Introduction
The walk starts at the car park in the Dorfmark Marktplatz, heads towards Winkelhausen, and loops north around the farming communities of Eickhof, Avenriep, Großeholz, and Meinern. Wind turbines in the Fahrenberg and Stummelberge indicate that the open fields provide little shelter from the wind. The walk rewards the amateur botanist with an abundance of wild flowers and a variety of trees, which are in their most colourful in Spring. It then returns to the Markplatz through the Bürgerpark.
For the most part the trek follows the bell flower marker which can be found nailed to trees. The first part of the walk follows a tree and walking man route markers. Later, the route shares the conifer tree and butterfly route markers. In some places the path is overgrown and not clearly seen. It is advisable to have a good map, such as the KV plan Kombi Bad Fallingbostel 1:25000, to guide you along.
Markplatz – Hauptstraße
Park in the Markplatz near the fountain to Grefel Dorjen. Walk past the memorial to the fallen local conscripts of the First World War, and turn left into Hauptstraße.
At Hauptstraße 29, on the opposite side of the road, is the former Kantorhaus (choir master), which now serves as the administrative offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The original house was destroyed in the Thirty Years War, 1618–48, but was rebuilt in 1663 and refurbished in 1864. Dorfmark's Church Organist and Choir Master occupied the house, where a village school was first established.
Walk past Deutches Haus restaurant and biergarden at Hauptstraße 29. A beam above the entrance to the restaurant used to carry the inscription Gasthof Zum Deutschen Hause Von G Gotzsch INH. W. Hartung. This is now to be found fixed to the gable of the nearby stables. Wilhelm Hartung owned the property between 1910 and 1950. On the north face of the restaurant is an inscription from 1736 based on Psalms 27 (In God's company there is no fear). The Rathaus is at Markstraße 1. Soon you arrive at the bridge over the river Böhme, which takes you from Dorfmark into Westendorf.
Present day Dorfmark incorporates Fischendorf, Dorfmark, Westendorf and Winkelhausen which up to 1927, were independent municipalities. During the French occupation of Northern Germany, 1803–13, the bridge served as a border between Dorfmark in the Kingdom of Westphalia, and Westendorf in the expanded French kingdom which had annexed Prussian lands west of the Rhine. Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Prussians at Jena–Auerstädt in 1806, and by the Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807, Prussia lost its territories west of the Elbe, which became French. A custom house stood where now stands Hauptstraße 14. Tnis which dates back to 1891.
The road goes between two ponds. On the right is the Meyerscher Pond with a duck house. Towards the Steegmannstraße end of the pond, next to a modern sculpture is a small boulders with the inscription: “Erected on 10 May 1987 by the settler community Pohle”
Pohle is a small farming community of 950 people. It lies in the Municipality of Rodenberg, District Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony. It is possible that these boulders commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of when in May 1937 the farms in the Lüneburg Heide were given up on the formation of the military training area. Dorfmark lies just outside the training area, and it may have been that some families resettled at Pohle, which lies to the south west of Hannover.
To the left of the Hauptstraße is the Pastoren Pond, and further ahead at Hauptstraße 12 is the Pfarrhof, or pastor house. The pastor lived in Westendorf but his church was in Dorfmark on the other side of the river. A bridge, known as the pastor's bridge, spanned the Böhme near the Pastoren Pond to allow the pastor to reach his church. The pastor was paid in kind with flour from the mill, and baked his own bread.
The Pfarrhof with its thatched roof dates back to 1648, and was built at the end of the Thirty Years War, 1618–48. On the west gable is an inscription from the Book of Romans 8:31 (With God on our side who can be against us?), and another from Psalms 27.
On the top beam it reads:
Psalm 27 Wo Der Herr Nicht Das Haus Bawet So Arbeiten Umbsonst Die Dran Bawen. Wo Der Herr Nicht Die Stad Behütet So Wächet der Wächter Umbsonst.
On the lower beam it reads:
Anno Chri 1648 Den 13 Marts Ist Dieses Pfarrhaus Auf Ersuchen Und Anordnung H Johannes We ƒ Elyi Past.Von Der Gemeinde ƒ V Dorfmarck Erbawet ℵ Ist Gott Fuer Uns – Wer Mag Wider Uns Seyn? Roemer 8:31.
