Freizeit-Radroute "Engelroute"

The Engelroute takes you to more than 20 of these farms, mainly through green spaces and along roads with few cars. Numerous refreshment stops and playgrounds along the route invite you to take a break. Nature lovers and recreation seekers will find nature reserves and extensive green areas to their liking. As the farms are privately owned, we ask you to respect the private area.

The angels: The entrance to many Ravensberg farmhouses is richly decorated with carvings. On the posts to the right and left of the wide gate, vines climb up from jugs, surrounded by birds pecking at the grapes - and angels hover above. Johan Friedrich Welhöner and his wife Anna Maria Ilsabein Papenbrock were probably the first to decorate the archway of their new farmhouse in Theesen with angels in 1789. This archway can be found today in the Auferstehungskirche Theesen. 

(!) Detour to Hof Meyer zur Müdehorst (2x 1.3km):
From 1811 to 1813, the border between France (to the north) and the Kingdom of Westphalia (to the south) ran through the Schwarzbachtal valley. The wooden sign on the bridge over the stream with signs to Paris and Kassel is a reminder of this. The Meyer zur Müdehorst farm lies to the north of the idyllic Schwarzbach valley. The spacious grounds reflect the rural prosperity of past centuries. The entrance to the main house, a mighty half-timbered building dating from 1791, is richly decorated with carvings.

The landscape: The gently undulating plain between the Teutoburg Forest and Wiehengebirge mountains is characterized by floodplains and farmland. The route leads through this hilly landscape past some beautiful farms into the Valley of the Asbeke and Kinzbeke, which is a nature reserve. In order to gain more grassland for grazing or haymaking, the landscape began to be transformed as early as 1600. The "Wiskenmaker" straightened the stream valleys, flattened the valley floor and moved the streams to the sides of the valleys. This led to the creation of the "Sieke", which still characterize the landscape today. They run like a network of lifelines through the open agricultural landscape.

The Bielefeld green corridors: Between the Bielefeld districts of Brake and Schildesche, the route leads into the Johannisbachaue, where a semi-wild herd of Heck cattle graze. The Obersee was created by damming the Johannisbach. Further along the route, the numerous parks in a row allow for an almost car-free ride through the city on the Teutoburg Forest.