An exciting destination for nature lovers is the stork village Rühstädt between April and August. Every year the people of Rühstadt join in the excitement when the storks return to their quarters to raise their offspring. Rühstädt occupies the top position in Brandenburg in terms of the number of annual breeding pairs and has been able to call itself the “European Stork Village” since 1996. Every year more than 30 pairs of storks come to Rühstädt at the river Elbe to raise their brood.
Rühstädt lies in the Prignitz, in the middle of the UNESCO biosphere reserve Elbe-Brandenburg, and also on the Elbe cycle path between Havelberg and Wittenberge. The inhabitants of Rühstadt like their storks: There is hardly a house in Rühstädt that does not have a home for storks on its roof.
In Rühstädt there is even a folk festival dedicated to storks, the Stork Festival in Rühstädt, which usually takes place in July. If this is too much hype and if you want general information about storks, the Brandenburg Nature Conservation Union (NABU) can provide it. The NABU visitor centre with the permanent exhibition “Weltenbummler Adebar” is located on the outskirts of the village. Here excursionists from Berlin receive information on stork and tips for excursions where you can see the storks in nature.
Since 2016 there has also been a stork course in the outdoor area of the NABU visitor centre.
