Dätgen – The Great Moor and the story of the find

Dätgen offers two specific starting points for a trip: the Great Moor south of the village and the story of the “Man of Dätgen.” You can consider the local topics and destinations at county level separately when choosing where to stay.

Moorland and trails in the surrounding area

The Great Moor lies about 1 km south of Dätgen and is a raised bog covering around 400 hectares. Measures recorded as part of a nature park project included rewetting 81 hectares, work on around 15 hectares of existing water areas, approximately 5.75 kilometres of embankments, and 57 ditch dams. Management of the larger moor continues section by section. The figures refer to different measurements: the hectare figures concern areas, the kilometre figure refers to the embankments, and the number 57 refers to the ditch dams.

There are cycling and hiking trails in the rural surroundings of Dätgen. If you are planning a particular route, check the local route information to find out its exact course. This allows you to consider the moor as a landscape destination and the trails as a separate planning question.

The “Man of Dätgen”

The bog body known as the “Man of Dätgen” was discovered in 1959, is associated with the Great Moor, and dates from the 2nd to 4th centuries. The dates have different roles: 1959 is the year of discovery, while the 2nd to 4th centuries refer to the man’s dating. The find is on display at the archaeological museum at Gottorf Castle. This allows you to consider the landscape perspective of the moor and the museum perspective on the story of the find as two different ways of exploring the subject.

The wider travel destination of Rendsburg-Eckernförde

There are four nature parks in Rendsburg-Eckernförde County; the county also has a signposted network of 1,000 kilometres of cycling routes. This network covers the county region, while the local information for Dätgen refers to cycling and hiking trails in the rural surroundings. You can plan your outings around either a local trail theme or a broader regional interest in cycling. Another regional hiking option is the 180-kilometre Nature Park Hiking Trail through the four nature parks in Rendsburg-Eckernförde County.

Other landscapes are also part of the wider travel destination of Rendsburg-Eckernförde: the county has 55 kilometres of Baltic Sea coastline. Nature Park Westensee-Obere Eider is characterised by numerous lake complexes in the Schleswig-Holstein Uplands and includes Westensee, which covers around 7 km². Another landmark is the 98-metre-high Aschberg: in good weather, it offers panoramic views as far as the Kiel Canal, Eckernförde Bay, and the state capital, Kiel. These details describe destinations and landscapes at county level.

If you are still choosing between places in the county, include Rendsburg-Eckernförde as a broader search area.

Discover more destinations: Karby, Neu Duvenstedt, Schlei-Ostsee, Borgstedt, Molfsee, Langwedel, Eisendorf, Schülldorf.

To the wider travel overview: Rendsburg-Eckernförde.