In the former death strip: Here stands Germany's largest vegan hotel
In the middle of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe Brandenburg River Landscape stands a castle that not only has centuries of history behind it, but also sets a precedent for the future: The Ahead Burghotel in Lenzen is, according to “ Peta ” and “ Forbes ”, Germany’s largest vegan hotel.
Surrounded by an organic-certified castle garden and the idyllic Löcknitz River, it now attracts nature lovers, eco-conscious travelers, and gourmets. Yet, strolling through this charming little town also means walking on historic ground—in a landscape that was once one of the most dangerous border regions of the Cold War.
The Ahead Burghotel, with its 40 rooms, is housed in a listed castle, whose thick walls symbolize tranquility rather than isolation. The operators are committed to sustainability: furniture made from ecological materials, 100 percent green electricity, and vegan and fairly produced clothing for the staff. Check-in is digital and paperless.
Guests can expect a purely plant-based culinary offering: from the extensive breakfast buffet to the creative vegan evening menu. Many ingredients come from the castle garden or from regional organic farms.
The menu even lists how many grams of CO₂ each dish consumes during production. The "beetroot ravioli" at the castle restaurant "Place to V," for example, consumes 420 grams of CO₂. The production of a schnitzel with fries, by comparison, releases 5.8 kilograms of CO₂ per serving, according to the " Tagesspiegel " climate calculator.
In addition to its exclusively vegan cuisine, the castle hotel offers a variety of other activities. Those who like can start the day with meditation, yoga, or a ride on sustainable bamboo bikes, and end it with a canoe trip on the Löcknitz and Elbe rivers.
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Just a few decades earlier, however, this idyllic spot was synonymous with danger. The Elbe River near Lenzen was one of the most well-known escape routes in divided Germany. People called it the "death strip." This referred to the area along the inner-German border between West and East, which, like the Iron Curtain, also described the political border in Europe during the Cold War.
Dense border fortifications, barbed wire, and watchtowers made attempts to escape from the GDR to the West life-threatening. To this day, there is no exact number of deaths on the inner-German border. "Current research and the available sources suggest that at least 260 victims were killed. A scientific study by the Free University of Berlin has determined the number to be 327," writes the Berlin Wall Foundation .
View from an observation tower in Lenzen on the former German-German border of the Elbe-Brandenburg River Landscape Biosphere Reserve.
Source: imago images/Priller&Maug
The political isolation, however, had an unintended side effect: the floodplain landscape remained largely untouched. Agricultural use was virtually impossible here, and after reunification, nature unfolded its full potential. The old factories that had previously discharged pollutants into the river were shut down, and the Elbe's water became cleaner. Today, swimming is safe again.
The area around Lenzen is now considered a prime example of ecological flood protection. A high-profile project has removed part of the old dike and expanded the river by more than 1,000 hectares of floodplain. This not only protects biodiversity but also mitigates flooding, which is a recurring problem in the region. Large-scale reforestation programs are underway in parallel to restore the landscape's 18th-century character, including dense deciduous forests.
View of Schnackenburg in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River Landscape.
Source: IMAGO/Richard Wareham
But the traces of the GDR border are far from gone. On the contrary: abandoned barracks and old watchtowers still tower over the landscape and are expected to continue doing so. Some of them have now been converted into unusual holiday accommodations where vacationers can literally spend the night amid history. Tourism is slowly gaining ground in this picturesque region of Germany between Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . Highlights include birdwatching, wild horse sightings, and relaxing bike rides along the river landscape.
Germany's largest vegan hotel nestles perfectly amidst this idyllic setting and is more than just a comfortable retreat: It symbolizes the transformation of an entire region – from a restricted military area to a hotspot for sustainable tourism. Between the Elbe River and the Burggarten park, past and present meet in a unique way. Those traveling to Lenzen today can enjoy vegan cuisine, picturesque landscapes, and extensive bike rides, as well as learn a great deal about the eventful history of the former death strip.
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