Freizeit-Radroute "Pillepoppen"

Pillepoppen is the East Westphalian word for tadpoles (frog larvae). The "Pillepoppen" cycle route is a family nature tour with numerous stops on the themes of water, landscape and geology: the "wild" valley of the Lutter, floodplains and wet meadows along the Reiherbach and Röhrbach streams, a nature reserve with industrial history, the clear water of the Sennebach streams, a strange stream that flows in two directions and, of course, Pillepoppen, e.g. in the Botanical Garden. If you like it a little more sporty, you can also take the signposted extension route around Bielefeld-Sennestadt under your bike tires.

If you add up the length of all of Bielefeld's streams, you get an impressive 560 kilometers. Explore some of the more than 70 streams and 350 ponds on this water-rich themed route!

The "Pillepoppen" route starts and ends at the Naturbad Brackwede.

The Luttertal in the Brackwede district is a very natural green corridor. Ponds and meadows that were once used for bleaching fabrics have developed into a "wilderness". The Lutter flows on to the Ems and is therefore also known as the Ems-Lutter.

The "Niemöllers Mühle" watermill on the Ems-Lutter was built around 1736 to replace the original Niemöller flour mill from 1535 after it burned down.

The local center of Isselhorst around the Protestant church is a great place to stop off. Discover the "Holtkämperei", probably built in 1623 and the oldest house in the village, the barrel museum and the historic inn "Gasthaus zur Linde" (see author's tip)!

Reiherbach and Röhrbach are the namesakes of the approximately 132-hectare nature reserve in the Windflöte district. This nature reserve was designated back in 2005. It is a largely unsettled cultural landscape.

The Hof Ramsbrock, first mentioned in a document in 1556, was one of the most important farms in the Senne. Since 2012, a support association has been renovating and converting the municipal landscape conservation farm. Children, young people and adults can experience nature and its diversity here at numerous events.

The Windel sewage fields used to be used to drain the waste water from the Windel textile company. Today, the sewage fields are an important nature reserve where many rare bird species breed and rest. Three observation towers, a barrier-free platform and signposted walking trails provide insights into the flora and fauna of the wetland biotope.

The last stop is the Lutterquelle. In the middle of the 15th century, a canal was built to divert Lutter water to Bielefeld to the north - against the natural southern direction of flow. Since then, the Lutter has existed twice: as the "Weser-Lutter" it flows north into the Weser and as the "Ems-Lutter" south into the Ems.

How about a refreshing dip in Lutter water at the end of your cycle tour? After being mineral-filtered, the water from the Lutter spring fills the pools of the Naturbad Brackwede outdoor pool.

(!) Feeder route from the tourist information office (2x 5.6km):

On the feeder route from the tourist information office in the New Town Hall (Bielefeld-Mitte) to Naturbad Brackwede, you can head for two more stops. The Spiegel'sche Hof, an aristocratic manor dating back to 1540, is home to the Naturkunde-Museum (namu) with permanent and temporary exhibitions on the topics of man and nature, biodiversity and climate change. Exciting and eventful for the whole family! The Botanical Garden on the Kahlenberg, which was created in 1912, has a unique character. It impresses with lush vegetation, winding paths and a gorge with a stream. On a tour of the botanical garden, you can enjoy a fascinating sea of flowers and bright colors at almost any time of year. In April and May, you can see Pillepoppen in the water basins.

(!) Extension route:

On the extension route around Sennestadt, you will travel through the Menkhauser Bachtal, the Hasselbach floodplain and to an inland dune. The sandy subsoil, clear water and the box valleys in which they flow are characteristic of all Senne streams. In the Menkhauser Bachtal valley, the stream, which is still largely in its natural state, provides a habitat for a diverse range of wildlife in and around the water. To the south of the Teutoburg Forest lies the Trocken-Senne. Special terrain forms such as inland dunes and dry valleys are typical of this part of the Senne landscape.