Route / stages
The Hünenweg starts in Osnabrück in Lower Saxony – the city of the Peace of Westphalia – and merges into the idyllic Nettetal along historic watermills. In Rulle, the pilgrimage church is an ideal sightseeing opportunity, while the Hünenweg leads to Bramsche past woods and meadows.
The impressive quarry at Ueffeln, where the sea hit the rock face 150 million years ago, will have you gazing in wonder. The megalithic graves in Ankumer Giersfeld serve as a testament to the fascinating legacies of our ancestors. In the legendary nature reserve of Maiburg, the hiking trail runs through the impressive trees and leads to Börstel Monastery, a former Cistercian monastery.
The TERRA.vita Geopark also ends at the border between Osnabrück Land and Emsland. Thanks to the foothills of the Wiehen Hills and the Ankumer Heights, this provides varied climbing opportunities before the hiking trail merges into the flat moor. The Hahnenmoor nature reserve offers breathtaking views into the vastness of the upland moor. The Hünenweg winds across meadows and fields from Herzlake along the Hase river and through the juniper grove to the Hanseatic City of Haselünne. The picturesque landscape of the following stage up to the district capital of Meppen features river floodplains and renatured Hase-Altarme (oxbow lakes). Further along in the direction of the state border, hikers will pass through forested areas and travel along the river Ems to reach the Bourtanger Moor – Bargerveen international nature reserve, which constitutes the largest connected upland moor area in Central Europe.
Beyond this, in the Netherlands, the route runs towards Osterbos through a forested area as well as the Emmerdennen area, which is also affectionately referred to as "little Switzerland". The De Hondsrug UNESCO Global Geopark contains a wealth of remnants left over from the Ice Age, while the Hunebedcentrum near Borger is the largest Hünengrab (megalithic grave) in the Netherlands. Hikers then cross the Drouwenerzand nature reserve, which holds the status of a "geological monument", before reaching the romantic winding river valley of Drentsche Aa National Park. After passing the hilly area of the Appelbergen heathlands, which boasts an enormous density of archeological monuments, you will reach Groningen, with this vibrant student city in the Netherlands constituting the end of the Hünenweg.
