The Wendland is a region in the far east Lower Saxonys, bordering on Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. The region is known for its lush nature, the unique round villages and the numerous artists and artisans who live here.
The Wendland also became known for its diverse and creative protests against the transport of nuclear waste to Gorleben.
Away from big cities and mass tourism, the Wendland is a holiday region that is ideal for cycling due to the flat landscape, the low population density and the well-preserved natural area. Families with children can spend their holidays on the farm or riding stables or simply enjoy the space and nature. The wooded hills of the Drawehn are particularly popular with hikers, but art and culture lovers will also find an offer here that is unparalleled in rural areas.
places
Characteristic of the Wendland are the countless small villages that are scattered across the landscape, often with only a few dozen residents. Many of these villages have names that sound unusual to visitors at first. They are called Wibbese, Kriwitz, Redemoißel or Waddeweitz, Lomitz, Dickfeitzen and Satemin. This can be traced back to the original inhabitants of the region, because the Wendland was once the westernmost area of Germany populated by Slavic peoples (Wends), which the place names still bear witness to today. In addition to the many villages, there are some market towns and smaller towns in the Wendland.
Rundling villages
The shape of many villages is unique. Traditionally, the houses here were arranged in a circle around a vacant village square, with the gable side towards the center. Usually there was only one way in and out of the village. Fields and meadows of the respective courtyards stretched in a wedge shape behind the houses. Once there were more than 200 of the villages known as Rundlinge in the area. In about a hundred of them, the characteristic shape is still clearly visible today. In many villages, the historical building fabric is also still well preserved. Magnificent Low German hall houses with richly decorated ornamental beams above large entrance portals are grouped around the green village square. Probably the most famous rounds like Lübelnwhere there is also a Rundlingsmuseum, Satemin, Schreyahn and Bussau lie between the county seat Lüchow (Wendland) and the market town Clenze. But also further east, especially in the Lemgow, there are round villages that are well worth seeing.
District town Lüchow (Wendland)
District town and largest town in the Wendland is Lüchow (Wendland). About 9,300 people live in the half-timbered town. There are numerous small and large shops here where everything for daily needs can be purchased. Special sights of the town are the official tower, the last remnant of the former Lüchower Castle, the St. John's Church with its free-standing bell tower and the historic St. Anne's cemetery. Lüchow also has the world's first Rolling Stones fan museum, where visitors can marvel at countless exhibits from past decades. There are also other leisure options such as a year-round swimming pool, a cinema and a bowling alley in the district town.
More places
Other interesting touristic places in Wendland are the historic little town located directly on the Elbe Hitzacker (Elbe) as well as the place located on a picturesque lake Gartow (Elbe). The Gartower Castle and the Wendland thermal baths are particularly worth a visit. The Lower Saxony Elbe Valley Biosphere Reserve extends around Hitzacker. In the city itself, it is worth visiting the Archaeological Center, a Bronze Age open-air museum, and the museum in the old customs house, which also offers trips on the Elbe with a sofa raft on request.
Second largest city in Wendland with around 8,000 inhabitants Dannenberg (Elbe). Other bigger places are Bergen on the stupid, Clenze and Schnackenburg, the smallest German municipality with city rights.
nature
The entire Wendland, with the exception of the Lower Saxony Elbe Valley Biosphere Reserve, is part of the Elbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park. The nature here is well preserved and very diverse. The landscape is mostly flat. Numerous meadows and fields, many of which are cultivated according to ecological standards, characterize the picture. But also large forest areas, such as the Gartower Forest and the Göhrde, the largest contiguous mixed forest area in Northern Germany, can be found in the Wendland. In the middle of the Gartower Forest there is also an approximately 550 hectare heathland area, the Nemitzer Heide, which was created in 1975 as a result of a forest fire and attracts numerous visitors every year when the heather is in bloom. It is a little more hilly in the north and east of the Wendland, where the Drawehn ridge shapes the landscape.
