Delmenhorst: Graft Gardens, Culture and Industrial History

Delmenhorst features expansive green spaces in the heart of the city and a history that stretches from the castle to the industrial era. Meadows, mature trees and broad waterways shape the Graft Gardens, while the castle island and historic buildings take you through other chapters of the city’s past. You can tailor your visit to your interests, focusing on nature, culture or urban discoveries.

Green Spaces and Nature in Delmenhorst

The Wiekhorn-Graft Gardens landscape protection area covers 183 hectares in the heart of Delmenhorst. The Graft Gardens are an expansive park in the city centre. The old trees provide a habitat for diverse and abundant breeding bird populations. Partly woodland-like groves, together with adjoining waterways and meadows, create ideal living conditions for numerous bat species.

To experience the landscape on a hiking route, consider the “Along the Delme through Delmenhorst” Natura Trail. The approximately seven-kilometre route starts on the castle island in the Graft Gardens and passes protected sections of the Lower Delme and the Ochtum within the city. These stretches of river provide a habitat for fish. The trail thus combines a specific walking route with insights into the protected river landscape.

From Castle to Industrial City

The Northwest German Museum of Industrial Culture traces Delmenhorst’s development through several historic buildings, from its medieval castle to its rise as a major industrial city in the 20th century. One museum building also tells the story of the city’s industrial past: the City Museum is housed in the factory’s first engine house, built in 1884.

On the castle island, a count’s garden house and the foundations of the former moated castle reveal the city’s origins as the residence of Count Otto of Oldenburg. Another distinctive landmark is the 44-metre-high water tower, an emblem of Delmenhorst. In an evangelical church built in 1614, the coffins of Count Anton II of Delmenhorst, his wife and children are displayed in the family crypt.

Hasbergen Watermill also stands on the Delme in Delmenhorst-Hasbergen and is now used as a museum mill. If you would like to visit, check the visiting arrangements in advance. This makes it possible to distinguish the different places that tell the city’s history, from the castle island and industrial heritage to the history of milling.

Art, Theatre and City Life

Haus Coburg is the Delmenhorst Municipal Gallery for contemporary art; it also hosts special exhibitions on socially relevant topics. The Kleines Haus Theatre offers concerts, theatre ranging from classical to modern, comedy, operetta and children’s theatre. If you are travelling with children, you can take this into account when choosing a specific programme; individual performances change.

The weekly market at Rathausplatz also offers a glimpse of everyday life in the city centre. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, it sells regional fresh-market produce, including fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and cold cuts, baked goods and flowers. Individual vendors may change. The market adds a specific look at regional produce to the museum and cultural experiences.

Different Options for Your Plans

GraftTherme brings together relaxation, leisure and sports facilities. For a different view of the surrounding area, take the historic Jan Harpstedt narrow-gauge railway. It runs from Harpstedt to Delmenhorst, travelling through rural communities with an old steam locomotive and historic carriages. On a guided tour with Jan Tut, participants explore Delmenhorst city centre and its history. Jan Tut was a cigar maker and municipal night watchman. These options offer different focuses, from activity and city history to art, theatre or relaxation.

A Broader Travel Perspective on Lower Saxony

If you extend your travel plans beyond Delmenhorst to Lower Saxony, you will find other distinctive landscapes and cultural experiences. The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea. The Harz National Park offers around 600 kilometres of designated hiking trails to explore. In Hanover, the Great Garden is an approximately 50-hectare Baroque garden, preserved almost unchanged as a testament to its era. These examples illustrate the variety of themes Lower Saxony offers alongside Delmenhorst’s urban green spaces and industrial history.

Discover more destinations: Delmenhorst, Osterholz, East Frisia, Wolfenbüttel, Northeim, Celle, East Frisian Islands, Vechta.

Back to the main travel overview: Lower Saxony.