Kapellenweg Delbrück (DE 11)

Dozens of chapels and churches in the Delbrücker Land region accompany the Chapel Trail through the flat landscape. If you grab your bike, you can discover many small "houses of worship" and many other sights along the 45-kilometre route. Simply follow the directions and off you go.

The tour starts from the Delbrück "Wiemenkamp" parking lot at the town hall. The signs are, how could it be otherwise, marked with a chapel. Due to the NRW signposting, the cycle path is also designated as DE 11 in some places. The entire route runs along farm tracks and only rarely along roads with car traffic, making the Kapellenweg ideal for families with small children. Follow the signposts and you will not only discover the idyllically situated chapels of the Delbrücker Land, but also the Boker-Heide Canal, which is 32 kilometers long and was used to regularly irrigate the surrounding meadows. Its construction began in 1850. The aim was to make the heathland fertile through controlled flooding in order to create a new livelihood for the impoverished population. The cycle route also takes you along the Lippe, which was navigable as far as Anreppen in earlier times. Laundry used to be washed at Haustenbach and laid out on the meadows for bleaching, and children could bathe here.

14 chapels and churches line the 45-kilometre route: the parish church of St. Johannes Baptist, the Kreuzkapelle, the Wegekapelle am Zollbrett, the Rellerkapelle, the chapel at the former Valepagenhof, the chapel and church in Lippling, the Furlhorstkapelle on Nordhagener Straße, the Heihoffskapelle, the Schweihoffskapelle, the Almodtkapelle, Marienkirche in Westenholz-Mühlenheide, the Romanesque church in Boke and the cemetery chapel in Anreppen.

The chapel trail leads from Delbrück to Lippling via Nordhagen to Anreppen. The Anreppen Roman camp is a must-see stop. The discovery of Augustan fragments led to the discovery of a Roman legionary camp covering an area of 23 hectares in 1967. The traces of huge fortifications and buildings of imposing dimensions are proof of the strategic importance of the Lippe site. The camp was used by the Romans from 4 to probably 9 AD and is said to have housed up to 6000 soldiers. The soldiers were housed in crew quarters, while the staff officers lived in small villas. The Praetorium, the commander's residence, stood out due to its size. Its luxurious construction confirms the assumption that it was actually the later Emperor Tiberius who commanded the troops in Anreppen. Information boards on site provide information about the Roman camp. From Anreppen, the route continues towards Boke and back to the starting point in Delbrück.