Horseshoe Route

A horse on the Horseshoe Route? Cyclists will certainly discover one along the 105-kilometer route through the Nature and UNESCO Geopark TERRA.vita. But actually, it's about much more. Firstly, the cycling path literally forms a horseshoe-shaped arc around Osnabrück. It leads along the ridges of the Wiehen Mountains and Teutoburg Forest through charming cultural and natural landscapes, through Belm, Bissendorf, Georgsmarienhüte, Hagen a.T.W., Hasbergen and Wallenhorst.

Secondly, the Horseshoe Route thematically spans the great arc from the Ice Age through the Stone Age to industrial culture: At 46 architectural and natural monuments, cyclists learn the very special story of each place. For example, at the old Hollage quarry, they look back millions of years to Earth's history. They learn in the Vehrte erratic boulder garden that the glaciers of the Ice Age pushed huge granite blocks here from Scandinavia. From these erratics, people built huge megalithic tombs like the Jeggen dolmen around 5,000 years ago and about 1,200 years ago the foundation of the Old St. Alexander's Church.

Along the way, there are also historic railway facilities and castle ruins, monasteries and cherry trees of the German Fruit Genebank, an old mining shaft and a half-timbered parsonage with a pottery museum. The stories of all these places are told by local guides - via mobile phone, which reacts on site to a QR code or the appropriate telephone number.

Additionally, cyclists learn at the central info points of the six major stage towns legends and sagas - about the dragon of Wallenhorst, a haunting spinner and Hüggel dwarves, about werewolves, the ghost dog of Bissendorf and about the Devil's Oven.

A little superstition can't hurt when you're already on the Horseshoe Route.

The Horseshoe Guides are certified guest guides who offer individual routes in the Horseshoe communities and on the Horseshoe Route. All important information about the tours and booking options can be found here.