Discover Hamm: Glaselefant, culture and cycling routes

A walk-through glass elephant, an elaborately decorated temple and signposted cycling routes reveal different sides of Hamm. There is also a museum of art and cultural history, a zoo and destinations along the Lippe. Families and groups planning a trip can weigh up culture, outdoor activities and nature as different priorities for their visit.

Glaselefant, zoo and water worlds

The Glaselefant, a walk-through sculpture created in 1984 from the coal-washing plant of the former Maximilian colliery, stands in Maximilianpark. A ride through its glass trunk takes visitors up to a height of 35 metres. From there, panoramic views extend across the park, Hamm and the green Westphalian countryside. Maximilianpark was created in Hamm in 1984 on the site of the former colliery to mark North Rhine-Westphalia’s first State Garden Show. The park’s former washhouse now serves as an event, trade fair and conference venue.

Around 400 animals from about 60 species live at Hamm Zoo. Seven enclosures are open to visitors, including areas with Bennett’s wallabies, alpacas and budgerigars. The composition of the enclosures may change over time. Maximare offers something different: its facilities include a covered 50-metre sports pool, an Aquawelt with wave and adventure pools, the 100-metre RIOMare event slide and a 95-metre tube slide. There is also a toddler area, a hot-and-cold pool and a whirlpool. The Sauna Resort offers seven different types of sauna indoors and outdoors, as well as a 3,500-square-metre sauna garden. Hamm therefore offers animal watching, swimming and sauna visits as distinct options for planning your day.

Culture across museums, temples and churches

The Gustav Lübcke Museum presents around 13,000 years of art and cultural history across approximately 4,000 square metres. The architecture of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple also shapes Hamm’s cultural landscape: its interior covers 700 square metres and contains seven shrines richly decorated with mythological figures and ornaments. Built in the South Indian style, the gopuram is 17 metres high; the temple measures 27 by 27 metres. It has been in Hamm since 1989 and has been located in Hamm-Uentrop since 1997. The city describes it as Europe’s largest purpose-built Tamil temple.

For another perspective on the city’s history, visit the Protestant Pauluskirche in central Hamm. It is a historic landmark, with the older part dating back more than 700 years. The museum, temple and church each offer a distinct way to explore art, religious architecture and history. If culture is a priority when planning your trip, you can consider these different themes alongside Hamm’s other excursion and activity options.

Cycling routes and landscapes along the Lippe

For cycling trips, the 32-kilometre PANORAMA ROUTE through Hamm provides a clear guide: it connects numerous sights and leads to Maximilianpark and the Glaselefant. The route starts at the cycle station at Hamm railway station and is signposted with a white binoculars logo on a blue background. In addition, around 170 kilometres of signposted cycling routes run through Hamm, connecting nature, culture and leisure attractions. The individual PANORAMA ROUTE and the wider network offer different points of reference for deciding how much cycling to include in your plans.

Destinations along the Lippe offer their own distinctive appeal. Schloss Oberwerries lies by the river amid a nature conservation area and is considered a popular excursion destination. The manor house was built between 1685 and 1692. In Hamm, Lippepark covers a 42-hectare site at the former Franz mine shaft, which has been developed into an accessible urban park with special attractions. Its sections are connected by bridges over the Lippe and the Datteln-Hamm Canal. The Lippeaue nature experience area, meanwhile, covers about 195 hectares and includes a roughly five-kilometre stretch of river that has been restored to a more natural state, with wet meadows, floodplain forests and small bodies of water. These places offer different landscapes, whose features can help guide your choice of destinations.

Accommodation and travel information

Check the location of your accommodation against the places you want to visit and your planned transport connections, rather than assuming that one point on your itinerary represents your whole stay.

Long-distance services from Hamm ICE station include connections to Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Basel, among other destinations. Local and regional services include direct connections to Münster, Kassel, Cologne and Düsseldorf; during peak travel times, these are usually available hourly. Check the timetable for your travel dates if you are planning to arrive or take day trips by train.

Discover more destinations: Rhynern.

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