Introduction
This is a rather long, but non strenuous walk of about 18 km, which follows the river Böhme from Klinik Fallingbostel, through Brock and Dorfmark. The first half of the route keeps the river Böhme within sight. Between Brock and Fischendorf, the route runs parallel to the A7 Autobahn. It then explores Fischendorf, and returns to Bad Fallingbostel, through the farms of Untergrünhagen, and Obergrünhagen.
The Böhme has an overall length of 73 kilometers. It originates in the Pietz Moorland, southeast of Schneverdingen, in the Lüneburg heath. It flows south through Soltau, Dorfmark, Bad Fallingbostel, and Walsrode, to join the river Aller between Rethem and Hodenhagen.
The walk is equally pleasant in winter as in spring. In winter the icebound river and snow covered fields have a fascinating aura all of their own. In Spring, with the thawing of the frozen ponds, ducks and amphibians reclaim their breeding grounds. The woodland comes to life with willow buds and catkins. Birds populate the trees. In the undergrowth the ducks, and the first snow drops and crocuses, announce an end to the cold months and welcome in the longer warmer days.
The route follows the markers of a red deer's head in full antlers. These are found nailed to trees and guide you through oak and conifer plantations. Some sections go through marsh, and signs warn of the possible danger of falling overhead branches. In Spring deer are frequently spotted browsing at the borders of open fields.
Klinik Fallingbostel – Dr Reinwein Bridge
The walk starts in the car park where Auf dem Espe meets Kolkweg, just outside Klinik Fallingbostel.
Klinik Fallingbostel was opened in 1975. It is not a hospital for the treatment of acute diseases, but a rehabilitation centre. It treats about 4000 patients annually, most of whom have chronic heart disease, lung disease, arthritis, or diabetic skin ulcers. It also supervises the after care and convalescence of post surgical patients, including those who have undergone transplant surgery.
With the Klinik to your left, cross the lower end of Kolkweg, and take the path at the side of a house with a signpost to the cafe/hotel in Untergrünhagen. This leads downhill through woodland, and passes two ponds on the right. In early Spring, the water edge teems with frog spawn.
The black dots inside the frog spawn jelly hatch three weeks after being laid. Four weeks later, depending on the water's temperature, the frog spawn turn into tiny eel shaped tadpoles, which in due course sprout legs, and metamorphose into miniature frogs. In cold weather it can take up to five months for the frog spawn to turn into frogs. The frogs live on dry land till spring, when they make their way back to the shallow edges of ponds to spawn, thus completing their life cycle.
Just beyond the ponds take the turning on your left leading to Dr Reinwein Brücke, for a magnificent first view of the River Böhme. This bridge can be rather slippery in winter.
The bridge is possibly named after Professor Helmuth Reinwein (1895–1966), who was Professor of Internal Medicine in 1927, and Director of Medicine in the University Clinic Gießen in 1934. Between 1942–1962 he was Director of Medicine at Kiel. Reinwein advocated patient centred care, at a time when patient autonomy was an alien concept. He treated the patient as an individual, stressing the priority of a good history and physical examination, over dependence on laboratory tests and imagery.
River Böhme – Vierde
Cross Dr Reinwein bridge, and walk through open ground towards a T junction. The reeds on your right often hide nesting mallard ducks (Anas boschas). The female in her dull brown colour is well camouflaged to blend with her surroundings, as opposed to the drake with his brilliant green head and neck and brown chest. Turn right and note the first deer's head sign pointing the correct way. The path meanders along the banks of the river. Initially it is quite close to the water's edge. However, as the river winds along the slopes of the Lieth, the path deviates away from it. In the open space on the opposite side of the river, grazing deer can sometimes be seen.
Further on, just before the trek turns to the right, you come to Wolf Valley. The Gothic writing on a board attached to a conifer tree states:
At this site, in 1526, two bold wolves were killed by the sword, and Ilse Von Idingen was rescued.
