The best walks and hikes around Vechta

Not the easiest stretch on the Via Baltica. With the constant, sometimes steep, ascents and descents, the Dammer Mountains can be a real challenge.

Dinklage Castle Abbey (St. Scholastica Abbey) is the name of a Benedictine nunnery. It is located within Dinklage Castle in Dinklage, Vechta district, in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of Lower Saxony. The abbey is named after Saint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia. The monastery is situated in Dinklage Castle, a moated castle that was owned by the Westphalian noble family von Galen until 1949. Clemens August Count von Galen (1878–1946), later Bishop and Cardinal of Münster, was born in the castle and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 9, 2005. Since 1983, the castle has been located within the "Dinklage Castle" landscape conservation area.[1] In 2017, the Burgwald Dinklage nature reserve, within which the castle is nestled, was removed from this area.

History of the Mill Until the construction of the Schwege Mill, the only mills in the Dinklage area were the count's watermill at Dinklage Castle, built in 1460 and renovated in 1730, and the count's post mill in Bünne, built in 1628, which was replaced in 1688 by a gallery windmill "Auf dem Hövel." Later, the mill was called "Holthaus Mill." 1848–1849: Construction of the Schwege Mill by Böckmann and Schulte on Schulte's property in Schwege. (Zeller = term for the owner of a farm (full-time farm) in the Oldenburg Münsterland region) The sons of mill co-owner Böckmann were the first millers at the mill. Hence the name "Bäukn's Mill." In 1864, Bernhard Wehebrink leased the mill. The leasehold lasted until 1964. It also included a small farm and outbuildings. A rye bread bakery was built on the mill grounds between 1870 and 1871. Rye bread was baked there until the 1950s. Around 1880, Bernhard Wehebrink built a motor mill next to the windmill, initially powered by a steam engine. Later, he installed a diesel engine and then an electric motor. Millstones continued to be used for grinding the grain. The motor mill was demolished around 1970. Bernhard Wehebrink died in 1913 at the age of 80. His son, Heinrich Wehebrink, took over the mill. In 1914, the millstones fell silent. A severe storm destroyed two sails. New ones were ordered and cut to size, but they were never installed after the end of World War I. Milling operations continued with the motor mill. In 1925, lightning struck the remaining sails and set them ablaze. Afterward, the mill began to fall into disrepair. When the Schulte and Böckmann families, the owners, planned to demolish the mill in the early 1960s, Josef Hürkamp, then chairman of the Dinklage Local History Society, campaigned for its preservation. Unlike many mill ruins in the Vechta district, the interior of the Schweger Mill was still almost completely intact and only slightly damaged. The mill's owners agreed to lease it to the town of Dinklage. That same year, the town of Dinklage commissioned the Local History Society to care for and maintain the mill. Renovation began in 1962, initially with the installation of new sails, a new gallery, the re-shingling of the octagonal structure, and the replacement of the wind beam. To this day, numerous further preservation measures have been undertaken to ensure the continued existence and functionality of the Schweger Mill. After Josef Hürkamp, Josef Vodde, Gerd Gehlenborg, and Paul Arlingshaus took charge of preserving the mill. Since 2004, maintenance work and other activities related to the mill have been shared among the many members of the Friends of the Mill association. In 1964, the Schweger Mill was designated a historical monument. In 1967/68, a horse-powered mill building was erected on the mill grounds. It is used as a meeting room and for events. In the following years, the old bakehouse was also renovated. In 2006/2007, the Klöönhus (a small building) was constructed. This building houses a kitchen and three restrooms, one of which is accessible for people with disabilities.

Not only is hiking great here, but mountain biking is also fantastic.

The fitness trail at the mountain lake, created in the early 1970s, was completely renovated in 2018. The expanded fitness trail invites you to exercise in the fresh air. Source: https://www.damme.de/

@Andreas Flug: I think we locals know better that this is NOT an anti-aircraft position.

It is clearly an abandoned gravel silo from the 1950s and 1960s and has no connection to the ammunition depot. I grew up in Handorf-Hellbusch, now Papendiek (1943-1967) and know the situation from my own experience. Two anti-aircraft emplacements for the protection of the ammunition depot were located on the Kattenberg, one at the top of the hill, the second downhill towards the Steinemann garden, formerly owned by Dr. Assmann. The picture on the button shows a view from the Kattenberg towards the ammunition depot/Wempenmoor. The property in the middle was my parents' house. This view is no longer possible today; the vegetation is too high and was planted by Dr. Assmann in the 1950s. Until then, this was an open area and the location of the two anti-aircraft emplacements.

In the Bexadde Valley, the Cardinal's Way crosses the Way of St. James. +++ The Cardinal's Way was inaugurated in October 2018 and is a 24.1 km long pilgrimage route leading from the former Benedictine monastery in Damme to Dinklage Castle. The route is named after Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, who was born in Dinklage Castle. The Cardinal's Way is divided into four stages. At the beginning and end of each stage, there is a station marked by an iron stele. The five stations commemorate virtues that were exemplified by Blessed Cardinal Graf von Galen. Each stele bears a motto: "To be courageous," "to be steadfast," "to be determined," "to be alone (and together), and "to be simple."