Discover Thunum: Church, Landscape and Cycling Route

In Thunum, church history, a varied settlement and soil landscape, and a named cycling route come together as different points of interest for visitors. St. Mary’s Church and its detached bell tower represent buildings from different centuries; the “Old Geest Villages and Churches” route runs inland through Thunum. If you are looking for a hotel in Thunum, you can make local history, the landscape or the cycling route of about 47.6 km the focus of your trip planning.

Church and Historical Traces

The Protestant St. Mary’s Church is a simple brick hall church dating from 1842. A detached bell tower of the closed type, dating from the 13th century, stands southwest of the church. The dates clearly distinguish the two buildings: the hall church is from the 19th century, while the separate tower is medieval. The history of the site’s buildings therefore cannot be reduced to a single church date.

Two oil paintings from the 17th century, the gravestone of chieftain Edo Reentzen († 1394), and two funeral shields belonging to the von Glan family, dated 1771 and 1780, come from the predecessor church. These historical traces bring together different periods: Reentzen’s year of death, the 17th-century paintings and the later-dated funeral shields. Alongside the church building, historical objects from different centuries thus form a distinct part of the local history.

Settlement, Soils and Natural Monument

Thunum is a terp settlement founded on plaggen soil, with gley beneath the plaggen soil. To the east, north and west, the settlement is surrounded by a knickmarsch area with a fen subsoil. This area lies 0.6 to 0.7 m above sea level. To the south, it borders an area with pseudogley-podzol soil and a plaggen layer, which extends farther to the southwest. The directions distinguish the soil areas: three sides of the settlement are characterized by knickmarsch, while a different soil classification lies to the south and southwest. Settlement form and soil structure thus describe two different aspects of Thunum.

A distinct natural feature is the natural monument “Copper Beech in Thunum,” registration number ND 4. While the soil information distinguishes larger areas by cardinal direction, the registration number identifies a specific natural monument in the settlement.

Cycling Route Through Thunum

The “Old Geest Villages and Churches” cycling route runs inland through Thunum and very old settlements such as Esens, Stedesdorf and Warnsath, continuing as far as Wittmund Forest. It is about 47.6 km long. This figure gives an approximate length for the entire route, not an exact distance. The route therefore includes other named settlements as well as Thunum, and continues to Wittmund Forest. Check the route description before setting out.

The church and copper beech are individual points of interest in Thunum; by contrast, the cycling route passes through several named settlements and continues to Wittmund Forest. This distinction may help with your planning: you can focus on Thunum’s architectural and local history or take into account the longer cycling route that passes through several places.

Discover more destinations: Bensersiel, Stedesdorf.

For the wider travel overview: Esens.