Bispingen: The woodland of the “Robber's Lair” in Hützel District

The
extensive "Raubkammer" (Robber's Lair) woodland with its many hiking trails - located
in Hützel, a part of Bispingen - owes its name to the robber barons who used to
infest the land. A memorial stone south of Rehrhof commemorates the knight
Moritz von Zahrenhusen, who was killed while attempting to rob a merchant.

This is how the story goes:

The
stallion steams in the cold air, tired from the gallop. Moritz von Zahrenhusen
reins in and comes to a halt in a clearing, shrouded in morning mist. A caravan
of Lübeck merchants approaches from the distant darkness of the wild forest
called "Robbers Lair", near Amelinghausen. With shouts and cries, Zahrenhusen's
men storm out of the undergrowth. With roars and blows they push the Lübeck
merchants off the road. They tie the merchants to trees and drive away the
wagons loaded with barrels full of herring and amber from Lübeck. They take one
of the Hanseatic fat cats hostage - the best dressed one - and imprison him in
Bockum Castle, the seat of Moritz von Zahrenhusen, the last robber baron of Lüneburg Heath. The villain of the Robbers’ Lair has struck again.

The
stretch of road passing through the wild forest is notorious; Moritz von
Zahrenhusen and his band of men are feared near and far. All attempts to
capture this bandit of noble birth had failed. On the last attempt, mercenaries
in the service of Hanseatic merchants were sent to capture this scourge of the Heath. They tracked the hoof marks of the robber band, starting at the site of
the most recent ambush. They followed the tracks for hours until they
disappeared into thin air, as if by magic. Von Zahrenhusen and his band had
shooed their horses backwards. The tracks led the pursuers in the wrong
direction until they were forced to abandon the search.

Alarmed
by the disappearance of his brother Till, the Lübeck merchant Kord Wißmann sets
off for Lüneburg Heath. Men who survived the raid in the Robbers’ Lair
tell Wißmann about the armed horde that suddenly emerged from the shadows of the
forest and assailed the caravan from Lübeck. The merchant decides to set a trap
for Zahrenhusen’s men. He has his men harness a long train of wagons, all of
them sumptuously decorated with his family’s coats of arms. The covers are
bulging as if they were hiding a collection of spices, chests full of precious
stones and barrels of the best wine. He hopes that Zahrenhusen will not be able
to resist the temptation of the wagon train rolling through the Robbers’ Lair.
But instead of the precious freight, armed servants are hidden inside the
wagons.

The
decoy wagon train from Lübeck rumbles unhurriedly through the Amelinghausen
Forest. Moritz von Zahrenhusen and his men have long since spotted the loot and
are lying in wait. Zahrenhusen draws his sword and gives the signal to attack.
Zahrenhusen's men emerge from all sides to attack the advance party from Lübeck;
they knock down the rear guard with a few blows of their swords and storm the
fully-loaded wagons from the flanks. Now the hidden servants throw the
tarpaulins aside and launch themselves at the attackers. Amongst them, a tall
man named Dierk von Gellersen raises his musket, aims at Zahrenhusen and fires.
Nothing happens. The wadding is missing, which seals the propelling charge in
the gun. Quick-thinking Dierk von Gellersen reaches into his satchel, pulls out
a bacon rasher, and uses it to tamp the charge. Again, he aims at the robber
baron. With drawn sword, Zahrenhusen rides straight at the shooter. He roars.
Von Gellersen shoots. A blast rips the robber from his saddle. In 1590, Dierk
von Gellersen shot dead the last robber baron of the Lüneburger Heide with
bacon, they say.