Westphalian Mill Route

The mill route, which is also called Westphalian Mills Route is a circular route in the mill district of Minden - Luebbecke in North Rhine -Westphalia and adjacent areas. The course is designed to connect the 43 domestic mills on a circuit of about 320 km with each other. Be on a side route beyond three mills in Lower Saxony Nienburg that close to the state and county boundary are included in the Westphalian Mills Route.

On largely quiet roads mill route leads through a landscape, which is characterized by Weser and Wiehengebirge with the transition to the North German Plain and the Weser stream. More and more tourists use the infrastructure of bike paths, therefore there is along the main routes dining facilities and overnight accommodations.

A distinction is made between a northern and a southern variant of the mill route. Both variants can be combined (eg Tonnenheide, Rahden ) or the Minden Fahrgastschiffahrt ( Südhemmern ) with the museum train Minden (eg Hille, Südhemmern, Kleinenbremen ), the railway museum Rahden.

Details of the mills are in the article on the Westphalian Mills Route.

Northern Route

The starting point is the ship mill in Minden. At the Weser along you go to Peter Hagen, there to cross the Weser. After a loop to get over Schlüsselburg back to Peter Hagen. This section is about 65 km long and goes past 11 mills.

By Peter Hagen on the way Hille leads to Espelkamp and Rahden. In Rahdener district Tonnenheide is the so-called Great Stone, the largest erratic boulder in northwestern Germany, and in the museum one of the two " horse mills " of the mill route. This section is also about 65 km long. May be reached through a side route via the Lower Saxony region of Great Heerse after Wegholm. The path leads past the watermill Harrienstedt and at windmills Mösloh and Hoyersvörde.

From Rahden it goes over Oppenwehe by Levern. Near Oppenwehe is the Oppenweher Moor. The next goal, the Wiehengebirge contrary, is Prussian Oldendorf, a city with three state-approved climatic health resorts. Among the castles and manors of the environment leads a special route of the city Prussian Oldendorf. You have to decide whether to continue the northern variant will follow, or whether the southern variant is to be taken now.

The northern tour goes on Luebbecke on the Great peatland past back to Minden. From Rahden to Minden back the distance is about 85 km.

Southern Route

The southern route runs from Prussian Oldendorf about Hüllhorst, Bad Oeynhausen and Porta Westfalica to Minden. The length of this route is about 95 km. In contrast to the previous flat route of the road now crosses the Wiehen and later the Weser Mountains.

After visiting the Windmill Hüllhorst - Schnathorst or the water mill " beautiful mill " in Wulferdingsen ( in Bad Oeynhausen ) you can switch to the so-called " Wallücke " on a slope to the northern route. Along the Weser to turn reached over Holzhausen ( windmill ) and the river Weser in Minden, which saves the increase at the Weser Mountains. This path leads past Kleinenbremen where the so-called visitor mine is located.