Leer: Old Town, Museums and Harbour

When looking for a hotel in Leer, the focus of your stay can help with planning your trip: local history, museums, the harbour or outdoor activities. Leer offers a range of specific places and activities for these interests. The following locations and attractions give you an overview of the city’s highlights.

Local History and Museums

Haus Samson, an Amsterdam-style gabled house, has been a landmark in Leer’s old town since 1643. Public city tours include stops at the Old Town Hall, the historic weigh house and Haus Samson; the tour lasts 1.5 hours. This gives you a way to plan a guided overview of several historic sites within a set timeframe. The Leer Local History Museum explores East Frisian domestic culture and local shipping.

The city’s themes also include the history of remembrance and technology. The Former Jewish School in Leer is a memorial and meeting place run by the District of Leer. At the Telecommunications Museum, visitors can experience 150 years of communications history through rare exhibits and working technology. The two institutions focus on different aspects: remembrance and dialogue at one, and the history of communications at the other.

Evenburg Castle and East Frisian Tea Culture

Evenburg Castle is a cultural monument of national significance, comprising three elements: the castle, park and outer bailey. It has been open since May 2014, with a permanent exhibition on the life and livelihood of an aristocratic family in the 19th century; it is also a centre for garden culture. Its connection with garden culture is therefore as much a part of Evenburg’s character as the exhibition in the castle.

The Bünting Tea Museum spans two floors and explores the cultivation, production and preparation of tea, as well as the history of East Frisia’s favourite drink. East Frisian tea culture is part of the broader cultural landscape of Lower Saxony: from the second half of the 17th century, it developed into a distinct ceremony with specific tea blends, porcelain and rituals. The museum lets you explore the subject both through the practical aspects of tea and its regional cultural history.

Harbour and Open Spaces

Leer’s museum harbour is open to the public all year round and is operated and maintained by the Schipperklottje. The canal boat “Koralle” offers another way to experience the harbour: visitors can take a harbour tour through Leer’s port.

The Westerhammrich recreation area lies in the northwest of the city. It covers about 1 km², with a lake of about 15 ha at its centre. The area features footpaths and cycle paths, places to relax and observation points. The different area measurements help put the recreation area and its central lake in perspective as two distinct parts of different sizes.

Cycling and Exploring the Surrounding Area

A well-signposted network of cycle paths makes it easy to cycle in and around Leer. The guided “Cycle Around the City” tour shares interesting facts about Leer and explains why the city looks the way it does today. The route does not always follow well-known, official cycle paths. The tour focuses on the city’s development, and its route may differ from familiar, official routes.

In the area around Leer, visitors can explore the East Frisian river and canal landscape at their own pace with “Paddle and Pedal”. This complements the cycling options with another way to experience the landscape, without conflating the two activities: the cycling tour offers insights into the city, while “Paddle and Pedal” focuses on the rivers and canals.

Getting to Leer

By car, Leer is accessible via the A 28 from Bremen and Hamburg, the A 31 from the Ruhr area, and the Dutch A 7 from the Netherlands. By train, there are connections from Oldenburg and Bremen, as well as from the Ruhr area.

Discover more destinations

Rhauderfehn, Jemgum, Holtland, Leer, Neukamperfehn, Brinkum, Bunde, Hesel, Nortmoor, Weener, Westoverledingen, Detern, Filsum, Firrel, Ostrhauderfehn, Bingum, Moormerland, Uplengen

For the main travel overview: Lower Saxony.