Four healthy places in the Osnabrück region: a spa for connoisseurs in the Wiehen Mountains and one with a castle in the Teutoburg Forest, a sophisticated spa with depth and a family-friendly one with a salt lake - and they are all located around the city of Westphalian Peace in the TERRA.vita Nature and UNESCO Geopark with its eventful biking and hiking trails. If you don't relax here, you've already been deeply relaxed.
Because Bad Essen and Bad Iburg, Bad Rothenfelde and Bad Laer maintain a long tradition of health vacations. The increase of well-being, a strengthening of the defenses, protection against infections? You could do it here with links. But you don't, because in the Osnabrück region they take the matter of hospitality very seriously. That's why everyone experiences their individual favorite vacation here.
Decelerated, enjoyable and under the sign of the snail, for example in Bad Essen. The brine spa in the Wiehengebirge is adorned with the slow little animal because it is part of the international network of cittaslow communities. Among other things, these have committed themselves to regional and seasonal enjoyment in a special way.
Guests at the cafés and restaurants in the pretty half-timbered town center can experience exactly what this means. If you like, you can cycle through meadows and fields, past the castles of Ippenburg and Hünnefeld or take a relaxing hike through the Wiehengebirge mountains and enjoy the special views of Bad Essen. Finally, you can take a deep breath in the SoleArena in the park. Here, the special Bad Essen primeval sea salt drips over the blackthorn, which not only serves as a natural remedy but also tastes delicious in the kitchen.
The history of salt extraction from brine springs can be explored particularly vividly in Bad Rothenfelde. The focus is on the graduation towers from the 18th and 19th centuries. They are embedded in the magnificent spa park with its 6,000 roses. And this in turn is surrounded by sophisticated, largely classicist spa architecture. More than 30 particularly characteristic buildings have historic shop windows that tell their stories. If you want to find out more, scan the QR code or pick up a 70-page brochure on the history of the town and salt production at the tourist information office.
The theme can be explored further by descending into the historic vaults where the brine once flowed to the graduation towers. The hundreds of meters long blackthorn walls transform the spa park into a huge open-air inhalatorium at any time. The brine in Bad Rothenfelde is also used for wellness and relaxation: in the carpesol Spa Therme.
Bad Laer is also an excellent address for pampering yourself with brine. Owner-managed wellness hotels with different focuses are dedicated to the individual well-being of their guests. They meet either in the modern SoleVital spa centre, in the idyllic spa park around the Glockensee lake and the Bad Laer brine spring, or in the new forest bathing area on the Blomberg.
There, relaxation professionals regularly offer courses in forest bathing. "Shinrin Yoku" is the name of this bundle of easy-to-learn mindfulness exercises in Japan, where the strengthening and invigorating effect of the forest has long been known and appreciated. A forest bath strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and best of all, it's fun. Because at the end of the day, it's simply about experiencing and enjoying the forest the way you did as a child: with all your senses.
When it comes to fun and health in the forest, you almost inevitably end up in Bad Iburg. First of all, 158 steps lead up to the 32-meter-high treetop path. It's hard to believe what a difference those few meters make in the forest experience.
Secondly, the spa has rediscovered the healing powers of nature and thoroughly dusted off the health teachings of Pastor Kneipp and made them a new experience. The modern Kneipp experience park is a clear sign of this. The park lies at the feet of the 1,000-year-old Iburg Castle, nursery of an English king and residence of the Osnabrück prince-bishops, who alternated between Catholic and Protestant after the decision of the Peace of Westphalia - a unique arrangement for the good hosts of the peace negotiation at the end of the Thirty Years' War.
And good hosts - that's what the people here still are. This can be experienced at first hand in the four healthy places of the Osnabrück region.
A dense network of paths stretches between the towns in the Osnabrück region. For cyclists, it is a total of 2,800 kilometers long. 61 of the most beautiful and eventful tours on the well-signposted paths are presented in the "Cycling tour book"From day trips to themed routes lasting several days, from leisurely excursions to sporty and demanding trails. The premium trail is the Teuto-Ems cross-border routewhich was awarded four stars by the bicycle club ADFC.
In addition to the DiVa Walk, the Maple, Wittekind and other long-distance hiking trails, more and more short circular tours are opening up the Osnabrück region: 43 "TERRA.tracks" with tour lengths between three and 15 kilometers already exist in the Osnabrück region, and more are in the making. Most of these tracks are circular routes that combine enjoyment of nature with places of cultural or geological interest.
