Horseshoe Route

A horse on the Horseshoe Route? Cyclists along the 105-kilometer long route through the Nature and UNESCO Geopark TERRA.vita will certainly also discover it. But actually, it's about much more. Because the cycle path first literally makes a horseshoe-shaped loop around Osnabrück. It leads along the ridges of the Wiehengebirge and Teutoburg Forest through charming cultural and natural landscapes, through Belm, Bissendorf, Georgsmarienhütte, Hagen a.T.W., Hasbergen, and Wallenhorst.

Secondly, thematically, the Horseshoe Route spans the entire spectrum from the Ice Age to the Stone Age to industrial culture: At 46 building and natural monuments, cyclists learn about the very special history of each place. They look back millions of years into the Earth's history at the old Hollage quarry. In the Vehrte boulder garden, they learn that the glaciers of the Ice Age pushed huge granite blocks from Scandinavia here. People built massive megalithic tombs like the Jeggen dolmen around 5,000 years ago from these erratics, and the foundation of the Old St. Alexander Church nearly 1,200 years ago.

Along the way, there are also historical railway facilities and castle ruins, monasteries, cherry trees from the German Gene Bank for Fruit, an old mining shaft, and a half-timbered parish house with a pottery museum. Local guides tell the stories of all these places - via mobile phone, which reacts on-site to a QR code or the appropriate telephone number.

In addition, cyclists learn about legends and myths at the central information points of the six major stage locations - about the dragon of Wallenhorst, about 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 tours in the Horseshoe municipalities and on the Horseshoe Route. You can find all the important information about the tours and booking options here.