Garden City Marga

At first glance, Marga appears to be an ordinary small town: tidy, middle-class, and homely. Yet Marga is a work of art – designed on the drawing board by architect Georg Heinsius von Mayenburg and built within just a few years by a single developer. Between 1907 and 1915, the mining company Ilse Bergbau AG realised the bold vision of a livable workers’ settlement. The aim was to create a functional yet people-friendly residential area for the miners and their families. This gave rise to Germany’s first garden city with tree-lined avenues, gardens full of blossoming fruit trees, and distinctive architecture decorated with various handcrafted elements.

To convey the unique history and living environment of the workers, there are various offers. Guided tours and exhibitions provide visitors with authentic insights. For independent exploration, the modern, self-explanatory interpretation and wayfinding system can be used. The circular route leads to a total of 11 significant stations with informative panels and thematic short films, which can be accessed on site via QR code. In addition, a GPX track of the wayfinding system is available for download, allowing the route to be conveniently followed on a smartphone or GPS device. As a separate digital offer, the free audio guide app Hearonymus provides further insights in German only; it comes with its own GPX track that follows the path of the audio guide. Recommendation: it is best to download the audio guide and both GPX tracks at home in advance.

For a comfortable stay, bicycle parking facilities are available, as well as an e-charging station at Station 1 (Platz des Friedens) and seating at Stations 1 and 11 (Platz des Friedens and near the miners’ and bathhouse).

The “Garden City Marga” is located along the Seenland Route and the Prince Pückler Cycle Path.