Grabau: Cycling Routes, Nature and Historic Architecture
Accommodation in Grabau
Grabau offers a range of starting points for planning a trip: a cycle route along a former railway line, a freely accessible nature experience, and buildings with diverse historical connections. You can get to know the place through cycling, forests and culture.
Cycling along a historic railway line
The BahnRadWeg Route A is 27 kilometres long and runs from Bad Oldesloe via Grabau to Henstedt-Ulzburg. It follows the former route of the Elmshorn-Barmstedt-Oldesloer-Eisenbahn AG. Rail services were discontinued in 1973; the line was later converted into a cycle path. Route A thus combines a cycle ride today with the history of a disused railway line.
Route A ends in Henstedt-Ulzburg; the railway station is nearby, with train connections to Hamburg. If you would like to combine the tour with a train journey, check the timetable and station access arrangements before travelling. Another regional cycle tour passes through the Grabauer Forst recreation forest to Lake Grabau.
Nature, forest and water
Naturerlebnis Grabau is freely accessible and can be reached directly via BahnRadWeg A. You can explore the forest on your own; the grounds include a forest trail, a forest playground and a low ropes course. The trail’s stations cover topics such as forestry, alder carr, sound and birdwatching. There is also a barefoot path as well as bat and woodpecker trees. As individual stations may change, check in advance what to expect if you have a particular visit in mind.
You can also take a walk along the Grabauer MĂĽhlenteich pond. The different nature offerings vary in character: Naturerlebnis focuses on the forest and themed stations, while a cycle tour through the Grabauer Forst leads to the lake.
Erratic boulders from three ice ages
The Grabau Erratic Boulder Garden, with 30 boulders from the Stormarn district, is located along the cycle path. The stones come from geological formations dating back to the last three ice ages. The garden features almost every type of rock found in Scandinavia; granite and gneiss predominate among the larger boulders. This lets you take in the variety of rocks while noting which types are most common among the larger stones.
Manor house, country estate and chapel
Gut Grabau is a former aristocratic estate. Its manor house dates from 1804, and the estate’s roots go back to an older Meierhof farm. The estate has a defining impact on the surrounding landscape in historical, artistic, urban-planning and cultural terms.
The listed country estate “Schloss Grabau” was built between 1906 and 1908 as a two-storey, castle-like villa in the English country-house style. Its architecture includes elements of the English Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau. Grabau Chapel is a former burial chapel dating from 1923/24. Its forms are Neo-Gothic, with late Art Nouveau influences. The chapel houses a marble Madonna and Child by the sculptor Stanislaus Cauer of Königsberg.
The estate park, covering around 12 hectares, is a landscape park and villa garden; its features include a pond and two thatched pavilions. Access may be restricted by private arrangements. If you are planning a visit, check in advance.
A wider view of Stormarn
Stormarn lies in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region between Hamburg and Lübeck and is characterised by forest and moorland landscapes. Stormarn has more than 20 circular cycling routes, as well as BahnRadWege cycle routes along disused railway lines. These regional options broaden the picture of Grabau without replacing the town’s distinctive routes and places.
Discover more destinations
Discover more destinations: Stapelfeld, Bargteheide, TremsbĂĽttel, Trittau, LĂĽtjensee, Tangstedt, Delingsdorf, Jersbek.
To the main travel overview: Stormarn.
