The town of Eberswalde and the municipality of Chorin are surrounded by a landscape of forests and lakes. The town is one of the Brandenburg foundations of the Ascanian dynasty, who provided the margraves of Brandenburg until 1319. The Cistercian monastery of Chorin, eight kilometres away, is also an Ascanian foundation and served both as a house and burial monastery for the sovereigns. Today, the city of Eberswalde shows a felicitous interplay between venerable old structures like St. Mary Magdalene’s Church (“Maria-Magdalenen-Kirche”) and modern buildings like the Paul-Wunderlich-Haus. Chorin is one of the most popular day-trip destinations in Brandenburg, primarily because of its former Cistercian monastery.