The biodiversity in the Wendland is high. Many plants and animals that are almost extinct in other areas can still be found in the Wendland. Not only can the traces of the beavers living here be discovered at Gartower See, but with a bit of luck, sea eagles can also be observed. Especially near the Elbe, numerous pairs of cranes nest every year and the wolf has also been at home in the Wendland for several years.
Culture and history
mobility
getting there
The Wendland is only partially easy to reach by public transport. The Lower Saxony ticket of Deutsche Bahn is valid for the Lower Saxony part. It should be noted that some stretches through Salzwedel lead that to the neighboring country Saxony-Anhalt heard - the Lower Saxony ticket is not valid here.
From Lüneburg there is a regional train every three hours to Dannenberg with a stop in Hitzacker (journey time approx. 1:15 h) at the low HVV tariff (Hamburger Verkehrsverbund). There are also numerous connections between Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover and Magdeburg above Uelzen or. Salzwedel. Another train station in the district is Schnega.
There are buses to Lüchow from Uelzen and Salzwedel. At the weekend, some buses only run on request, so you have to register at least two hours in advance. Due to the low demand, the buses are being replaced by a taxi, but the fare is the same as for the bus.
To go biking
hike
The European long-distance footpath E6 runs once from north to south through the Wendland.
Tourist Attractions
- Rundlingsdorf Satemin - the most famous round village of the Wendland, which is about 4 km west of Lüchow (Wendland) lies (info).
- 1 Rundlingsdorf Schreyahn.
The village has won the competition "Our village should be more beautiful" in Lower Saxony several times.
- Half-timbered old towns Dannenberg, Hitzacker and Lüchow.
- 1 Erratic boulder park Clenzer Switzerland. On a 450 m long spiral path lined with boulders, you can go on a journey into the history of the earth. The freely accessible park is located in the middle of the forest about 4 km northwest of Clenze. You can find it on the road to Reddereitz.
- Serpentine road in Clenz Switzerland - About 3 km west of Clenze there is one of the few serpentine roads in northern Germany. This can be found on the road from the B71 (comes from Uelzen) to Clenze. The road does not have real hairpin bends, as we know them from mountain roads. But there are several tight "arcs" that you can drive through even better on a two-wheeler. The difference in altitude in the curve area is around 40 - 50 meters in altitude. Position of the curves with a slope towards Clenze: 52 ° 55 '48 "N.10 ° 54 '49 "E
- Govelin field lily path in the High Drawehn. There are 12 information boards on the 4.4 km long path that report on the cultural landscape of the Drawehn through the ages.
- Beluga in Gorleben - The Beluga, previously used by Greenpeace as a ship in the fight against atomic bomb tests, stands as a memorial against the use of atomic energy between the interim storage facility and the exploratory mine, together with information about the more than 40 years of resistance of the local population against nuclear facilities
Nemitzer Heide
The Nemitzer Heide is south of Trebel Lüchow (Wendland) and Gartow to find. This heathland is still very good it is young. It only came into being in 1975 after a major forest fire that destroyed a total of 20 square kilometers of forest. On the 400 hectare heath there is an information center with an exhibition on the history of the Nemitz heath. Three circular hiking trails open up the heather area. The information center with café in the Heidehaus Nemitz burned down in November 2009 and was reopened as a completely new building for the 2011 season. Location of the hiking car park at the information center: 52 ° 59 ′ 22 ″ N.11 ° 19 '58 "E.. In 2003, the heather east of the existing area was expanded by 160 hectares. The heather is slowly settling on the areas of the former pine monoculture.
Lookout points and towers
Although the Wendland is only hilly, you can still find some points with beautiful views over the country - especially on the high banks of the Elbe:
- Lookout tower on the Hoher Mechtin in Drawehn - The Drawehn "ridge" runs through the Wendland in a north-south direction. The ridge was created as a terminal moraine by glaciers from the "Saale Ice Age". The highest elevation is the inconspicuous Hohe Mechtlin at 142 m. At the top is a lookout tower that was rebuilt in 2015. Location tower: 53 ° 2 ′ 39 ″ N.10 ° 54 '34 "E. Pictures of the view are in the Wikipedia article "Hoher Mechtin" to find.
