The Route of Megalithic Culture () was first created as a tourist route that meanders from

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

to Oldenburg in North-West

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Signposted with brown road signs it links many places of archaeological interest from the Megalithic era. Signs for the route started going up in 2008 and 2009. The whole 310-kilometre-long route was officially opened on 14 May 2009. The route links many sites of archaeological investigation and 33 stations where the public can visit archaeological sites, for example, with standing stones. On the 27th of August 2013, the route became part of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe initiative, with sections in a growing number of countries, including Denmark, England, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden.

Route

The founding section of the Route of Megalithic Culture runs through the territories of

Ostercappeln Ostercappeln is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Wiehengebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Osnabrück. The municipality is made up of three villages, Ostercappeln, Venne and Schw ...

, Belm-Vehrte,

Wallenhorst Wallenhorst is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and t ...

, Bramsche, Ankum, Berge, Bippen, Fürstenau, Freren, Thuine, Lingen (Ems), Meppen, Sögel, Werlte, Lastrup,

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch ...

, Visbek, Großenkneten, Wildeshausen, Dötlingen, Ganderkesee and Oldenburg. It is planned to extend the route, on the one side towards

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, and on the other towards northeast Lower Saxony as far as

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. The original route in Lower Saxony now forms part of a greater EU initiative with similar routes in Denmark, England, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden. In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, for instance, there are another 53 megalithic sites.

Purpose

The Route of Megalithic Culture is intended to give a better understanding of the lives of people who lived over 5,000 years ago in all its member countries. The founding part of the route in northwest Germany has 33 stations, with insights into the function and design of their graves, their conception of the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

, understanding of nature and everyday lives. In some cases, the holiday road also leads to groups of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

of more recent times. The flyer for the Route of Megalithic Culture not only shows the numerous stone age stations of

megalithic culture A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

, but also other sights and points of interest along the way. These include sights especially around the town of Osnabrück with its Cultural History Museum, the castles and palaces in Osnabrück Land, the Venne Iron Age House, the Old St Alexander's Church, the Kalkriese Museum and Park, the Cloth Maker's Museum, Bramsche, Malgarten Abbey, Börstel Abbey, the town of Meppen, the Hüven Mill, Clemenswerth Palace, the Cloppenburg Museum Village, St. Alexander's Church, the village of Dötlingen, Hude Abbey and the city of Oldenburg with its State Museum of Nature and People.

Stations

The 33 stations as numbered on the official web site.

Organisation and financing

The ''Straße der Megalithkultur'' is a community project resulting from collaboration between: * Emsland Touristik GmbH * Landkreis Vechta * Museum am Schölerberg

- Natur und Umwelt, Planetarium * * Oldenburg Tourismus und Marketing GmbH * Stadt- und Kreisarchäologie Osnabrück * Tourismusverband Osnabrücker Land e.V. * Zweckverband Erholungsgebiet * Zweckverband Naturpark Wildeshauser Geest Authorised by the ''Behörde für Geoinformation, Landentwicklung und Liegenschaften '' (Department of Geoinformation, Land Usage and Property), financing for the ''Route of Megalithic Culture'' is provided from EU funds, distributed to local tourism and district authorities. In May 2011, at the request of the tourism office for Osnabrück county (''Landkreis'') the tourism promotion department of the Ministry for Economic Affairs provided a subsidy of €180,600 for the route.

References

* Ernst Sprockhoff: ''Atlas der Megalithgräber Deutschland. Teil 3: Niedersachsen – Westfalen.'' Rudolf Habelt Verlag, Bonn, 1975, , S. 129–130. * Annette Bussmann: ''Steinzeitzeugen.'' Reisen zur Urgeschichte Nordwestdeutschlands. Straße der Megalithkultur. Herausgegeben von Arbeitsgemeinschaft Straße der Megalithkultur, Isensee, Oldenburg, 2009, {{ISBN, 978-3-89995-619-1. M Megalithic monuments in Germany Burials in Lower Saxony

Megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...