Discover Salzwedel

Salzwedel combines a cycling route that passes through the city with walking trails and sights in the town center. The different routes and places offer practical guidance without constituting the same travel itinerary.

Cycling and nature around Salzwedel

The Hanse-Wendland Cycle Route passes through Salzwedel and combines cycling with forests, green floodplain meadows, tree-lined avenues and villages. Along the way, there are opportunities to observe storks, wild geese and other wildlife. Check the signage and infrastructure before setting off.

The nearby 80-kilometer Grenzerfahrung hiking route offers a different perspective. It passes through around 20 different natural areas, including sand dunes, expansive meadows, lakes and damp alder forests. Along the route are also memorial sites commemorating the former border and abandoned villages; Salzwedel is one of the towns that can be visited along the route. The two options therefore differ clearly in terms of how you travel: the Hanse-Wendland Cycle Route passes through Salzwedel, while the Grenzerfahrung is a long hiking route connecting different landscapes and historic sites. Check route conditions and services before planning a specific hike.

City walks and sights

In the wider destination of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, the town center of the Hanseatic city of Salzwedel is characterized by medieval architecture, half-timbered houses, picturesque cobbled lanes and brick churches. A compact city map covers 33 sights and pleasant walking routes in the city center. Those exploring the city on foot can also use the 1,850-meter-long city wall as a guide: along the wall, you can discover parts of the medieval castle complex, gates and towers. The map, old town and city wall each offer a different focus for a walk through Salzwedel.

Salzwedel’s cultural offerings also include the “Fairy Tale Park and Fragrance Garden.” It features themed gardens such as the Elfenreich (Realm of the Elves), fairy-tale scenes and figures, as well as spaces for events. This brings together garden settings and fairy-tale themes in a distinct destination within the wider Altmarkkreis Salzwedel area.

More things to explore in Altmarkkreis Salzwedel

The Altmark Circuit is another cycling route in the wider destination of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel: it is almost 500 kilometers long and passes through forests and meadows, by numerous brick and fieldstone churches. For long stretches, it runs close to the “Green Belt of Germany” and connects nature, history and culture. Its ten stages have different surfaces: asphalt, concrete trackways, paved farm and forest tracks, sandy agricultural tracks and quiet roads. This information helps put the route in context as a distinct, longer cycling option; on its own, it says nothing about conditions on any particular day of travel.

The Drömling also offers nature and landscape experiences in the wider destination of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve includes areas within the municipalities of the town of Klötze and the Hanseatic city of Gardelegen. The Drömling has well-developed cycling and hiking trails, observation towers, information centers and guided nature-watching tours. For specific planning, check current maps and the availability of facilities and tours.

Other cultural destinations are located in different parts of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel. At the Langobardenwerkstatt Zethlingen, visitors can experience everyday life among the Lombards and take part in hands-on activities such as baking, making pottery, and using a bow and arrow. The monastery church in Arendsee is considered the oldest fully vaulted brick building in northeastern Germany. In Arendsee and the surrounding area, swimming, sailing, surfing, fishing and boat trips are among the tourist activities on the lake; individual providers and conditions may change.

The megalithic tombs and routes exploring megalithic culture also give regional visits a historical focus. Of the more than 200 megalithic tombs that once existed in the Altmark, 40 remain in Altmarkkreis Salzwedel and eight in Stendal district. The “Western Altmark Megalithic Route” is part of the European cultural route “Megalithic Routes.”

Discover more destinations: Steinitz, Beetzendorf, Gardelegen, Arendsee, Rohrberg, Kuhfelde, Dähre, Klötze.

Go to the wider travel overview: Altmarkkreis Salzwedel.