Storchenfest Naturhof Berlin-Malchow

Naturhof Malchow — Berlin Countryside within the City

In the north of Berlin, in the Malchow district of Lichtenberg, lies one of the last Berlin village greens with an active farm — the Naturhof Berlin-Malchow. Here, the association Naturschutz Berlin-Malchow e. V. operates an environmental education center, a small organic farm shop, a natural garden, and a stork station. On the roof of the historic stable building, a stork's nest is perched, where white storks have been breeding for years — a small sensation in the middle of the city.

A Summer Day Centered Around the Storks

The Storchenfest, often also celebrated as "Storchennachmittag" (Stork Afternoon), is the annual public highlight of this work. On the program: observing the storks at the nest with binoculars, a lecture on the Berlin stork population, a small children's play, felt and craft workshops, market stalls by local artisans, regional organic products, and coffee with cake from the NaturHofladen. In 2026, the event will continue in the summer; the exact date will be announced by the association in May/June via its summer program.

Family Festival with an Educational Focus

The Storchenfest is designed as a multigenerational family festival. The stork's nest is the centerpiece, but the team has staged a full day of education around it: natural garden tours, beekeeper stalls, quiz stations for children, plant identification, and small research experiments. Admission to the Naturhof is free; individual workshops (e.g., felting) charge a small material fee and require registration.

25 Years of Tradition in the Lichtenberg District

The Storchenfest is one of Berlin's oldest nature festivals and celebrated its 25th edition in 2018. Since then, the format has run annually in the same rhythm. The Naturhof is operated by the association Naturschutz Berlin-Malchow and funded in cooperation with the Lichtenberg district office. This makes the Storchenfest a firm fixture in the district's summer calendar in the state of Berlin.

Berlin Countryside on the City Border

Visitors to the Storchenfest enter a part of Berlin that appears surprisingly rural: several historic village greens (Malchow, Wartenberg, Falkenberg) were incorporated into Berlin in the 1920s but retain their old character to this day. The Naturhof is easily accessible via public transport (bus 154, 259) — cyclists can ride directly past the nature reserve and experience the stork region themselves on the final kilometers.