Discover Geeste: Water, Moorland and History

Geeste offers a range of themes to consider when planning a stay: the reservoir, activity trails focused on nature and water, museums and a memorial site. When planning a stay in Geeste, you can decide what the area has to offer based on the themes that interest you. Water, birdlife and moorland sit alongside history, technology and regional ways of life.

Water, Moorland and Nature

Geeste Reservoir covers 180 hectares, and its bathing beach is 850 metres long. At Geeste Reservoir, the activity trail focuses on birdlife and the sounds of the forest and lake. The activity trail in Dalum-Wietmarscher Moor is dedicated to dragonflies. The two trails therefore highlight different aspects of nature: birdlife and sounds by the lake, and dragonflies in the moorland. Geeste is part of the Bourtanger Moor – Bargerveen International Nature Park.

In the municipality of Varloh, the Drinking Water Discovery Trail traces the water cycle. Around 35 information boards, illustrative exhibits and learning games at the exhibits explore the subject. The Segelverein Speichersee Emsland sailing club teaches children, young people and adults the basics of sailing in single- and double-handed boats.

History, Museums and Technology

In Dalum, the carefully restored, listed buildings of the former Nazi Emsland Camp XII are open to visitors as the “LAGER XII DALUM” memorial site. They include the transformer station and guard building. The exhibition provides information about the camps and war cemeteries in Emsland and Grafschaft Bentheim.

The Emsland Moormuseum in Groß Hesepe presents past ways of life and work in two modern halls with more than 2,500 square metres of exhibition space. The museum also includes a reconstructed settler farmstead dating from the 1930s: the “Siedlerhof”, recognised as an “Arche-Hof” (Ark Farm). It is home to old regional livestock breeds, including Bentheim sheep and Bentheim pigs. The museum and settler farmstead complement one another, offering different insights into the region’s past and agriculture.

St. Nikolaus Church in Groß Hesepe is another historic place to visit: the 800-year-old church is a listed building. In Osterbrock, the Narrow Film Museum focuses on film technology. Its collection includes more than 300 cameras, 50 projectors and numerous editing devices. Geeste thus offers ecclesiastical architecture and technical collections as distinct cultural themes.

In Emsland: Hümmling and the Emsland Route

In the wider Emsland destination, Hümmling Nature Park lies in the northeast of Emsland district and covers around 580 square kilometres. Cycle and walking trails, with information points along the way, pass historic sites, megalithic tombs and Clemenswerth Palace. These landscape and route themes provide a regional context for a stay beyond Geeste’s individual attractions.

The Emsland Route is a 395-kilometre circular route through five landscape areas: Northern Ems Valley, Hümmling, Bourtanger Moor, Hasetal and Southern Emsland. It is very well signposted, mostly flat, paved and traffic-free, making it especially suitable for beginners and families with children. The route connects 19 places; any place in Emsland along the route can serve as a starting point or destination. When planning your trip to Emsland, you can consider this regional route separately from Geeste’s nature and cultural themes.

Discover more destinations: Walchum, Lähden, Fresenburg, Niederlangen, Spelle, Lingen, Dersum, Sögel.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: Emsland.