Lengerich: Hiking, Cycling and History

If you’re looking for a hotel in Lengerich, you can plan your trip around the activities and historical themes that interest you. Hiking trails at the canyon and quarry, an excellent cycling route and sites related to local history offer a variety of options. You can also factor train travel into your plans.

Hiking: Canyon and Quarry

The “Canyon Blick” Teutoschleife is an 11-kilometre circular hiking trail between Lengerich and Leeden that leads to the Canyon nature reserve. The trail has been awarded the German Hiking Seal and is part of the Tecklenburger Land premium hiking region. The approximately five-kilometre Canyon Tour runs around the canyon and offers three viewing platforms, each providing a different view of the protected area. You can choose between a longer loop between Lengerich and Leeden and a shorter canyon tour with designated viewpoints.

Another circular hiking trail runs for eight kilometres around the Lengerich quarry. Along the way, you’ll find a wide variety of plants, striking limestone walls and information boards about the landscape around the quarry in TERRA.vita Nature and Geopark. The three trails differ in both length and the landscapes and viewpoints they feature.

Cycle into the Town Centre

The Peace Route is a cycling loop between Münster and Osnabrück that runs directly into Lengerich town centre. It is certified as a four-star ADFC Quality Cycling Route. If a bike ride is part of your travel plans, the route’s stretch into the town centre is a useful point of reference; it connects the named cities and is not simply a loop around Lengerich.

Local History, Architecture and Remembrance

The nave of the Evangelical Town Church in Lengerich was completed in 1497 in the late Gothic style as a Westphalian hall church. The Wechte megalithic tomb dates back much further: it is about 4,000 years old, was discovered in 1927 and has been partially reconstructed. These two structures reflect different periods of local history.

The Jewish cemetery in Lengerich is the only surviving evidence of the former Jewish community and Jewish life in Lengerich; its history goes back to the 18th century. The Old Railway Tunnel is also linked to the town’s history: from March 1944 until shortly before the end of the war, it served as an outpost of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg under the code name “Rebhuhn.” The tunnel is not accessible because it is in a state of considerable disrepair.

The history of light railway transport is documented at the Westphalian Light Railway Museum in Lengerich. The museum presents an extensive collection and offers a short ride on a restored light railway. The Haus Beccard local history museum displays, among other things, exhibits on life and work at the time in a small town with a rural character. Visits to the local history museum are available on request.

The former Haus Vortlage manor was first mentioned in the 13th century. The privately owned estate includes a mill, an oak avenue, a moat and a main building; it also serves as a heritage site, association headquarters, foundation and meeting place. Its private status is important to bear in mind when planning your trip, as this does not imply general access to the estate.

The Old Town Hall houses the Tourist Information Office, the town library and the municipal archive. Lengerich’s historical sites therefore cover a broad range of subjects, from architecture and archaeological heritage to Jewish history and remembrance of the National Socialist era.

Plan Your Journey

Lengerich can be reached by train. Lengerich station is about 2.5 kilometres from the town centre, and there is also a bus connection. If you’re travelling by train, take the distance between the station and the town centre into account when planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Recke, Nordwalde, Steinfurt, Laer, Metelen, Hopsten, Neuenkirchen, Ladbergen.

Return to the regional travel overview: Steinfurt.