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Landkreis Grafschaft Bentheim

Wietmarschen

Urbrecker Sculpture (Iron Ore Worker) in Wietmarschen

Landkreis Grafschaft Bentheim

Wietmarschen

Urbrecker Sculpture (Iron Ore Worker) in Wietmarschen

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Urbrecker Sculpture (Iron Ore Worker) in Wietmarschen

Recommended by 37 cyclists out of 41

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Location: Wietmarschen, Landkreis Grafschaft Bentheim, Lower Saxony, Germany

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Top cycling routes to Urbrecker Sculpture (Iron Ore Worker) in Wietmarschen

4.8

(179)

661

riders

1. Vechtesee (Lake Vechte) – South-North Canal loop from Lingen (Ems)

62.0km

04:09

100m

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

4.5

(34)

143

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2. Path Along the Süd-Nord-Kanal – Kloster Frenswegen loop from Nordhorn-Blanke

51.2km

03:30

70m

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

4.0

(2)

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3. Lohner See – Lohne Recreation Lake loop from Wietmarschen

17.3km

01:17

30m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

Tips

Heetlage Gert

December 23, 2024

"Urbrecker" worked in Wietmarschen; they "harvested" stones that contained bog iron ore. These were melted on the Schlackenbölt in the Alexishüte. The Urbrecker (sculpture) on the market square in Wietmarschen still looks in the direction of the Schlackenbölt today. From 1854 to 1874, the Alexis Iron Works existed in the south of Wietmarschen Abbey (today Schlackenbölt), named after its most important shareholder, Prince Alexis of Bentheim and Steinfurt. Until it closed, this iron ore works was the largest industrial company and employer in the county. It made cast iron from bog iron ore quarried by local workers from the swampy meadows. It was delivered to the Ruhr area as bar iron or processed into cast goods. Thuringian specialists made the sand molds in which everything from simple window frames to richly decorated pots to monogram-adorned stovetops were cast to order. In the 250 x 200 meter steelworks, steam engines and blast furnaces were heated with peat and wood, and the limestone needed for smelting was brought from Rheine. In its best year, 1857, 160 workers were employed, who quarried 12,813 tons of bog ore and used it to produce 1,709 tons of decorative cast goods and 3,607 tons of bar iron. In addition to long-established Wietmarschen residents, the steelworks mainly employed skilled migrant workers, steelworkers, blacksmiths and mold makers who had come to the county from disused steelworks in the Harz.

Translated by Google •

Heribert D.

October 3, 2025

This sculpture, "Urbecker," commemorates the men who mined the Wietmarschen bog iron ore under difficult conditions in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Translated by Google •

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Details

Informations

Elevation 70 m

Weather

Sunday 28 December

5°C

-2°C

12 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 15.0 km/h

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Location: Wietmarschen, Landkreis Grafschaft Bentheim, Lower Saxony, Germany

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Urbrecker Sculpture (Iron Ore Worker) in Wietmarschen

1. Vechtesee (Lake Vechte) – South-North Canal loop from Lingen (Ems)

2. Path Along the Süd-Nord-Kanal – Kloster Frenswegen loop from Nordhorn-Blanke

3. Lohner See – Lohne Recreation Lake loop from Wietmarschen

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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