Osning Route
In Germany's Healing Garden

The Osning Route is the longest holiday route in the area around Osnabrück. A circuit of 187km in the south of the region, it is an excellent way to explore the beautiful sights of the Teutoburg Forest and Wiehengebirge hills, taking in castles, palaces and manor houses, as well as the many little health resorts, spas and villages that have a rich and varied historical background. Well over a dozen therapeutic springs have given the area between Osnabrück and Bielefeld the name "Germany's healing garden". There are a number of spas, some chic and contemporary, others quieter and more traditional. Other highlights to visit include the impressive northern highlands, moated castles typical of the region and old half-timbered buildings.

The impenetrable Teutonic forests where the Romans suffered their great defeat are now tranquil, secluded woods where you can go roaming. On a historical journey of discovery, the route takes visitors to the legendary site of the Varus battle and the excellent exhibition covering this important event at Kalkriese Museum and Park. The Romans are not the only ones to have left traces of themselves behind. Prehistoric creatures, dinosaurs, did so too – much earlier. Fossilized dinosaur tracks dating back some 150 million years have been uncovered in a quarry near Bad Essen. Also well worth seeing is the Oldendorf observatory featuring the most light-sensitive amateur telescope in Europe. This is also the starting point for a "planets trail", a scale representation of the distances between the planets and the sun, with each metre of the trail corresponding to a million kilometres in space.