Bad Salzuflen: Salt History, Half-Timbered Houses and Countryside

Bad Salzuflen offers a range of highlights for a stay: salt history, historic architecture, green spaces and hiking trails. These places and themes give you different starting points for planning your trip—from the graduation towers and exhibition to the old town and landscape garden.

Salt History and Cityscape

The graduation tower ensemble in Bad Salzuflen comprises the Erlebnisgradierwerk, the Uhrenturm graduation tower and the Parkstraße graduation tower. The Erlebnisgradierwerk has a passage with small rest alcoves and a brine mist chamber. If you plan to visit, check the latest operating information beforehand, as operating details may change.

The permanent exhibition in the Wandelhalle features more than 250 exhibits and information from various periods, spanning almost 1,000 years of the town’s history. Its themes include salt, brine and starch; salt production from the Middle Ages to the 20th century; the healing properties of the mineral springs; and Bad Salzuflen’s internationally influenced industrial history.

The Salzhof also brings together several points of interest related to salt history. There, the salt boiler monument commemorates the saltworks that stood on this site until 1926. The monument was erected in 1988 to mark the town’s 500th anniversary and donated by Stadtwerke Bad Salzuflen. A weekly market with a wide selection of fresh regional produce is also held at the Salzhof every Tuesday and Saturday. Check locally for the market day again before your trip.

Old Town and Half-Timbered Houses

A historic walk through the old town takes in places such as the historic town hall, the Paulinenquelle spring at the Salzhof, the Katzenturm tower and Haus Backs at Hafermarkt. Since dates may change, it is advisable to check the latest information if you are planning to take the walk.

In the old town, you can see richly decorated Weser Renaissance half-timbered houses, distinctive mayors’ houses and the historic town hall. The buildings mentioned include houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Haus Backs, an especially richly decorated half-timbered house, stands at Hafermarkt. It is considered one of the old town’s most photographed houses and is described as the last house in Ostwestfalen-Lippe to have been richly decorated in this manner.

Landscape Garden and Trails

Bad Salzuflen’s landscape garden is laid out in the style of English parks. Expansive green spaces, old-growth trees and groups of trees characterize the grounds. The garden has a wildlife enclosure covering around 29,000 square metres, home to fallow deer and Cameroon sheep. Animal populations may change. Rowboat trips are available on the lake in the landscape garden’s spa park; availability may be seasonal. If your visit depends on taking a boat trip, check the latest information.

Bad Salzuflen offers four dedicated circular hiking trails, two VitalWanderWelt trails, the Karl-Bachler-Weg and an accessible trail. The hiking trails have different levels of difficulty, and route conditions may change. Check the latest information before setting out.

Separate from these are circular routes developed jointly by Bad Salzuflen, Herford, Lage and Leopoldshöhe. They are between 20 and 40 kilometres long. Some are suitable for families and have gentle inclines, while others are challenging and geared towards sporty hikers. The different route characteristics can help you compare the options according to the level of difficulty you are looking for.

Discover more destinations: Leopoldshöhe, Schlangen, Lage, Oerlinghausen, Extertal, Rott, Lemgo, Hörstmar.

See the regional travel overview: Lippe.