Lindern (Oldenburg) brings together several distinct themes for a stay focused on discovery: a former town hall that now serves as a local heritage house, a neo-Gothic church with older works of art, and four Neolithic megalithic tombs along the “Megalithic Culture Route” cycle route. The picture is rounded out by guided tours on foot and by bicycle, as well as audio stations. This lets you focus more on local history, sacred art or prehistoric monuments, rather than grouping all the impressions under a single theme.
Local Heritage House and Watchmaker’s Workshop
The former town hall of the municipality of Lindern became the municipality’s local heritage house on September 12, 2004. A former administrative building was thus given a new purpose as a place dedicated to the community’s history. The old watchmaker’s workshop of the Büter family has stood right next door since 2005. It houses a small exhibition featuring, among other things, old clocks and an antique bellows. The two places offer different points of focus: the heritage house connects with local government history, while the workshop draws attention to the craft of watchmaking through its exhibits. Visitors interested in historic buildings and objects will find a different perspective here than through sacred architecture or prehistoric monuments.
St. Catherine of Siena: Building History and Art
St. Catherine of Siena is the visual focal point of the village. The neo-Gothic church was built between 1860 and 1865; inside are altar panels dating from the 16th century, Gothic stained-glass images and other sacred objects. The construction period and the older works of art offer two perspectives on the church: its place in the village landscape and its sacred furnishings. The gap in time between the building’s construction and the creation of the altar panels broadens the view of the history of this church interior.
Guided Tours on Foot, by Bicycle and with Audio Stations
The team of local guides in Lindern offers various tours on foot, by bicycle or combining both. On a guided tour of St. Catherine of Siena, visitors learn about its builder, Johann Bernhard Hensen from Sögel, the construction of the building and distinctive features of the church’s design. A smartphone is all you need for a self-guided tour of Lindern using the audio stations. This lets you choose between the guided tour formats on offer and the self-guided tour with audio stations. If you plan to include a particular tour in your stay, check the dates in advance.
Megalithic Tombs Along the Megalithic Culture Route
The four Neolithic megalithic tombs in Lindern lie along the “Megalithic Culture Route” cycle route. The route has 33 stops, begins near Osnabrück and ends in Stenum, north of Ganderkesee. The four tombs are the local attraction; the route itself provides a wider regional context for the theme. This prehistoric focus differs from that of the heritage house and church, where local history, sacred architecture and art history take center stage. In choosing what to see, you can therefore focus more on historic buildings and sacred art, or include the megalithic tombs as a separate theme.
More Things to See in the Wider Cloppenburg Destination
Other attractions in the wider Cloppenburg destination add to the picture of the region. The Museumsdorf Cloppenburg – Lower Saxony Open-Air Museum offers insights into the living conditions of the rural population of northwest Germany from the late Middle Ages through the 1980s, using around 60 historic buildings. At the Thülsfelder Talsperre, the adventure trail has 14 interactive stations. The reservoir is fed by the Soeste, lies within the city of Friesoythe and the municipalities of Garrel and Molbergen, and was built between 1924 and 1927. The area and its surroundings have been protected since 1938 and have also been designated a Natura 2000 site (FFH area) since 1999. Historic ways of life, interactive stations and protected landscapes offer distinct themes alongside Lindern’s local history.
Discover more destinations: Petersfeld, Molbergen, Cappeln, Essen, Lastrup, Bösel, Löningen, Emstek.
Back to the wider travel overview: Cloppenburg.
