The Wurzelbrink is a hill south of
Lübbecke which, at , is the second highest peak in the
Wiehen Hills
The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...
in north
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 ...
.
Immediately to the south is the no less majestic
Kniebrink
The Kniebrink, at , is the third highest mountain in the northern German Wiehen Hills. Its immediate summit belongs administratively to the village of Oberbauerschaft in the municipality of Hüllhorst. However, its boundary with the town of L� ...
(315 m). There is an old and rather small watchtower, the ''
Wartturm'', on top of the Wurzelbrink, which was built in 1857, whose outstanding views of the local area are partly obscured by the trees that have now grown up around it.
Views
Towards the east the "King of the Wiehen Hills", the
Heidbrink (320 m), towers above the surrounding terrain. About 20 years ago, when the trees were much lower, the hills of the
Stemweder Berg (also called the Stemme Hills or ''Stemmer Berge''), which are up to 181 m high, could be seen in good weather about 25 km away. Between the Wiehen Hills and the Stemweder Berg lies the broad expanse of the Lübbecke Land, that used to form the independent district of ''Kreis Lübbecke'' until the regional reforms of the 1970s. To the northeast, the
Großes Torfmoor ("Great Peat Bog") can be made out about 6 km away between the villages of Gehlenbeck/Nettelstedt and the
Mittelland Canal
The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of the country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway connection. Its significanc ...
. This is the most northerly and largest
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
in Westphalia and is a nature reserve. The only wild
white stork
The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...
s in Westphalia breed here. To the east the Wiehen Hills run in a curve to the
Westphalian Gap a good 25 km away, which is visible in good weather.
Unfortunately this view is obstructed today by the tall trees that have grown up; there is only a rather restricted view to the south: in that direction the rolling terrain of the
Ravensberg Hollow. On the horizon one can clearly make out the
Teutoburg Forest
The Teutoburg Forest ( ; ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed the ''Teutoburg Forest'' ...
, also called the Osning. Particularly striking is the large TV tower near
Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...
. In very good conditions, with the aid of binoculars, the sword point of Hermann's Monument (''Hermanns-Denkmal'') can be seen.
The ''
Mensinger Ravine'' begins on the eastern side of the hill and runs northwards.
It is worth noting that if the tower were raised by a few metres, as has been done for the neighbouring observation tower on the
Nonnenstein, it would afford the hiker clear views again.
Spring on the Wurzelbrink
On the western slope of the hill, a spring rises immediately next to a hiking trail. The spring has been comprehensively walled in. Occasionally you can see the locals fill cans and other containers on carts here, with this apparently very drinkable source of water, for their domestic use. In the springtime the source yields 10 litres of water per minute. In summer, the yield can drop to more or less nothing, however, depending on the weather.
So far the source has not been given any legally binding name. However, local residents have for decades called it, jocularly, the ''Mickey Mouse Spring''.
According to unofficial chemical analysis the spring water generally has very low levels of pollutants. Only the proportion of copper ions is relatively high for human consumption but this use is still safe.
Gallery
File:Falk Oberdorf Ansicht Lubbecke.JPG, The Wurzelbrink (far right) seen from the north
File:Aufstieg Wurzelbrink Falk Oberdorf.jpg, From Lübbecke it takes 45–60 minutes to climb the Wurzelbrink
File:Falk Oberdorf Wurzelbrink 8.JPG, On the northwestern flank of the Wurzelbrink a clearing enables a view of the Lübbecke Land.
File:Falk Oberdorf-Warturm bei LK.jpg, The watchtower (''Wartturm'') on the summit of the Wurzelbrink
File:Falk Oberdorf Wurzelbrink physisch.jpg, Next to the Wurzelbrink the Kniebrink also rises above the 300 metre mark
File:Falk Oberdorf Wurzelbrink Quelle.JPG, A stream source on the western slope of the Wurzelbrink
File:Falk Oberdorf-Warturm Tafel.jpg, Memorial tablet on the tower
References
{{Reflist
Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia
Lübbecke