アッペンのおすすめMTBライド

ここには「シュライ・アイダー・エルベ」という長距離遊歩道も通っています。遊歩道の全情報は以下のリンクからご覧いただけます：https://www.wildganz.com/fernwanderweg/schlei-eider-elbe (ステータス：2026年4月12日)。

the landmark on the Elbe riverbank in Wittenbergen

impressive lighthouse on the beach of Wittenbergen

5,810 meters of track remain from the Himmelmoor Peat Railway. Built in 1900, it was used to transport peat from the mining area to the peat works on the eastern edge of the moor, operating on constantly changing routes. Small diesel locomotives, some of which were built in-house, pulled the trains carrying the peat floes until mining ended in 2018. Since 2015, the Himmelmoor Peat Railway Association has offered tours on the remaining line. The association maintains the railway and the industrial facilities. Trains are also regularly used for renaturation work.

Peat cutting, i.e., the above-ground extraction of peat, is no longer economically viable today. Peat as a fuel has largely been replaced by other high-energy fossil fuels. Many large-scale peatlands suitable for industrial extraction have now been drained. New peat cutting areas are only permitted under strict conditions. Raised bogs have an important regulatory effect on the water balance due to the large amounts of precipitation they can absorb. The preservation of the original habitats serves landscape conservation and species protection, as most species of peatland flora and fauna are considered threatened or critically endangered. Bogs grow extremely slowly; an intact peat body increases in thickness by only one millimeter per year. It therefore takes a thousand years for a one-meter-high layer of peat to form. Thus, bog areas recover very slowly during restoration attempts.

According to a 1919 contract, peat extraction, which began around 1780, was to continue until the moor had completely disappeared. However, extraction was discontinued in 2018. The gradual renaturation and rewetting of the Himmelmoor had already begun. The "Himmelmoor Friends' Association" was founded in December 2005.

In the middle of the moor - sometimes not even recognizable

Nice place to do a small pause. The surroundings are great.