Alsterquelle

Approx. 100m further there is already the first bridge over the still young Alster 😊The beautiful spring cover was unfortunately 1/2020 below the water surface 😕

When I was at the Alster spring for the first time many years ago, I had high expectations and was very disappointed with the small trickle. But that's how it is with the sources - at some point it becomes a river. It is exactly the same with the Billequelle in Linau and other sources.
Nevertheless, the Alster spring is also an interesting destination in beautiful nature and of course a highlight.

The Alster originates here. The spring is located in a spring bog and was walled in with field stones in 1953.

The Alster rises north of Hamburg in Henstedt-Rhen, a district of Henstedt-Ulzburg. The Alster spring, which has been walled since 1953, was provided in 1968 with a bronze plate designed by the Hamburg painter and graphic artist Volker Meier (1932 - 1993), which shows a bathing mermaid in front of the castle made of the Hamburg coat of arms and the words Quellgrund der Alster.
From here, the water of the Alster flows a little to the north, then to the east, and then towards the south at jetties, fed by many tributaries, to strive towards the Elbe. It passes numerous Alster bridges and Alster locks and weirs.
The Alster was long considered the source river of the Alster. This drains the Nienwohlder Moor and merges with other tributaries that come from the north. However, due to the temporary drainage into the Alster-Trave Canal, which was completed around 1530, and the increasing drainage of the large bogs, the Alte Alster carried less and less water. The resulting overweight of the tributaries from the area around Henstedt, Wakendorf and Nahe over time led to the view that these must be the actual source rivers of the Alster. Henstedter Moor was now considered the origin of the Alster.hamburger-sammelsurium.de/alsterquelle.html

Unspectacular - but of course it is part of the standard program of every tour in the area

Quite unspectacular, but still: the Alster spring 👍

It is certainly not the most beautiful east of the tour, but it is a special one.

A little inconspicuous, but an important place for Hamburg :-)

Mandatory program for every hamburger and those who think it is 😉
A nice rest area with good seating.
The way to / from the source is a really nice single trail.

The Alster rises in the area of the municipality of Henstedt-Ulzburg.
Its source is in the north of the Henstedt-Rhen district.
From there, the partly strongly meandering river initially runs north and bends a few hundred meters further downstream to the east.
After passing Wakendorf II and the Rönne coming from the north at the level of the Naherfurth farmers and crossing under the B 432 (south of Nahe), the river Alster finally turns south.(Source: Wikipedia)

The worst tour in the past 20 years