- Kiepenberg observation tower on the high bank of the Elbe - The tower stands at a height of 69 m on the northern slope of the Drawehn to the Elbe. From the tower you have a beautiful view of the nearby stream: Location of the parking lot near the tower: 53 ° 11 ′ 41 ″ N.10 ° 57 '59 "E (is about 7 km downstream from Hitzacker)
- Hitzacker observation tower on the high bank of the Elbe - The open wooden tower stands at a height of 80 m on the high bank of the Elbe about 2 km northwest of the old town. Approximate location of the tower: 53 ° 9 '35 "N.11 ° 1 '52 "E
- Lookout tower on the Höhbeck - The Ice Age moraine, 5 km north of Gartow on the Elbe, is a landmark that can be seen from afar thanks to its 344 m high transmitter mast. The second transmission mast was built in 2009 blown up. From the wooden observation tower you can see the Elbe, which is about 80 m below. Not far from the observation tower you can find a coffee shop for contemplation. Location of the parking lot directly at the tower: 53 ° 4 ′ 19 ″ N.11 ° 26 '17 "E
- The 97 m high, visible from afar as an idiosyncratic landmark Torii Tower Incidentally, it is not possible to climb near Gusborn and is therefore of no tourist interest.
Museums
- The 13 museums in WendlandOverview
- Rundlingsmuseum Wendlandhof Lübeln near Lüchow - open-air museum with historical buildings from the region.
- Schnackenburger Grenzlandmuseum - Exhibition on the division of Germany. Schnackenburg was very badly affected by the iron curtain due to its location in the eastern tip of Lower Saxony.
- Visit to the Gorleben exploration mine - The "Gorleben exploration shaft", known by interested parties as a possible nuclear waste disposal facility, can also be visited. It has not yet been finally clarified whether a repository will one day be built in Gorleben. The exploration work was stopped on December 31, 2012. Results so far indicate that it is not suitable. The mine is still being serviced. A final decision on a repository in Gorleben has not yet been made. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection operates an information point on the mine site with an exhibition on the disposal of radioactive waste. Appointments to view the shaft can also be arranged here. Contact: Information point of the BfS Gorleben, Rottlebener Weg 1, 29475 Gorleben, Tel .: 03018 333-1155, info. The Citizens' initiative for environmental protection in Lüchow-Dannenberg offers information and guided tours on the protest against the nuclear facilities in Gorleben info.
Open churches
- 3 St. John's Church
- St. George Church, Gartow.
- St. Nicolai Church, Schnackenburg.
activities
- Cycling
- Visit of Wendland thermal baths in Gartow.
Regular activities
- Every year between Ascension and Pentecost is the Cultural country party an attractive point of attraction in the region. Craftsmen and artists in the region then show their work on site in workshops and on farms. The wide arc between traditional handicraft and avant-garde art shows the spectrum of creativity for which the Wendland with its unique surroundings offers the right breeding ground.
- In February, Hitzacker stands with the Music week in the cultural center of the Wendland.
- The region is characterized by the protests against the nuclear waste facilities in Gorleben, the nuclear waste transports that often take place in November to the Wendland and the establishment of a bioenergy region.
kitchen
nightlife
security
climate
literature
Cycling maps:
- Themed bike maps of the Elbtalaue-Wendland biosphere region: The four cycle touring maps issued in 2012 for the Elbtalaue-Wendland biosphere region contain a total of 12 tours as well as connections to national long-distance cycle paths and the general tourist cycle path network. All routes shown on the maps are extensively signposted. In addition to the new cycle path network, the map user also receives a lot of information about the area shown. After the blue 1: 50,000 map of the nature park is no longer issued by LNG, this is the best cycling map for the Wendland Order
- Wendland 1: 75,000 - official cycling map 13 the LGN (land surveying and geographic base information Lower Saxony), ISBN 3894356405 , Price: € 7.90, card with booklet
