The Route of Megalithic Culture (german: Straße der Megalithkultur) was first created as a tourist route that meanders from
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
to
Oldenburg in North-West
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Signposted with brown road signs it links many places of archaeological interest from the
Megalithic era.
Signs for the route started going up in 2008 and 2009. The whole 310-kilometre-long route was officially opened on 14 May 2009.
The route links many sites of archaeological investigation and 33 stations where the public can visit archaeological sites, for example, with standing stones.
On the 27th of August 2013, the route became part of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
A Culture Route of the Council of Europe, sometimes referred to as a European Cultural Route, is a certification awarded by the Council of Europe to networks promoting the European shared culture, history and memory. These routes must also match ...
initiative, with sections in a growing number of countries, including Denmark, England, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden.
Route
The founding section of the Route of Megalithic Culture runs through the territories of Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, Ostercappeln
Ostercappeln is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Wiehengebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Osnabrück. The municipality is made up of three villages, Ostercappeln, Venne and Schwa ...
, Belm-Vehrte, Wallenhorst
Wallenhorst is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Wiehengebirge, approx. 10 km north of Osnabrück.
The New St. Alexander Church serves as a reference height for all other heights ...
, Bramsche
Bramsche is a town in the district of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is about north of Osnabrück, at . Population is 30,952 (2018).
Subdivisions
In 1971/72 12 previously independent municipalities were included into the town.
*Achmer
*B ...
, Ankum, Berge, Bippen, Fürstenau, Freren, Thuine
Thuine is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the ...
, Lingen (Ems)
Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" i ...
, Meppen
Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from the word ''M ...
, Sögel, Werlte, Lastrup, Cloppenburg
Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...
, Visbek
Visbek (Old Saxon ''Fiscbechi'') is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of the state of Lower Saxony, Germany.
Location and municipal subdivisions
Visbek lies on the North German Plain, approximately ...
, Großenkneten
Großenkneten is a municipality in the district of Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Großenkneten is one of the largest municipalities in Germany, in terms of its area, and is situated between the rivers Hunte and Lethe, in the land ...
, Wildeshausen
Wildeshausen (Low Saxon: ''Wilshusen'') is a town and the capital of the Oldenburg district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated by the river Hunte.
History
In 1648, Wildeshausen and the surrounding district was ceded to Sweden, in the Peace ...
, Dötlingen
Dötlingen is a municipality in the district of Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km northeast of Wildeshausen, and 25 km southeast of Oldenburg at the Hunte river. It's one of Germany's richest villag ...
, Ganderkesee
Ganderkesee (Northern Low Saxon: ''Gannerseer'') is a municipality in Oldenburg district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Ganderkesee is located on the northern edge of a nature park called "Wildeshauser Geest". The northernmost part of the c ...
and Oldenburg.
It is planned to extend the route, on the one side towards North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
, and on the other towards northeast Lower Saxony as far as Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
. The original route in Lower Saxony now forms part of a greater EU initiative with similar routes in Denmark, England, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden.[ In the ]Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, for instance, there are another 53 megalithic sites.
Purpose
The Route of Megalithic Culture is intended to give a better understanding of the lives of people who lived over 5,000 years ago in all its member countries. The founding part of the route in northwest Germany has 33 stations, with insights into the function and design of their graves, their conception of the afterlife, understanding of nature and everyday lives. In some cases, the holiday road also leads to groups of Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
tumuli
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
of more recent times.
The flyer for the Route of Megalithic Culture not only shows the numerous stone age stations of megalithic culture
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
, but also other sights and points of interest along the way. These include sights especially around the town of Osnabrück with its Cultural History Museum, the castles and palaces in Osnabrück Land
Osnabrück Land (german: Osnabrücker Land) is a region in southwest Lower Saxony in Germany, which extends into the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its centre is the city of Osnabrück. The region is dominated by the Teutoburg Forest and the R ...
, the Venne Iron Age House, the Old St Alexander's Church, the Kalkriese Museum and Park, the Cloth Maker's Museum, Bramsche, Malgarten Abbey, Börstel Abbey, the town of Meppen, the Hüven Mill, Clemenswerth Palace, the Cloppenburg Museum Village, St. Alexander's Church, the village of Dötlingen, Hude Abbey and the city of Oldenburg with its State Museum of Nature and People.
Stations
The 33 stations as numbered on the official web site.
Organisation and financing
The ''Straße der Megalithkultur'' is a community project resulting from collaboration between:
* Emsland Touristik GmbH
* Landkreis Vechta
Vechta () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Oldenburg, Diepholz, Osnabrück and Cloppenburg.
History
In the 13th century the region was acquired by the bisho ...
* Museum am Schölerberg Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
- Natur und Umwelt, Planetarium
*
* Oldenburg Tourismus und Marketing GmbH
* Stadt- und Kreisarchäologie Osnabrück
* Tourismusverband Osnabrücker Land e.V.
* Zweckverband Erholungsgebiet
* Zweckverband Naturpark Wildeshauser Geest
Authorised by the ''Behörde für Geoinformation, Landentwicklung und Liegenschaften '' (Department of Geoinformation, Land Usage and Property), financing for the ''Route of Megalithic Culture'' is provided from EU funds, distributed to local tourism and district authorities.
In May 2011, at the request of the tourism office for Osnabrück county (''Landkreis'') the tourism promotion department of the Ministry for Economic Affairs provided a subsidy of €180,600 for the route.
References
* Ernst Sprockhoff Ernst Sprockhoff (6 August 1892 – 1 October 1967) was a German prehistorian and inventor of the Sprockhoff numbering system for megalithic monuments in Germany.
Life
Sprockhoff was born on 6 August 1892 in Berlin. He started as a teacher before ...
: ''Atlas der Megalithgräber Deutschland. Teil 3: Niedersachsen – Westfalen.'' Rudolf Habelt Verlag, Bonn, 1975, , S. 129–130.
* Annette Bussmann: ''Steinzeitzeugen.'' Reisen zur Urgeschichte Nordwestdeutschlands. Straße der Megalithkultur. Herausgegeben von Arbeitsgemeinschaft Straße der Megalithkultur, Isensee, Oldenburg, 2009, {{ISBN, 978-3-89995-619-1.
M
Megalithic monuments in Germany
Burials in Lower Saxony
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...