County of Bentheim: Heath, Vechte and Culture

Landscape and Art in the Vechte Valley

Itterbeck Heath is a nature reserve covering around 85 hectares. Together with the bogs, wooded ridges and the Vechte Valley, it shows how varied the landscapes within the County of Bentheim are. If you want to plan your trip primarily around scenic impressions, the heath is a specific nature-focused destination to consider.

Kunstwegen offers a different way to explore the region: this open-air museum of contemporary art, nature and history stretches for more than 180 kilometres through the Vechte Valley. More than 80 sculpture projects are located along the route. Art and landscape are at the heart of the experience. The scale of the project makes clear that Kunstwegen is a wide-ranging topic to consider when planning your trip, rather than just a single exhibit.

Museums and Traces of History

In Nordhorn, the Maritime Museum offers an engaging insight into shipping and shipbuilding. Across 350 m², it displays, among other things, historic ship models, nautical instruments and nautical charts, as well as information about shipbuilding. The Nordhorn City Museum takes a different approach: it uses three listed industrial buildings for permanent and special exhibitions. If you are interested in technical or industrial history, it offers a distinct theme alongside shipping.

Beyond Nordhorn, exhibition venues and historic sites also tell stories of different periods. Packhaus Wietmarschen now houses a permanent exhibition by the Wietmarschen Local History Association (Heimatverein Wietmarschen e. V.) on customs and traditions, traditional crafts, important documents and archaeological finds. The Uelsen Bronze Age Farm is a reconstructed prehistoric homestead that offers insights into the lives of people in the Bronze Age at Riedberg.

In Lage, the nearly 750-year-old watermill has two waterwheels: one for producing flour and the other for producing vegetable oil. This specific distinction makes the historic site an interesting example of different uses of traditional crafts. Together, the mill, Bronze Age farm and Packhaus each offer their own points of connection if you want to explore regional history across different periods and themes.

Animal Park and Longer Tours

Nordhorn Zoo covers 12 hectares and is home to more than 2,500 animals from 100 different species. Many enclosures are designed to be entered by visitors; these include two petting zoos. For a family outing with children, these areas are a distinctive feature compared with a visit focused mainly on exhibitions or scenery. The figures also give you an idea of the zoo’s size and variety.

If you want to explore the County of Bentheim on a longer tour, you can include the main route of the Grafschafter Fietsentour in your plans. It is about 220 kilometres long and passes through all the district’s municipalities. Take the total distance into account when planning; this is the main route, not a short loop for a quick outing.

Accommodation and Getting Around

Tourists staying overnight can get the Grafschafter Gästekarte guest card, which lets you use buses and trains throughout the district free of charge. If you would like to visit different places during your trip, you can take this option into account when choosing your holiday apartment and planning your excursions. The right accommodation also depends on the themes that interest you most and how you want to spend your days.

To find your way around the County of Bentheim, you can visit the pages for Laar, Getelo, Uelsen, Schüttorf, Neuenhaus, Engden, Bad Bentheim, Nordhorn, Emlichheim, Hoogstede, Lage, Wilsum, Georgsdorf, Wietmarschen, Itterbeck and Wielen.

For the regional travel overview: Lower Saxony.