This was a time when wolves posed a constant threat to man and farm stock alike. Farmers protected their animals by digging baited wolf traps outside their farms.
The path carries on under a canopy of conifers, and comes to a Y junction. The left trek heads towards Klint. Keep to the right until you reach a clearing with a squirrel and deer head signs nailed to the same tree. Veer right, and carry on ahead until you reach Camping Platz Böhmeschlucht in Vierde.
Camping Platz Böhmeschlucht is an all year caravan park for 115 long term caravans. It also has an area by the river for forty tents.
Traverse the camp site towards the booking office, and at the sign stating that you are 2.8 Km from Fallingbostel, turn right, and go downhill towards, but not right up to, the river. Follow the road to the left and head towards a bridge over the Böhme. This leaves the campsite and enters a conifer plantation.
Vierde to Brock
Cross the bridge, and carry on straight ahead through woodland. Where the path is blocked by a gate, make a detour to the right, on to the Küddelse–Vierde road so as to circumvent the private residence. Follow the road down towards Vierde, until you come to another bridge over the Böhme. Do not cross the bridge. Instead, take the forest track on your right. This is more like a tractor road than a footpath. It leads straight into a conifer plantation, curves to the right, and proceeds up an embankment to the edge of a field bounded by a wire fence.
Facing the fence, go through a gate to your left. In winter the ground here can be marshy, so take care where you tread. The railway line is to your right on the far side of the field, the river is on your left. Straight ahead is a dilapidated animal shelter, and further on ahead, in the corner of the field towards the river, is another gate which lets you out of this enclosure.
Leave the field through this second gate, and descend to a brook which empties into the Böhme. Take care as you cross over the water on logs which act as a makeshift bridge. Ascend the opposite bank, using the crude steps provided, to come out in a small clearing at a corner of another field.
The deer's head sign appears on the tree to your right and points to the railway line. Ignore this. Instead turn left, keeping the fence to your right, and the river on your left. Follow the path which goes in a relatively straight line, over two sections of boggy terrain which are conveniently covered with wooden planks. The embankment is strewn with moranic boulders, remnants of the last ice age 10,000 years ago when the glaciers retreated.
The path heads towards Brock and comes to a top of a ridge which descends towards a footbridge over marshy ground. It then skirts around some large conifers, and heads left towards the river and the bridge leading to the campsite at Brock.
Brock: Reconstructed Bronze Age Burial
At Brock, do not cross the bridge, but take the path to your right and head uphill towards the roar of the motorway traffic. This brings you to an open site where a 1000 year old Linden tree once grew. There is also a reconstruction of a Bronze Age Burial accompanied by an information board.
An upright stone commemorates the 1000 year old Linden tree which was felled by a gale in November 1972. The stone was erected by Dorfmark Tourist Office, and states that the present younger Linden tree was planted on 4 April 1976. Close by is a circular enclosure representing a bronze age burial mound circa 1200 BCE. In the base of the mound a chieftain and his wife would have been entombed in two split oak coffins.
In 1981 the Institute for the Preservation of Monuments excavated the burial mound known as Vierde 5. In 1983 the layout of the burial mound was reconstructed at the site of the 1000 year old Linden tree near Brock. Towards the northern edge of the circle lies Grave One, that of a child 1.6 metres tall. A clay beaker was found at the foot of the child. The southern coffin was probably that of a female as indicated by the arrangement of blue glass beads, and a bracelet, both characteristic of the Lüneburg Bronze Age. The oak coffin in the centre entombed a man about 1.9 metres tall. His clothes were fastened at the neck with a bronze needle. A head of a lance was found at his right foot, and a dagger, rested on his left breast. This grave is interesting because a weapon of war appears in burials of this period for the first time.
