DiVa-Tour

... Paths across the Wiehengebirge and relaxed cycling along the Mittellandkanal, nature experiences and historical technology – between Bramsche and Bad Essen you will experience the full diversity of the region surrounding the Varus Battle on the 115 kilometers of the DiVa Tour.
Its name is derived from the first two letters of those stations that make the DiVa Tour the star among the cycle paths in the Osnabrück region: the petrified dinosaur tracks in Bad Essen and the exhibition on the Varus Battle at the Museum and Park Kalkriese.
Red is also the signal color for cyclists to stop – especially at the Tuchmacher Museum Bramsche. Here you can experience historical machines in action. And you can see how wool fabrics were produced here until 1972, which were in demand all over the world. Especially those in the color Bramscher Rot, which dressed Hanoverian and English soldiers. It is obtained from madder plants that thrive in the dye garden of the industrial monument.
Outside the gates of Bramsche, it turns green. Either you first enjoy nature along the Mittellandkanal on gradient-free paths. Or you climb the gentle hills of the Wiehengebirge and revel in the alternation between shady forests and open heights with wide views.
From the observation tower on the Kalkrieser Berg, for example, you look down on the Museum and Park Kalkriese and the historic site of the Varus Battle. The rapid descent is definitely worth it. Because the impressive exhibition shows how generations of researchers searched for the location of the legendary "Battle of the Teutoburg Forest," which they ultimately found here at the Wiehengebirge. The museum and park also provide deep insights into the lives of Romans and Germans 2,000 years ago. And before the Romans came? Did people live as shown by the Iron Age house in Venne.
And before there were even people? Dinosaurs took beach walks near Bad Essen. The tropical ocean of yesteryear retreated to the North Sea, the giant lizards became extinct. All that remains are their tracks in the sandstone, which were found in the quarry of Barkhausen almost 100 years ago. Today, they are one of the most famous experience stations of the TERRA.vita Nature Park. Lifesize replicas show exactly which animals immortalized themselves here. Information panels explain how hard stone turned from a beach. The fact that this stone became attractive buildings is shown in the further course of the DiVa Tour. Churches, for example, and the water castle Alt Barenaue, the neo-Gothic castle Ippenburg, and even the old town of Bad Essen. While enjoying a tea, a hearty potato dish, or something sweet on the cozy church square of the spa town, you may enjoy the view of wooden half-timbered houses, but the square and alleys are paved with stones. Stones that have been polished over the years by countless hikers, strollers, and cyclists. In the sun, they shine almost like gemstones. They suit the DiVa very well.