The best cycling routes around Ostrhauderfehn

Nice long gravel strip/path for cyclists and hikers

The Langholter Meer and Rhauder Meer is a protected landscape area in the district of Leer in the northwest of Lower Saxony.

The 35.8 km gravel loop runs along the towers. This agricultural road is NOT to be used and is closed off!!! The Jammertalstrasse should be approached from Langholt.

Cool, such a big ship on the small canal. It's beautiful to look at, even from the outside.

Did you know that a sufficient water level was essential for the once busy shipping traffic on the fen canals? Therefore, locks, also called "Verlaate," were built. These prevented the tides from influencing the inner canal system and ensured that ships always had sufficient water under their keels. Ostrhauderfehn once had two important locks: one at the end of the main fen canal near the former "Verlaatshus" (a former barn) and another at the 1st South Bay, which maintained the water level in the upper fen area. However, in the 1950s, both locks were removed and replaced with brick weirs. In 1990, a historic box lock was rebuilt at the end of the main fen canal as part of the "Fehn Program." This modern lock system is equipped with double flood and ebb gates and can accommodate ships and pleasure craft up to 55 meters long and 5.4 meters wide. Thanks to this innovation, Ostrhauderfehn once again has a direct connection to East Frisia's extensive inland waterway network! This lock is often mistakenly called the Holterfehn Lock. This lock is also located directly on the tour route and is easily accessible. Several benches are available, inviting you to listen to the sound of the water.

Funnily enough, the HL is now located at the Strenge company. It produces a wide range of soils and substrates. In the postwar period, black peat was highly valued as a fuel. In 1949, around 400,000 tons of fuel peat were extracted from the East Frisian moorlands, and the majority was produced using powerful machines. These machines operated in the moorlands, particularly around Ostrhauderfehn, from early spring to late summer. The compressed peat was transported from the moor in the fall by narrow-gauge railway and then loaded onto ships. A special peat loading station was set up over the canal of the 1st Südwieke, where the peat could be efficiently loaded onto ships. A narrow bridge made it possible to push the loaded peat piles onto the bridge, and up to 25 tons of peat could be loaded within a very short time. Not only peat ships were loaded, but also simple barges with a low carrying capacity. These barges were often unmotorized and had to be towed for miles. One or more people pulled the vessel with a rope, while the boatman steered the boat with a long pole at the stern.

Each mast is mounted on an approximately 3-meter-high ceramic insulator that can withstand a load of 4,000 tons and insulates voltages of up to 250 kV. The masts are each secured by nine guy wires at three levels, each offset by 120 degrees. Four masts form a common antenna that requires no overhead connection. The antenna is fed via coaxial cables to the tuning stations, where the power is adjusted and fed into the mast. It is worth noting that the antenna structure does not have a pronounced directional pattern, as it is smaller than the wavelength of 12.82 km at the current frequency of the DHO38. For inspection and maintenance work, there is a worm-gear-driven elevator and a ladder inside the masts. The elevator can transport up to three people and ensures safety through mandatory safety harnesses.

Superlatives The naval radio station is one of the tallest military structures in Western Europe and, at 352.8 meters, the second tallest structure in Germany, visible from over 30 kilometers away. The transmitter is located near Saterland-Ramsloh in the Cloppenburg district (Lower Saxony). The borders of the two districts of Cloppenburg and Leer run through the naval radio station site. Five antennas are located in East Frisia, and three are located in Cloppenburg. The site is surrounded by a 12-km-long, continuously monitored fence. A naval radio station with eight identical umbrella antennas mounted on 352.8-meter-high tubular steel masts. These masts have a diameter of 2.20 meters and wall thicknesses of 8 to 13 mm, depending on local loads.