Across the road from the Evangelical Lutheran Pfarramt, is a farm dating back to 1768, and further on is the old black smith forge. Hauptstraße ends in Westendorfer Straße
Visselhöveder Straße – Winkelhausen
Turn left in Westendorfer Straße, cross the road, and turn right by the corner house at Visselhöveder Straße 2. This is a bakery built in 1909 by Heinrich Allermann, on the site of a previous farm. Carry on past a yellow painted timber framed house at Visselhöveder Straße 8, until you reach Winkelhauser Weg. Visselhöveder Straße 8 is the former farm of the horse and cattle merchant Karl Wildung, who bought the property in November 1903. A farm existed in this area since 1438.
Turn right in Winkelhauser Weg, and make your way along this road until you reach Rieper Straße. At Winkelhäuser Weg 2 is Hellwinkels Haus with a thatched roof. The house is named after its former owner Wilhelm Hellwinkel, who bought the property in 1921, and set up a repair shop for bikes, motorcycles, and agricultural machinery. Hellwinkels Haus replaced an older house dating from 1438. The current house dates from 1667.
Rieper Straße passes through the picturesque village of Winkelhausen, with its large farms dating from 1438. The settlement first appears in the archives from 1378. The area was surrounded by swampy ground. Around the settlement are meadows and agricultural land.
Winkelhausen – Eickhof
Walk down Rieper Straße. The cobble stones of the old road are exposed in areas of worn out tarmac. Pass the village pond, and Tietjenhof farm at Rieper Straße 14. Proceed along the road until you reach the farm at Rieper Straße 10. Cross the road and head up a path which runs to the side of a cereal field on its left. Further on, the path is joined on its left by a trek coming up from Dorfmark. On the side of this path are walking men and tree route markers. Make a note of this trek as you will be going down here on your return journey. Pass a field cultivated with rape seed and follow the path to the right over muddy ground until it reaches a cross road.
Ignore the two paths to your left and carry on straight ahead to an oak plantation. Some of the trees on your right carry the tree route marker. This path eventually leads to the Winkelhausen–Riepe road. During the lambing season the section of the path in front of the farm, at the corner with the Winkelhausen–Riepe road, may be closed off with an electrified fence to stop sheep from wandering. If this is the case, bypass the road in front of the farm by taking a marked detour through the field opposite the farm.
Turn left down the road towards Riepe, and take the first turning to your right. This is a paved road with a sign saying Fahrad Köhler. The path links the Riepe road with the road to Eickhof. At the cross roads turn left at the large chestnut tree. Across the road is a farm with the date 1950 styled in brick on the top side of the wall. Head towards Eickhof, ignoring the turning to your right which leads to Mengebostel. To your left you will join the bell flower route. The route marker will become more and more obvious as you follow this path. Wind turbines can be clearly seen across the fields on the way to Eickhof.
Eickhof – Großeholz
From Eickhof carry on in a relatively straight line to Avenriep stopping to look at the myriad of plants in the hedge rows. Ignore the turning to your right which goes into Avenriep farm, but instead walk straight on to emerge on the Riepe–Meinern road. Cross the road and take the path to the right of a potato sorting shed. A bell flower marker on a beech tree to the right of the path confirms the route.
The route from Avenriep passes between hedgerows which in Spring display a wonderful tapestry of colours. There is a splash of yellow from broom and buttercups, violet colours from wild lupins and foxglove, white and red flowers from cherry trees, red colours from clover, and holly, and an abundance of white from the flower clusters of the hawthorn. All these are set against a backdrop of majestic oak, silver birch, rowan and Norway spruce.
Follow the path as it turns right between open fields used for the cultivation of potatoes and walk on following the bell flower route marker as it rejoins woodland. Shortly after, the path narrows and gives two off shoots to your right. Take the second path which heads diagonally towards Großeholz. A bell flower marker is fixed to an oak tree at the head of the path.
Walk through woodland planted with oak and as you emerge on an edge of a field cross a small brook. Walk on through a conifer plantation until you reach a crossroad. Ahead is an observation tower, whilst to the left is a tree with the bell flower route marker. Turn right taking the road to Großeholz. The verge is covered with a carpet of Blueberries. Pass Eggers Holzbau to your right and follow the road until it emerges at the corner of Großeholz.
Großeholz – Meinern
At Großeholz, the road makes a sharp bend to the right and proceeds through rape seed fields to reach the main Menrien–Soltau road. Follow the pedestrian path to the side of the road and walk on to Meinern. On the left is Romeyers Hof (Familie Eggers), on your right is a large storage barn and further on, still on your right, you pass a Treppenspeicher (stairway storehouse) partly hidden in the trees. Stop at the junction with a sign saying Lüheshof, and cross to the opposite side.
