moved to the lake promenade. Landscape gardener Ludwig Lesser created a settlement of elegant country homes on the northern promenade. Saarow and Pieskow merged and were were connected to the national railway system. Villas sprouted up, and Saarow became a popular excursion destination from Berlin.

The Sanitarium (built in 1911) and the peat health spa (1914) are further milestones in the history of Saarow. In the golden 20s the spa town flourished - in 1923 the village of Saarow officially became the municipality of Bad Saarow. The town became the place to be for the stars of the Berlin art and film scene, while international chess tournaments were also held here.

1998, a few years after the fall of the Berlin wall, Bad Saarow received state approval as a thermal saltwater and peat health spa.