Sole & Kneipp tour

The view from Iburg Castle makes you want to get to know the beautiful landscape better. That's why there is the approximately 50-kilometer long Sole & Kneipp Tour, which also connects Bad Iburg with two other healthy places: Bad Laer and Bad Rothenfelde with their charming spa parks and historic town centers. The tour leads over the Teuto Ridge, through the Borgloher Schweiz, around the Kleiner Berg and through vast meadows and fields. It's not exactly easy to manage, but there are e-bikes and plenty of good places to eat along the way. In early summer, you should plan to stop in the area of Glandorf. Numerous farm cafes then serve freshly harvested asparagus. Allegedly, some cyclists even take two lunch breaks here.

What makes the tour particularly exciting is the comparison between the three spas or health resorts, each with its own unique charm. If you start in Bad Iburg, you already know the Kneipp spa town: a residence castle on the hill, a forest spa park with a treetop walkway, a Kneipp adventure park with plenty of water.

Following the route clockwise, you first head to Bad Rothenfelde, the elegant summer resort of the nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie of past centuries. Around the 18-hectare spa park with its huge graduation towers, there are numerous villas from the time of the turn of the century. Some buildings even date back to the early 18th century - the time when the first brine spring was discovered and salt production began. If you have enough time, you should definitely treat yourself to two to three hours at the carpesol Spa Therme. If time is short, you should at least take a quick look at the rose garden at the east end of the graduation towers: 6,000 plants - each more beautiful than the other. It's worth it.

A short distance away, passing the "Natura 2000" protected area of Kleiner Berg, you reach Bad Laer, a cozy and family-friendly brine health resort. The centerpiece of the local spa park is the Glockensee, which is fed by a brine spring, just like the graduation tower pavilion. The focal point of the half-timbered village is the St. Marien Church with an unusually large and old tower, the Griese Toarn. It was built from Piepstein, a stone that is unique to this area. The fine tube or piep structure of the stone is reflected in a local specialty: the Piepstein praline, which can be bought in the confectionery shop across the street.

The return journey to Bad Iburg, as mentioned, leads through asparagus fields. Everyone knows what to do in early summer when one of the farm restaurants comes into view.