Take the road to Mittelstendorf, but immediately as you approach the corner of a large windswept field turn right down a path lined with oak trees. This area offers little shelter from the cross wind and can be a bit chilly. The propellers of the wind turbines start to appear in the distance above the crowns of the trees. The path heads to a plantation and then joins a well paved road approaching from Jettebruch and Fahrenberg. As soon as you hit the paved path the rotating propellers of the wind turbines play a game of hide and seek through the foliage.
Turn right by a bench with the inscription Jettbruch 04, cross the brook, and walk past the first of the three wind turbines.
The horizontal axis Enercon model E-66 wind energy converters are manufactured by Friesian Enercon GmbH, a company based in Northern Germany. The rotor blades rotate at 10 to 22 revolutions per minute generating 1.8 kw of clean electricity. The towers are 98 meters high and the rotor diameters are 70 meters.
Walk along Fahrenberg to the second wind turbine. Ignore the turning to the left, and continue to the third turbine.
Meinern – Stummelberg
As soon as you reach the third turbine the well marked path turns to the left towards the turbine. Ignore this path which goes to the Jettebruch road, and instead veer to the right and take the path at the edge of Stummelberg. The path may be hidden by overgrown weeds. Walk along the edge of the cultivated field to your left, until you reach an ancient oak with a butterfly route marker nailed to its trunk. From here proceed to a second butterfly route marker on yet another tree. Take the path opposite this marker, which runs between two fields, and leads to a farm on your right.
Just before the farm, the muddy path changes to a paved trek. This passes between the farm to your right, and Stummelberg to your left. Ignore the first turning to your left. On your right is Fahrad Köhler. Proceed to the T junction. To the left is Mengebostel. Turn right to hit the Eickhof road, and then turn left away from Eickhof. Go down this road to the cross road with a farm on the left dated 1950. At this cross roads turn right by the large horse chestnut tree, and retrace your steps back to the Riepe road.
Once on the Riepe road retrace your journey back to the farm at the corner of the Riepe–Winkelhausen road, and take the well marked path with a walking man and tree route marker signs. This is the same path you took on the outgoing journey. It is now a matter of retracing your steps back to the path leading to the Riepe road at Winkelhausen. However do not go all the way to the road. Just as you pass a bench take the path to your right. A “tree” and “walking man” route marker points you on the right way to Oelsbeg road in Dorfmark.
Stummelberg — Bürgerpark – Markplatz
Go down Olesweg past the modern house at Olesweg 1a. Turn right past the large barn into Winkelhauser Weg and down to Visselhöveder Str. Turn left down this road and join Westendorfer Straße. Cross the road and walk to the right, to enter the Bürgerpark via Kirchdamm.
Kirchdamm crosses the length of the Bürgerpark and ends at the Pastoren pond. Do not follow Kirchdamm where it goes between the gardens of local houses and the Bürgerpark. Instead turn right into the Bürgerpark. Follow the slippery path to the bridge over the river Böhme.
In the 1950s Dorfmark's Tourist Office opened a number of walking routes, and built a bridge over the Böhme near Wittenberg Pond. The wood for the construction of this bridge was felled in the Military Training area.
Large ferns line your route. Cross the river and walk the length of the park passing water courses and small man made falls and lakes with mallard ducks. Parts of the park still have a primordial swampy atmosphere, with its association of breeding mosquitoes. Krusen Pond, separates the park from Allermann Straße. As you walk out of the Bürgerpark, you come across a memorial to August Röhrs, the father of the Bürgerpark.
Röhrs was born in Dorfmark on 18 October 1887. From 1923 to 1929 he served as the registrar of births, marriages and deaths. He lived in a thatched roof house (now Allermann Straße 6), in the park, which was then a swamp. Over a period of ten years, Röhrs worked incessantly. He moved 18,000 burrow loads of earth, erected eleven bridges and three staircases, and transformed a wasteland into a horticultural gem.
Emerge at the Röhrs stone. Further on is another memorial to the poet Heinrich Eggersglüß, 1875–1932, which was erected in the Bürgerpark in 1936. This stone was hewn from the same boulder which covers the grave of Hermann Löns in Tietlingen.
Heinrich Eggersglüß was born on 10 March 1875 in Untereinzigen, in the Lüneburg Heath. He spent his youth working as a farm hand in his village, where he was greatly influenced by the beauty of the place and the earthliness of his locality. He expressed his sentiments in the Kämerhõfen, and his collection of poetry Findlinge, which were written in Braunschweig where he was employed as a railway official. He died in Braunschweig on 6 July 1932, aged 57 years.
From here return to the car park, and the fountain of Grefel Dorjen, to complete your walk.