This charming bicycle tour around
Fassberg in Suedheide nature park starts at the car park in Oberohe, which is
opposite an ideally located picnic area.
On the first stage you will be
taken back in time to a few hundred years A.D. and then on through picturesque
nature. You will see unique natural spectacles and historical sights and enjoy
the peace and quiet that surrounds the heath river Oertze.
Who were the Long-beards?
The Langobarden once inhabited the region around Gerdehaus. Langobarden translates as “Longbeards” and this tour
through the heath bears their name.
The horseman’s grave at
Hankenbostel was discovered in its original historic state during sand
excavations in 1900. The grave furniture including valuable spurs, scissors made
of iron and a silver belt buckle are today on display at the Museum of Lower
Saxony in Hanover. These finds indicate that the grave must have belonged to a
wealthy horseman of the Longbeard tribe who lived here during the 2nd
century A.D. The Germanic tribe of the Langobarden relocated much later and
establsihed a kingdom in Italy in the 6th century.
Juniper forest on Devil’s Heath
The juniper forest on Devil’s Heath
is one of the most significant natural monuments in Lower Saxony. Juniper was once considered a heath
weed back in the times of heath farming.
But our ancestors also appreciated
the wood of the juniper bush as material for heating, smoke and lathing, and
today its blue berries are coveted as spices and as raw materials for
distilling gin. Juniper berries were already an
important export commodity in the 19th century.
The pest houses of the Middle Ages
were fumigated with juniper branches and the plant said to have magical and
medicinal properties was used domestically throughout the centuries: a branch
above the door afforded protection from witches, devils and ghosts and the
plant was considered as a giver of life and health.
When dusk falls or the day breaks,
or when mist curls around the trees, the juniper forest appears full of
mystical structures and is the source of many a local tale.
In today’s cultural landscape,
however, the nutrient-poor and sandy locations preferred by juniper and heather
have become scarce and woodlands populated by spruce trees have gained the
upper hand.