NORDPFAD Rotenburger Wasserreich

The NORDPFAD trail begins in the heart of Rotenburg at Am Pferdemarkt square, right next to City Hall, where the tourist information office is also located . We follow the trail markers, walk past the RotenburgerTor gate, cross the traffic-light-controlled intersection, and arrive on the left at the Heimathaus Rotenburg, a beautiful farmstead complex dating from 1779 that features a pharmacy, a farm garden, and a Kneipp pool. It’s definitely worth taking a quick look around the outside here. We continue our hike, pass the wooden bridge over the Mühlenstreek, and turn right immediately afterward onto the nature trail. On the left, you can still see one of Rotenburg’s schools, but things are already getting much quieter, and the town is now “behind us” for the time being.

A short while later, we’re already in the midst of the lush meadows of the Wümme Valley. A meadow path leads us to a paved walking and biking trail, where we turn right toward the Schulbrücke . From the stately wooden bridge, you have a great view of the floodplain landscape before we head into the magnificent Ahe Forest. Large, impressive beech and oak trees line the path for us here. We walk past the Rotenburg Shooting Club, the restaurant “Am Ahe-Wald,” and the former seminary. At the next signposted intersection, turning right would take us to the Ahe playground and the starting point of the NORDPFAD Wümmeniederung.

However, we turn left, leave the forest, and take the paved walking and biking path through the vast Wümme Valley, reaching the Wümme River once again. A small sandy beach invites you to take your first foot bath. We head out of town over the Gothard Bridge and along the 1.5-km-long Sternenweg .A nesting box nature trail established by NABU accompanies us for a while. The city’s youth hostel is also located on the left. We pass the street “Zur Kumpwisch,” where the Sternenweg transitions into a natural dirt path. Green spaces and farmland now dominate the landscape. At the next intersection, the dirt path gives way to the paved road “Am Vieh.” We turn left.

We follow the green strip alongside it and, after about 1 km, reach the bike and walking path along the B 215, which takes us to Unterstedt. In the village, where there are several restaurants and places to stay, we carefully cross the unguarded federal highway near a restaurant. A detour branches off here to the Unterstedter Spieker, a historic complex of buildings. We continue walking through a 30-zone and across the fields and meadows of Unterstedt. A paved road—which we follow along the green strip lined with fruit trees—finally leads us to the Grafeler Holz, where the road turns into a beautiful forest path.

After 700 m, we reach the 400-year-old Grafel farm, where several animals are already waiting for us. The Peters family’s vacation farm is a true idyll on the outskirts of Rotenburg. If needed, you can also fill your water bottles with tap water here.

Just past the farm, barely visible, the trail runs past a small forest lake. In the spring and summer, you can hear the croaking of frogs and toads that call this picturesque biotope home. From here, the trail leads deeper and deeper through the Grafeler Holz along forest paths. At a fork in the trail, emerging from the forest (we continue to the left), we come upon the NORDPFAD Dör’t Moor, which now runs parallel to our NORDPFAD for a short stretch. At the edge of the Großer Hamerloh forest and on the outskirts of the “Großes und Weißes Moor” nature reserve, we catch a glimpse of a grazing project run by the city of Rotenburg (Wümme).

We continue our hike to the Kleine Bullensee, which is a protected nature area. From there, it’s just a few hundred meters to the Großer Bullensee, which offers a great resting spot for hikers of all ages with a swimming area and playground. From here, we hike along a wide forest trail to the Hartmannshof, 900 meters away. The farm—operated by Rotenburger Werke, a facility for people with disabilities—features a farm café and the two-hectare NABU “MeGa” interactive and adventure garden, offering the next lovely spot to take a break and explore to your heart’s content.

We continue on secluded paths through the Lintel Forest to the B 440, which we cross carefully and follow for a short stretch along the pedestrian and bike path before turning right into the Bachenbruch Forest. Passing the Grün-Weiß Tennis Club and the riding club, we come upon a new development and shortly thereafter reach the Rodaubridge, which offers a sweeping view of the forest and meadow landscape. Through the Rodauniederung, we reach the next small river, the Wiedau. We now follow this river and cross it via the Wiedau Bridge.

Near this bridge, the Rodau and Wiedau rivers converge. They continue as the Mühlen-, Teich-, and Stadtstreek streams until they eventually flow into the Wümme in Rotenburg a few hundred meters further on. We follow the Teich-Streek on the right-hand side, walk past the playground and the Kantor-Helmke-Haus, and reach the neo-Gothic Rotenburg City Church, built in 1862. Hidden nearby is the Cohn Barn, a Jewish museum.

The final leg takes us to—and through—Rotenburg’s pedestrian zone with its numerous shops, restaurants, cafés, and art installations. We pass the Stadtstreek with its warehouses on the right, walk past Rotenburg’s oldest house, the Rudolf-Schäfer House, and finally return to our starting point, the Rotenburg Town Hall, located directly on Am Pferdemarkt.


Connections to Other NORDPFADEN Trails
The NORDPFAD runs parallel for a short stretch to the NORDPFADEN Wümmeniederung and Dör’t Moor. A 1.1-km access path also takes you to Starting Point 2 of the NORDPFAD Federlohmühlen.


Trail Closures
Before your hike, you should check www.nordpfade.de for information on possible detours and trail disruptions that may occur due to, for example, flooding, storm damage, or forestry work.

Komoot
We have compiled all 24 circular hiking trails in a separate NORDPFADE collection in the well-known outdoor app. The tours can also be found in the portal under the "Northern Heath" region.

Not yet on Komoot?
There is a free voucher code for new customers.The code is ROW and can be redeemed via "Redeem voucher" at komoot.de/g or via the link https://komoot.com/de-de/g?code=ROW

The following brochures are available free of charge at local tourist information offices and at Brochure Order . They are also available for download there. 

• NORDPFADE Tour Guide
  This small brochure contains everything you need to know about the hiking region.


• NORDPFADE Overview Map
  This handy leaflet is a compact planning guide for the environmentally conscious.
  
  
• NORDPFADE Hiking Pass
  The stamp-free version for collectors.

There is also a paperback published by Editon Temmenverlag has published. An entertainingly written “hiking guide” by Lucia Gefken, who escapes her everyday life and takes up hiking.

• My NORDPFADE 
  Or: “It doesn’t always have to be the Camino de Santiago!”
  

Multi-day hike around Rotenburg (Wümme)
Looking for a multi-day hike? The NORDPFADE trails—Rotenburger Wasserreich, Wümmeniederung, Dör’t Moor, and Federlohmühlen—can be combined to create a multi-day hike of about 60 km. 

Small sections of the four NORDPFADE trails already run parallel to one another or are directly connected by access paths. There are also plenty of lodging options along these NORDPFADE trails for a multi-day NORDPFADE hike. If you’re interested, please contact us (Rotenburg (Wümme) District Tourism Association: Tel. 04261 / 8196 -0)