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. But actually, it's about much more. Because the cycle path first literally takes a horseshoe-shaped arc 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 great arc from the Ice Age through the Stone Age to industrial culture: At 46 architectural and natural monuments, cyclists learn the very special history of each place. For example, at the old Hollage quarry, they look back millions of years into Earth's history. In the Vehrte boulder garden, they learn that the glaciers of the Ice Age pushed huge granite blocks from Scandinavia here. From these erratics, people built massive megalithic tombs around 5,000 years ago, such as the Jeggen Dolmen 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 and cherry trees of the German Fruit Gene Bank, an old mining shaft, and a half-timbered vicarage with a pottery museum. The stories of all these places are told by local guides - via mobile phone, which responds on-site to a QR code or the appropriate telephone number.

In addition, cyclists learn legends and myths at the central infopoints of the six major stage locations - about the dragon of Wallenhorst, about a haunting spinner and Hüggel dwarfs, 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.