マーセンの天然記念物・トップ12

A very beautiful place

A "highlight" of the Kirchdorfer-/Kuppendorfer Heide-Rund; you have to do it ;-).

The “Eichenkratt” nature reserve includes a unique population of trees. The name of the area is derived from the North German word “Kratt”, which means oak thickets, and is explained by the impression that the trees seem to be missing the trunk, so that the oaks only consist of the treetop.

Little info from the internet: The Frenchman's Stone Today it is still called “Franzosenstein”, the one meter high sandstone column on the highest point in the community of Kirchdorf. This relic from the past always puzzles visitors. The following is recorded in the Kirchdorf community archive: Kirchdorf, which belonged to the Uchte district under Hessian administration, came under French rule in 1803. Under the direction of Colonel Epailly, survey officers erected a twelve meter high tower. At this point a first order triangle network (“Canevas die Triangles du Ier ordere executes par M. Epailly”). From here the following main points were recorded: the church towers of Twistringen and Asendorf, the signal towers on the Mordkulenberg west of the Dümmer in the Dammer Mountains (141 m above sea level), on the Hüttenberg in Grinderwald (101 m above sea level), a mountain near Loccum and the Knickberg (86 m above sea level). At the same time, French observers were able to monitor events in all directions. In 1813, after the French era, Kirchdorf fell back to Hesse and the twelve meter high tower was destroyed. In 1814, Prince Regent George of Hanover and England elevated his electorate to a kingdom, including the Hessian territories. In 1816, King George IV ordered the extension of triangulation to the entire Kingdom of Hanover. Under the direction of C. F. Gauß, the survey work also began on the Knickberg, for which he had a stone built with a pedestal and a slab on top, which fell victim to deliberate destruction. As a replacement, a one meter high sandstone pillar was erected with the carved inscription “Königl. Hann. Country. Surveying.”. This stone still stands on the Knickberg today, which is incorrectly referred to as the “Franzosenstein”. Perhaps arbitrarily by the Prussians who annexed Hanover in 1866 after the Battle of Langensalza. In 1886/87, as part of the Prussian survey, Prussian surveying officers built a wooden tower on a stone foundation at this point, which was then called the French Tower. After about 25 years, this too disappeared. In 1919 the decree came that no more towers should be erected. Today's visitor is no longer able to look out from all sides of the Knickberg. He is in the middle of the forest, where a bench invites him to rest. Not far from the supposed “French stone” there has been an embedded square stone with a cross for years, the so-called “trigonometric point”, which serves as a survey point for our land registry office for the height of the Knickberg (86 m above sea level).

Very nice, lovingly designed café in a rural setting. In addition, here is the source of the river "Sule"

The Erdmann sculpture in wood Completion took place after the Erdmann Cycle Path was published 👍

Excerpt from the document that was issued by the local heritage association on April 13, 1984 on the occasion of the erection of the Sule stone and can be viewed/read in the courtyard café next door: "As a greeting to our Sule, which has its origins here and gave its name to the Sulingen region (and) the city of Sulingen. The Sule is 17.3 km long, it flows through Blockwinkel, Scholen, Haassel, Nechtelsen and the town of Sulingen; there it divides its inhabitants into 'Piedelpoggen' and 'Ützen'. At Hof Loge, on the edge of the Sulinger Bruch, it flows into the Große Aue. The Sule stone is intended to connect the people of the Sulinger Land in friendship and remind them to always be aware of their homeland - be it the old or the new one; but he should also ask them not to remain in narrow places, but - like the waters of the Sule - to always seek connections to people and countries across borders. The stone shall become a destination of peaceable and joyful wanderers. May he endure the ages and experience everlasting peace." The "Sule" flows exclusively in the district of Diepholz and is part of the "Weser" river basin.

The "Waldpädagogikzentrum Hainhorst" is located in the middle of a little forest around "Schwaförden". The website reads: "Today's forest education center (WPZ) was built on the site of the former Staffhorst I test shaft of the Barbara ore mining company. In the mid-1950s, a 1.2 km deep shaft was dug here to explore mining opportunities. Since iron ore extraction was only possible under difficult technical conditions, operations were stopped again in 1965. After negotiations between the state forest administration and the ore mining company, the site with the existing infrastructure was returned to the forest office. The administration building with the so-called washroom was converted and as early as 1966 the youth forest home Hahnhorst was able to start operations with a youth forest assignment. In 2010, the WPZ Hahnhorst was opened in its present form after a conceptual expansion of the forest education offer of the Lower Saxony State Forests. A modern seminar building for conferences, training and teaching events has now been added to the accommodation building, which has been continuously developed since the 1960s. In addition to the multi-day offers at the Schwaförden site, the WPZ offers forest education day and short-term events in the Nienburger Land educational region." Source: "https://www.landesforsten.de/erleben/waldpaedagogik/unsere-waldpaedagogikzentren/wpz-hahnhorst/" - there you can find more information.