Osnabrücker Land

In the first low mountain ranges of Germany’s Northwest, the Osnabrücker Land enriches the TERRA.vita nature experience in many ways: via exciting encounters with world history, numerous cultural and culinary highlights, as well as via exciting possibilities for active vacationers.

For example, the Teuto-Ems “Grenzgängerroute” (cross-country route), a premium ADFC (General German Bicycling Club) four-star cycling route in the region, follows historical paths to the Schloss Iburg (Iburg Palace) on a spur of the Teutoburg Forest, to other small castles, and to welcoming courtyard cafes serving field-fresh culinary delights such as asparagus, farm-produced hams, or fresh strawberries. Moreover, three of the four health resort towns of the Osnabrück Land are located along the route. With just a single spa card, you can enjoy all the thermal baths, spas, Salinas, spa parks, and other vitalizing offers in Bad Laer, Bad Iburg, Bad Rothenfelde, and Bad Essen. And speaking of parks, the most beautiful of them can be visited along the GartenTraum (Garden Dreams) Tour. This 170-km (106-mile) bicycling tour connects about three dozen gardens and parks – from lovely private gardens to museum display gardens, including the Dyers Garden at the Tuchmacher Museum and the Botanicum of the Kalkriese Museum and Archeological Park at the site of the “Varusschlacht” (Battle of the Teutoburg Forest). The world-famous exhibition shows a turning point in the history of the world and the everyday life of Romans and Germans at the beginning of the first century.

The Eisenzeithaus (Iron Age House) in Ostercappeln-Venne, shows how the people here lived before the invasion of the Romans 300 years BC. You can experience the country life of later centuries at the uniquely grand half-timbered houses in Artland and in numerous historical mills. Most of them are driven by the power of water, as there are numerous springs in these lowland mountains.