Hermannsburg: Through heath, woodlands and the Oertze valley (day tour, approx. 40 km)
A day-tour by bicycle in Suedheide
Nature Park through the Oertze lowland.
Cycle through the diversified
countryside and the typical, small heath village of Oldendorf, Suelze and
Eversen.
Small wooden bridges along the
Rover Oertze invite you to rest awhile and enjoy the view of the Oertze valley.
Interesting observations of local wildlife can be made here.
The bicycle tour returns through
woodlands and heath areas to the point of departure.
The bicycle tour is suitable for
children thanks to its largely flat and even surfaces.
Tip: Take a break at Salinenhaus in Suelze.
Oertze, river of the heath
The source of the river Oertze is
located on the military training grounds at Munster-Nord, from where it flows
south until it joins the river Aller in Winsen.
A strong feed of groundwater keeps
the water of the Oertze permanently cool. It is also known as a “summer-cold”
heath river. The largely pristine riverbed winds like a serpentine through the
broad Oertze valley, where depressions, steep banks and interchanging gravel
and sand banks bear witness to the river’s structural richness.
The water’s high quality and the
surrounding meadows and woodlands help support a very diverse flora and fauna.
Brown trout and bullheads are just as much at home here as kingfishers and fish
otters. Yellow water iris and ragged robin flower near the river’s banks.
The inclusion of the Oertze river
system in the European protection scheme Natura 2000 emphasises its high
ecological importance.
Salt production
The name Suelze is a reference to
the saline source located in the vicinity.
The salt was thickened at the local
graduation house before it was transported to the simmering houses. A model at
the new information house explains how the saline concentration was produced.
The process required large quantities of peat that was dug up around the village
of Suelze. Numerous simmering houses were erected to simmer the water out of
the saline concentrate in iron pans.
Charakteristik
Tour length: approx. 40 km
Route
condition: paved cycle paths, asphalted
agricultural and cycle paths and some woodland tracks
Signposting:
The pictogram shown here lines the entire route.
Directions to
the car park at Hermannsburg town hall:
Am Markt 3, 29320 Hermannsburg
Coordinates: N 52° 49.91560', E 010° 05.20508'
Recommended
bicycles: touring bikes, trekking bikes and e-bikes
Further
information:
Tourist Information der Gemeinde Südheide
Am Markt 3, 29320 Hermannsburg
Tel. 05052 6574
www.hermannsburg-urlaub.de
www.regioncelle.de
Route
description:
The bicycle tour begins at the Tourist
Information Office of Suedheide in the town hall. Maps and
additional information are available here. Free parking is available behind the
town hall.
Cycle down Cellerstrasse and Lotharstraße
and then into Schlüpker Weg, from where the tour is then signposted.
The cycle path takes you through Schlüpke
and runs parallel to the river Oertze to Oldendorf. Information
boards are the local flora and fauna of the Oertze valley can be found opposite
the camp site and at the Haus der Natur in
Beutzener Weg.
The cycle path then leads through the
forest from Beutzen to Eversen.
Small information boards on the characteristic buildings at the heart of the
historic heath village tell of its history.
The cycle path continues to Suelze. The
Saline Information House and various models of the Saline explain
the history of Suelze village and salt mining.
Further along the cycle tour lie the
isolated farm Twiesselhop that housed a salt simmering station in the 17th
century and the manor Feuerschützenbostel on the wayside.
The cycle tour continues through typical
heath woodlands to Altensalzkoth and Miele and then on past small heath areas
to Hermannsburg. The heath area near Angelbecks Pond features a barrier-free
circular trail with information about the heathland.
