Cycle tour around Fassberg: where the Long-beards once lived (day tour, 26 km)
This charming bicycle tour around
Fassberg in Suedheide nature park starts at the car park in Oberohe, which is
opposite an ideally located picnic area.
On the first stage you will be taken back in time to a few hundred years A.D. and then on through picturesque nature. You will see unique natural spectacles and historical sights and enjoy the peace and quiet that surrounds the heath river Oertze.
Who were the Long-beards?
The Langobarden once inhabited the region around Gerdehaus. Langobarden translates as “Longbeards” and this tour
through the heath bears their name.
The horseman’s grave at
Hankenbostel was discovered in its original historic state during sand
excavations in 1900. The grave furniture including valuable spurs, scissors made
of iron and a silver belt buckle are today on display at the Museum of Lower
Saxony in Hanover. These finds indicate that the grave must have belonged to a
wealthy horseman of the Longbeard tribe who lived here during the 2nd
century A.D. The Germanic tribe of the Langobarden relocated much later and
establsihed a kingdom in Italy in the 6th century.
Juniper forest on Devil’s Heath
The juniper forest on Devil’s Heath is one of the most significant natural monuments in Lower Saxony. Juniper was once considered a heath weed back in the times of heath farming.
But our ancestors also appreciated the wood of the juniper bush as material for heating, smoke and lathing, and today its blue berries are coveted as spices and as raw materials for distilling gin. Juniper berries were already an important export commodity in the 19th century.
The pest houses of the Middle Ages
were fumigated with juniper branches and the plant said to have magical and
medicinal properties was used domestically throughout the centuries: a branch
above the door afforded protection from witches, devils and ghosts and the
plant was considered as a giver of life and health.
When dusk falls or the day breaks,
or when mist curls around the trees, the juniper forest appears full of
mystical structures and is the source of many a local tale.
In today’s cultural landscape,
however, the nutrient-poor and sandy locations preferred by juniper and heather
have become scarce and woodlands populated by spruce trees have gained the
upper hand.
Charakteristik
Tour length: 26 km
Path
conditions:
mainly asphalted
cycle paths and agricultural tracks, paved cycle path from Oberohe to the
juniper forest and short stretches on unpaved forest tracks with sandy
patches.
Signposting:
The pictogram shown here lines the entire route.
Directions to
Gerdehaus car park:
You can reach the
car park via the L 280 Mueden (Oertze) towards Unterluess. Turn right in
Gerdeaus after approx. 6 km to Gerdehaus car park.
The CeBus Line 261
stops at Gerdehaus on weekdays. Maps and other information are available from
Tourist Information Mueden (Oertze).
Coordinates: N 52° 52.79073', E 010° 11.10764'
Recommended
bicycles:
touring bikes/
trekking bikes and e-bikes
Further
information:
Tourist Information Muden (Oertze)
Unterlüßer Str. 5, 29328 Mueden (Oertze)
Tel. 05053 989222
www.touristinformation-mueden.de
or
www.region-celle-navigator.de
Route:
The remains of a
Longbeard grave were found very close to the town car park, indicating that the
Germanic tribe of the Langobarden had once settled in the area.
The bicycle tour
covers a short stretch on the L 280 past Unterluess to Oberohe. It
is not so long ago that diatomite, the “white gold” of the heath, was mined
here.
The next station
lies in Lower Saxony’s largest and most beautiful juniper
forest. It consists of countless, long and thin (male) or slightly shorter
and rounder (female) bushes that grow close together on an area of some 20
hectares. The Devil’s Heath has weather huts that are ideal for taking a short
break.
The tour continues
alongside expansive fields and through the small, typical heath village of
Schmarbeck, which is home to one of the herds of moorland sheep. The village is
characterised by historic heath farms with old oak trees and traditional
timber-framed buildings.
Cycle through the
forest to reach Fassberg and the Airlift Memorial. Here, you can discover authentic reports from the post-war days
of the Berlin Blockade and the history of the airlift.
After a
diversified ride through the village and on through fields and woodlands, you
will come to Poitzen, where you will join the river
forest adventure trail and follow it to Mueden/Oertze.
Known as the
“Pearl of the Heath”, you will love the heath village with its historic
farmhouses at the old centre and the watermill .
The cycle tour
around Fassberg ends back at Gerdehaus car park.
