Discover Velpke

Velpke combines the history of stone quarrying with a landscape of former quarries and aquatic habitats in the surrounding area. There is also a trail about two kilometres long, a considerably longer circular cycling route, St. Mary’s Church and a place of remembrance. The themes range from geological history and nature to local architectural history and a serious chapter in the town’s past. When planning your trip, you can first consider whether outdoor activities, scenery or historical discoveries should be the main focus; you can also use this to guide your search for accommodation.

Quarries and the landscape of Velpke Switzerland

Velpke Rhaetian sandstone has been quarried in numerous quarries since 1640. Disused quarries, most of them now filled with water, are found especially to the west and northwest of Velpke; they offer insights into the depositional environment of the Upper Keuper. These former quarries have developed into secondary aquatic habitats with distinctive communities of plants and animals. The landscape alternates between land and water, hills and small valleys, woodland and reed beds. The former quarry landscape has been a protected landscape area since 1969, providing opportunities for peaceful recreation in the countryside. In Velpke Switzerland, traces of quarrying, geological insights and a varied landscape of water and woodland come together.

A trail and a longer cycling route

The Velpke Switzerland Trail starts at the car park by Velpke sports ground and is about two kilometres long. This approximate length provides a clear guide to the distance on foot. The Velpke Switzerland Cycle Route covers a different scale: it connects Velpke with Wolfsburg and Oebisfelde and is about 35 kilometres long. The two routes are easy to distinguish by their length: a short trail and a longer cycle ride connecting three places. When planning your days, you can take this difference between a local path and a more extensive route into account.

Church and memorial plaque in Velpke

The town’s history also has different facets. Construction of St. Mary’s Church in Velpke began in 1927; Bishop Nikolaus Bares consecrated it on 3 November 1929. On 16 November 1996, a memorial plaque was unveiled in the Velpke cemetery in memory of the murdered Polish and Soviet infants from the Velpke foreign children’s care home. Its inscription names 76 Polish and 15 Russian infants who died of exhaustion at the Velpke children’s home in 1944. The church and plaque represent different ways of engaging with history: architectural and church history on the one hand, and remembrance of the children’s fate on the other.

More cultural highlights in the wider destination of Helmstedt

The wider destination of Helmstedt also offers a distinctive perspective on architectural and cultural history. In Königslutter, the Imperial Cathedral is one of Lower Saxony’s most impressive Romanesque buildings. Together with the cloister and the Imperial Lime Tree in the former monastery courtyard, it is a popular visitor attraction. In Helmstedt itself, the Juleum Novum offers a glimpse into the town’s university history: the assembly hall of the former university was built as a palace-like Renaissance structure from 1592 to 1597. The district and university museum in the Juleum displays a model of the town as it looked around 1750 and original objects from the university’s past, including an astronomical disc, a globe and tableware from the university dining hall. In this way, further architectural and university histories complement Velpke’s geological and historical themes within the wider destination of Helmstedt.

Discover more destinations: Königslutter Am Elm, Groß Twülpstedt, Lehre, Söllingen, Räbke, Jerxheim, Schöningen, Bahrdorf.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Helmstedt.