From the area of the former 1000 year old Linden tree, go over a bridge and join Freudenthalweg. This is a paved and relatively straight road popular with dog walkers, which heads for about 1.5 km to the outskirts of Dorfmark. The roar of the motorway traffic is a constant companion as you head to within sight of the first farms in Fischendorf.
Fischendorf — Dorfmark
Dorfmark first appeared in archives in 968 when the Emperor Henry II gave his chaplain Thiodorico a farm with the name of Thormarca, present day Dorfmark. It received its new civic arms in 1968, on the 1000th year of its foundation. The escutcheon shows a reinforced scythe for the cutting of heather, beneath which are four Lime leaves arranged in the shape of a cross. These symbolise the once independent farming communities of Fischendorf, Dorfmark, Westendorf and Winkelhausen, which in 1927 were incorporated into the small town of Dorfmark. The river Böhme separates the communities of Fischendorf and Dorfmark from those of Westendorf and Winkelhausen.
Dorfmark has now about 3,800 inhabitants, and covers an area of 15.48 square kilometers. Its streets are lined with Linden (lime) trees. It has a number of 15th–19th century open–hall farm houses (Hallenhäuser) typical of the farms in Lower Saxony. In the regional organisation of 1974, Dorfmark became incorporated in the municipality of Bad Fallingbostel.
Freudenthalweg ends in Einzinger Straße. To the right, Einzinger Straße leads to the Hamburg/Hannover Autobahn exit 46, and then enters the restricted military zone. To the left, it becomes Fischendorfer Straße, crosses the river Böhme, and joins Westendorfer Straße.
At Fischendorfer Straße 5, just before the bridge over the Böhme, is a farm built in 1764 by Hans Peter Elling and Anna Ilse Cors. This was erected on the site on an earlier farm dating from 1528.
The front of the house carries two inscriptions. The top is from Psalm 127 (Trust in Providence). It reads:
If the Lord does not build the house
In vain the masons toil.
If the Lord does not guard the town
In vain the sentries watch.
In vain you get up earlier.
Anno 7 Oct 1764.
The inscription above the door takes the form of a prayer and reads:
Bless O Lord
My entrance and my exit.
From beginning to end
Deliver us from all evil.
1764
Hans Peter Elling—Anna Ilse Cors.
Fischendorfer Straße leads into Hauptstraße. At the junction of Fischendorfer Straße with Bargmann Straße is a large barn with an overhanging roof typical of the farms in the area. Follow Fischendorfer Straße into Hauptstraße.
Straight across, at No 65 Hauptstraße is a large farm. It originates from 1378, when a mill occupied the place. In the 16th century, the mill evolved into a farm which burnt down several times. When the military training area encroached on its lands, the farmer sold up and moved to Holstein. After WW II the dairy farm and the old mill were used as a saw mill, and the stables converted into a workshop. Farming still takes place today, as is evident from the huge bales of hay stored in its large barns. The farm is also home of the Dorfmark Lower Saxony Pack of Hounds.
Most of the farms have been modified over the years to make them habitable to their present owners. Some were set alight by the Swedish army during the 30 Years War (1618–1648), when Gustavus Adolphus invaded northern Germany, in 1630. Others suffered the depredation of Napoleon's armies.
The Linden lined Hauptstraße leads to the hub of Dorfmark, which is the subject of another walk. Cross Hauptstraße opposite the E NeuKauf and bakery at No 2 Post Straße, and walk up the road towards the railway station. Most of the houses around here were built soon after the arrival of the railway in 1896. The E NeuKauf and bakery in the corner of Post Straße with Hauptstraße, for example, dates from 1898.
In the 1920s Post Straße was planted with Linden (lime) trees. House No 4 was built in 1900. From 1909 until well into the 1930s, it served as the Imperial Post Office Dorfmark. The post office then relocated to a house in Zum Bürgerpark and in 1955 returned to its previous location.
At No 12 Post Straße, in Station Square, was the famous Gasthaus Wrigge, which today is the restaurant "Zur Post". It was built in 1897, a year after the opening of the railway.
