Ottrau

Ottrau: Ponds, Boundary Stones and Mill Technology

Ottrau is set in an attractive low mountain landscape. There are several different themes to consider when planning your stay: the Immichenhainer ponds, the “Historical Boundaries” route, the former monastery church and the Steinmühle Mill Museum in Ottrau-Schorbach. This lets you decide how much to focus on nature, local history and milling technology, depending on what interests you most on your trip.

Nature and Views over Immichenhain

The “Immichenhainer ponds” area covers approximately 23.2 hectares and has been a nature reserve since 1985. Since 2008, it has also been designated as a FFH area with the same boundaries and name; it originally comprised seven small lakes. The “Historical Boundaries” route passes by the nature reserve and four springs in the Immichenhain district. From the “Immichenhain View” bench, you can look out over the village, the chapel of the former monastery and the buildings of today’s state-owned estate. In the direction of Schrecksbach, the Bodenbach valley opens up from there. Ponds, springs and viewpoints each provide a different focus for planning your trip.

Border History and Architecture

The “Historical Boundaries” route is just under ten kilometres long. Along the way, historical boundary stones are introduced; some of them date back to at least the 16th century. The route thus links the history of the boundaries with springs and the nature reserve as other specific points of interest. The former monastery church in Immichenhain also tells a story spanning different eras: it was built in the Gothic style at the beginning of the 13th century. Its surviving wall paintings date from the first half of the 14th century. Large epitaphs from the 17th century reveal something of the family history of the Lords of Diede. The rounded arches, ornaments and figures in the Romanesque style on the baptismal font suggest that it may be older than the church. This sequence—from the possibly older baptismal font to the church building, paintings and epitaphs—gives the historical details a clear context.

Steinmühle Mill Museum in Schorbach

The Steinmühle Mill Museum in Ottrau-Schorbach is right on the railway cycle path. The museum includes an outdoor area, a sawmill and a waterwheel. These features add a technical focus alongside the nature and church history themes in Immichenhain. By prior arrangement, the mill museum can serve coffee and “Schwälmer sheet cake” or a savoury sausage snack. If you would like to plan for such catering, arrange it in advance and ask about current availability.

More themes in the wider Schwalm-Eder district destination

The wider Schwalm-Eder district destination encompasses low mountain landscapes around the Knüll, Kellerwald and Habichtswald ranges. Two routes in the Schwalm-Eder district showcase different formats: the Steinkammergrabrunde near Fritzlar-Lohne is an easy 4.90-kilometre circular route in the nature park. The Schwalm Cycle Route is around 100 kilometres long and runs mostly on paved or surfaced paths through river landscapes featuring meadows, fields, villages and half-timbered towns. It reaches the point where the Schwalm flows into the Eder, just before Felsberg in the Schwalm-Eder district. The different lengths and route types make it easy to distinguish between the region’s tour options.

The museums in the Schwalm-Eder district also offer a range of cultural themes. The Malerstübchen Museum in Willingshausen explores 19th- and 20th-century art history and displays paintings featuring motifs of Schwalm traditional dress, as well as rural crafts such as whitework embroidery, knitting and spinning. Expert-led tours include talks about the artists’ colony and its artists, Schwalm customs and crafts. In Schwalmstadt-Ziegenhain, the Museum of the Schwalm displays pottery and ceramics traditionally made in the region in a reconstructed pottery workshop. The museum also houses a large model of the Ziegenhain water fortress, showing its condition in 1761 after it was shelled during the Seven Years’ War.

Discover more destinations: Weißenborn, Frielendorf, Schwalmstadt, Jesberg, Niedenstein, Gudensberg, Gilserberg, Edermünde

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