M2 - Circular route Melle-Buer

The village of Buer, only a district of Melle since 1972, has its own, more than 800 years long history. The Bueraner Kirchhofsburg, the Osnabrücker Tor inside, and the tower of the Martinikirche affectionately called "pencil" bear witness to this. This is where the circular route to selected natural beauties of the Wiehengebirge begins.
The mountain ridge, almost entirely forested and up to 320 meters high, forms a nearly insurmountable barrier in an otherwise gently hilly landscape. Cyclists wanting to cross over immediately understand this, even if at Buer there would only be the 181-meter-high Linner Berg to conquer. For everyone else, the "Red Pole" in the district of Meesdorf vividly illustrates the hardships of the ascent. The restored waymarking serves as a reminder of a historic trade route that led from Bremen southwards. To cross the Wiehengebirge, merchants had to hitch additional horses to their wagons here. The red pole marks the end of the ascent - the horses could take a break.

At the youth campsite Melle-Meesdorf, the path meets the Hunte River. The almost 200-kilometer-long tributary of the Weser River originates very close by on the northern slope of the Oldendorfer Berg and found here, between the Linner and the Kleinen Kellenberg, the most favorable spot to carve a breakthrough valley into the Wiehengebirge with a steady flow of water.

Directly at this breakthrough, two life-sized replicas of dinosaurs clearly mark an almost unique fossil site: the footprints of eleven different dinosaurs that walked through soft sand here 150 million years ago, fossilized - and were discovered by quarry workers in 1921. A glass roof protects the impressive petrifications from the weather, information panels from the Nature and UNESCO Geopark TERRA.vita inform about the phenomenon.

After crossing the Wiehengebirge, the path continues through a rural region with only slight inclines. The turning point for the return to Buer is marked by the nature reserve "Im Wischen" with a pretty, clear spring. Those who have time after the tour of barely more than 20 kilometers can make a short detour to Gut Ostenwalde, about three kilometers from Buer. In addition to the former manor, there is a water-powered oil mill from the 15th century. Fully renovated, it is put into operation during demonstrations.