The railway arrived in Dorfmark on 30 September 1896 with the completion of the Walrsrode–Soltau line. It brought prosperity to Dorfmark. It reduced the time taken to get farm produce to market, which were formerly transported by horse and cart. The railway also brought visitors from Hamburg, Hannover, and Bremen to savour the beauty of the heath, which had been brought to the fore by the work of poets such as the brothers Friedrich (1849–1929) and August Freudenthal (1851–1898).
From Dorfmark bahnhof walk along the railway track towards Becklinger Straße. Cross over the railway line and take a path leading downhill towards the open air swimming pool. The path goes between the swimming pool and the railway embankment, passes over a foot bridge, and joins Am Badeteich. Turn to the right, away from the Shützen Hall, and rejoin Einzinger Straße.
Dorfmark — Untergrünhagen
Cross Einzinger Straße and take the path marked by a wooden signpost with a clover route marker saying Dorfmarker Rundweg. The route runs between the motorway to the left and the railway line to the right, and weaves in and out of open fields and woodland along the path known as Deer Stalker's Way.
After about two kilometers the path hits a crossroad. The road to the left makes its way to the Russian War Cemetery at Oerbke. To the right it goes to Küddelse and on to Vierde. Cross the road. A farm is in the corner to the right whereas a tree on the left has a sign which reminds you that it is only another 5 km to Bad Fallingbostel. In early Spring, crocuses and snow drops make their appearance on the verge of the path, while shrubs are covered with catkins.
The flowers of some trees such as hazel, willow, birches and oak are called catkins. They appear before the leaves to allow the wind to pollinate them. The male catkins appear in autumn when they are long and brownish yellow in colour, by the following Spring they change to a creamy yellow colour. Female catkins are small and brown with bright red styles.
A number of deer's head signs can be seen on trees along the route. Carry on past farm Auf Der Heide 1983, cross a railway line, and reach a bridge near a very old oak tree. About 700 m from the railway line a turning to your left heads to the farm at Obergrünhagen. Further on, past this turning, the dirt track becomes a cobbled road, goes over a bridge, and reaches a cross road. It carries on into Quintus Straße in Bad Fallingbostel. However, do not walk straight ahead. Instead, at the crossroad turn right towards the hotel and cafe in Hof Untergrünhagen.
Gronenhagen Farm was established in 1330 and belonged to the family Grünhagen. The farm covered what today are the suburbs of Obergrünhagen and Untergrünhagen. It later took the name of Grünhagen. The branch of the Grünhagen family in Fallingbostel were primarily farmers, whereas members of the family in Lüneburg became alderman, town mayors and theologians. The Grünhagens held the farm at Untergrünhagen until 1709, and at Obergrünhagen until 1795.
Above the former entrance to the main house at Untergrünhagen is yet another reminder of the effects the creation of the Bergen–Hohne military training area had on the farming communities of the Heidemark. Farms were bought by the Wehrmacht and the farmers deemed to have done their patriotic duty were given a certificate, personally signed by Hitler, and a wrought iron plaque, which they took with them to their new farms.
The inscription on these reads:
We give up the inheritance of our fathers for the protection of the homeland, for the defence of Germany.
On this new earth the farmer with renewed strength creates a new legacy.
1936.
From Hof Untergrünhagen turn left along the boundary of the farm. Note the Treppenspeicher (stairway storehouse) in the grounds of the farm.
The lower floor of the Treppenspeicher was entered through two side doors. Above each door were curved the name of the farm owners. Most date to the late 18th century. They were used for storage of beekeeping equipment, honey, flax working tools, and smoked meat. The upper floor was reached by an external staircase, and used for the storage of corn.
The path continues slightly uphill through woodland, passes the turning to Dr Reinwein Brücke and ends up where we started at the Klinik Fallingbostel, and the car park in Auf dem Espe.