Osten: Suspension Ferry, Trails and Museums

Osten brings together the history of the suspension ferry, trails through the Ostemarsch marshland, and collections on everyday life and local history. This gives visitors a choice of different focal points: engineering, regional life, or exploring on foot, by bike and on the water. If you are looking for a hotel in Osten, these topics can help guide your travel plans.

Suspension Ferry: Engineering Across the Oste

The Osten-Hemmoor suspension ferry is an open-air museum. Its 90-metre-long steel truss spans the Oste; the gondola moves above the river without touching the water. The structure and its movement give the landmark a clear engineering focus. At De Fährstuv in Osten, the technology and history of the suspension ferry are presented. The structure as an open-air museum and its technical and historical context thus offer two distinct ways to explore the subject.

The suspension ferry is also part of the German Ferry Route from Bremervörde to Kiel and the Tostedt–Balje Oste Cycle Route. Museum rides are offered between April and October; check operating details before you travel. Parking is available at the suspension ferry in Osten.

Trails and Activities

You can explore Osten on foot through the Ostemarsch marshland. One specific route is the Historic Ferry Trail between Osten and Hemmoor: it is around six kilometres long, forms a circular route and passes through transport and cultural history. The loop begins and ends at St. Petri Church in Osten, Am Markt, whose nave is Baroque. The route follows paved paths and roads.

Cycling along the river is another activity in Osten; you can go kayaking on the Oste. The options therefore differ in what they follow: the Historic Ferry Trail as a circular walk, cycling by the river, and kayaking on the Oste. The information about the ferry trail includes its approximate length, circular route, start and end points, and surface.

Museums and Local History

The Buddelmuseum Osten displays around 4,500 bottles from all over the world. The Ostener Heimatmuseum focuses on the area’s economic and everyday life: exhibits include equipment, tools, household items and furniture. Further exhibits cover local wildlife, as well as hunting and fishing. The museums therefore have different focuses: the Buddelmuseum is devoted to bottles from all over the world, while the Heimatmuseum explores everyday objects and local topics.

The townscape also offers a historical perspective. Around 90 percent of the buildings in the historic town centre were built before 1914. A former mill in Osten has been converted into a cultural centre. Along with the Baroque nave of St. Petri Church, these architectural details add further aspects of local history to the themes explored by the museums and the suspension ferry.

Discover more destinations: Mittelstenahe, Otterndorf, Wurster Nordseeküste, Geestland, Wehdel, Sandstedt, Bad Bederkesa, Flögeln.

Return to the main travel overview: Cuxhaven.