Stock Photo - 16 May 2022, Brandenburg, Pritzhagen: View over the Great Tornow Lake in the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park. On May 24, 1909, the first European national park was designated in Sweden - many other areas have been placed under protection since then. Since 1999, these large protected areas have been celebrating ""European Parks Day"" on and around May 24, including in the state of Brandenburg. East of Berlin in the district of Märkisch-Oderland lies Brandenburg's smallest and oldest nature park - the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park. Founded in 1990, the approximately 200 square kilometer nature park is located between the towns of Strausberg, Müncheberg and Neuhardenberg. The geological past shaped the face of the landscape: the last ice age 12,000 years ago formed an idyllic landscape. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa. - Pritzhagen/Brandenburg/Germany