Rieselfelder Schenkenhorst Information Board and Bench

The information panel on the sewage fields contains the historical background, advantages and disadvantages of irrigation, the landscape development, as well as historical and current photographs. (See also photos)Source: Bürgertreff Schenkenhorst 04 e.V.:
"Evolution of the cultural landscape of the former sewage fields
The history of the sewage fields began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, when Berlin became the capital of the German Empire.
Berlin's population and businesses developed rapidly. Before the construction of the sewer system, the city's wastewater was discharged into the waterways via gutters – an unacceptable hygienic situation for the world-renowned physician Rudolf Virchow. Since land in Berlin was limited, the city estates acquired land in the surrounding area. Huge pumps pumped the wastewater from the capital into the settling basins. There, the solid particles settled, and the wastewater was transported via drainage ditches to the sewage panels. The nutrients contained in the wastewater made the sewage panels They were attractive for agriculture because they promised high yields. However, as the areas were flooded at increasingly shorter intervals, a dangerous buildup of pollutants occurred. Irrigation of the areas was discontinued in 1997."

Very easy to cycle path