Megalith Culture cycle route

Along the Megalith Culture cycle route, you will discover more than 70 megalithic tombs and their fascinating history. Built at the end of the Stone Age between 3500 and 3200 BC, the Neolithic burial sites mark a turning point: the way of life of hunters and gatherers was abandoned, settled farmers took over the land between the Weser and Ems rivers and founded the farming culture that still shapes northwestern Lower Saxony today.

Some of these monuments to eternity are hidden in the twilight of deep forests. Others stand elevated on open heath and form landmarks visible from afar. However, their original meaning was long forgotten. This gave rise to legends: mysterious structures made of ton-heavy granite blocks? – Giants built their megalithic graves there. Or Charlemagne showed the heathens the power of the Christian God, it is said about the megalithic tomb in Wallenhorst-Rulle. Often the devil was seen at work, and folklore invented diabolic names: Devil’s Stones, Devil’s Bread Trough, and Devil’s Oven, for example.

Besides these legends, along the cultural route you will mainly learn facts about the Neolithic – and they are at least as exciting. Today it is known that people about 5,500 years ago already harnessed oxen as draft animals in front of their carts, used pulleys, and applied the lever laws that Archimedes formulated 3,000 years later. In addition, megalithic tombs offer insights into the communal life of the Neolithic.

People placed food, weapons, and jewelry in the burial chambers for their dead, which were used for numerous burials. They apparently believed in an afterlife and venerated their ancestors. And they certainly bred cattle, sheep, and pigs and cultivated emmer, einkorn, and barley. All these foods were found as grave goods in “funnel beakers,” the typical ceramic vessels of the northwest of that time.

The “Exhibition Center for the Archaeology of the Emsland” in Meppen and the “State Museum for Nature and Man” in Oldenburg present replicas of megalithic tombs with complete equipment. The “Prehistoric Center Wildeshausen” (UZW), opening in 2025, lets you dive into the era of megalithic tombs. Information boards at the sites provide backgrounds on individual burial places. And the official handbook for the Megalith Culture cycle route provides the big overview.

Besides evidence of this exciting epoch, the cycle route also shows the unique farm culture of the Artland. It also allows – after a short detour – enjoyable stays at the brine spa town Bad Essen and leads to other attractive places. For example, the Town Hall of the Peace of Westphalia in Osnabrück and the Museum and Park Kalkriese, which at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest shows the cooperation and conflict of Romans and Germans 2,000 years ago. As said: 5,500 years of cultural history on a single exciting route.