Hundekehlefenn Nature Reserve: Mapping the Glacial Wetland Landscapes of Berlin Grunewald

Hundekehlefenn has been formally protected as a nature reserve since 1987, but its broader context reaches back much further. The name itself reflects deep historical roots: the term 'Hundekehle' has been linked either to an older word for a gathering point of hunting hounds during drive hunts near the nearby Jagdschloss Grunewald, or, according to name researcher Gerhard Schlimpert, to the older terms 'hunt' meaning a field measure and 'kele' meaning ravine. The word 'Fenn' is a Low German term for a swampy inland lake, introduced into the Mark Brandenburg region through the settlement by Flemings in the 12th century during the development of what is now the Fläming.

The landscape itself was formed by glacial processes, with the bog-rich depression sitting in a glacial meltwater channel that once shaped the entire Grunewaldseenkette. By the late 20th century, much of the original wetland had been drained or altered, making the surviving Hundekehlefenn and its neighbor Riemeisterfenn especially important as fragments of the original vegetation. The 1987 designation formalized the protection of this residual wetland character, including its flora, fauna, alder swamp remnants, and layered bog structure.

The surrounding cultural layer is older, but tied into the reserve through the Forsthaus Hundekehle. This building was constructed in 1907 as a police mounted station, complete with detention and residential areas, stables, and a coachman's house. Since 1923 it has functioned as the Forsterei Hundekehle within the Grunewald forestry administration. The Forsthaus was used as a filming location in 1963 for 'Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse' and served as the setting for the 1966 television series 'Förster Horn', giving the area a small but distinctive cinematic memory alongside its natural significance.

The protected status of Hundekehlefenn is centered on the conservation of characteristic wetland flora and the broader bog habitat, which in turn supports the fauna associated with such environments. The mosaic of boggy ground, open meadows, birch stands, and the connecting Hundekehlekanal creates habitats for invertebrates, amphibians, and bird species adapted to mesotrophic wetland conditions and wet woodland edges.

Because the reserve sits within the larger forested Grunewald and connects directly to the Grunewaldsee and Hundekehlesee via the canal, animal movement between the wetland and surrounding forest and lake habitats is largely unobstructed. This continuity is part of what gives the small reserve its ecological function within the wider Grunewaldseenkette system, even though the source material does not provide a detailed species inventory.

Hundekehlefenn has been a designated nature reserve since 1987, classified as a moorland protection area. The conservation purpose explicitly targets the preservation of mesotrophic moor pond flora and fauna, the remnants of alder swamp forest, and the layered geological structure of the bog substrate. The reserve is also managed to allow natural overgrowth succession to proceed without disturbance, supporting the slow ecological dynamics of a true wetland system.

In the broader Berlin context, Hundekehlefenn and the neighboring Riemeisterfenn together represent some of the last surviving fragments of original vegetation left within the city. This makes the reserve ecologically significant not only for what it contains locally but also as a remaining example of a once much more extensive natural landscape now reduced by urban development, drainage, and forest use.

Hundekehlefenn is named through a layered linguistic history. The element 'Hundekehle' may refer to a traditional gathering point for hunting hounds during drive hunts, an interpretation tied to the nearby Jagdschloss Grunewald, though the place-name researcher Schlimpert instead links it to older terms for a field measure and a ravine. The word 'Fenn' is a Low German term for a swampy inland lake, introduced into the Mark Brandenburg region through the medieval settlement by Flemings whose influence gave the Fläming its name.

The Forsthaus Hundekehle above the western edge of the reserve adds another cultural layer, having begun in 1907 as a police mounted station before becoming a forestry office in 1923. The building's use as a filming location for 'Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse' in 1963 and as the setting for the 'Förster Horn' television series in 1966 gives the surrounding landscape a small place in Berlin's mid-20th century visual memory.

Hundekehlefenn offers a compact but ecologically meaningful glimpse of the wetland character that once dominated Berlin's Grunewald glacial channel. Its protected moor status, surviving mesotrophic bog vegetation, alder swamp remnants, and undisturbed overgrowth succession combine to make it one of the last refuge sites of original Berlin vegetation alongside Riemeisterfenn. The visible glacial channel profile, the Hundekehlekanal linking two lakes, and the historic Forsthaus Hundekehle together give the reserve both ecological and cultural identity within the Grunewaldseenkette.

Hundekehlefenn can be experienced throughout the year as a quiet nature site within the Grunewald. Spring and early summer tend to bring out the most active vegetation and birdlife in the open meadows and along the canal, when the birch stands and wetland flora are at their most visible. Late summer and autumn highlight the layered bog profile and the natural overgrowth succession that is central to the reserve's conservation purpose. Because the reserve sits within a forested urban landscape, visits benefit from softer light in the morning as the marshy ground and birch meadow character come clearly into view.