Salzlandkreis between River Landscapes and Cultural Heritage

Salzlandkreis brings together cultural history, river landscapes and cycle paths. You can discover a reconstructed sanctuary, focus on museums and castles, or explore the district along the Bode, Saale and Wipper rivers. This gives you a range of interests to choose from for your stay: history, cultural events, a day trip by bike or peaceful floodplain landscapes. Deciding which of these you want to shape your holiday is a good starting point for choosing accommodation.

Cultural history in different places

The Pömmelte Ring Sanctuary is a reconstruction of a cult site more than 4,000 years old. The 115-metre-wide complex consists of wooden palisade rings, pits and ramparts. From a nine-metre-high viewing platform, you can see the entire site, making the layout and arrangement of its features visible from above. The Ring Sanctuary is freely accessible year-round, except during certain events. Free parking and accessible toilets are available. Since events may be exceptions to free access, check the information for your chosen date before visiting.

The Romanesque Road also adds a cultural highlight: Salzlandkreis features six stops in five towns along the route. Museums offer further ways to explore particular themes. The Town and Mining Museum in Staßfurt presents the town’s history as well as salt production by evaporation and the potash industry. The Egeln moated castle houses a museum of prehistory and early history. Castle festivals, markets and cultural events are held there regularly; check the latest event information for specific dates.

Plötzkau Castle houses a museum covering a range of topics in several rooms and in the tower. Below the castle, a nature trail around two kilometres long runs through the Saale floodplain woodland. History and a walk through the river landscape therefore offer different ways to enjoy your trip, without requiring a single set daily itinerary.

Cycle routes between rivers, floodplains and woodland

The 3-Rivers Cycle Route is a day trip of around 36 kilometres between Ilberstedt and Hohenerxleben. The route follows the Bode, Saale and Wipper rivers. In the central part of Salzlandkreis, it takes you through river landscapes with woods and meadows, as well as elevated farmland with wide-ranging views. The contrast between riverside areas and more open landscapes gives this tour a different character from routes that mainly pass through floodplains or woodland.

The Bode Cycle Route crosses Salzlandkreis for around 51 kilometres and passes through floodplains, historic towns and villages. Its landscapes include meadows, hedgerows and old oak trees; the route continues as far as the Rothenförde weir, built in 1889. The Saale Cycle Route runs through Salzlandkreis between Rothenburg in the Saalekreis district and Barby. There, it takes you through a peaceful river landscape with woods and meadows. Both routes follow rivers, but the Bode Cycle Route also links these landscapes with historic towns and villages, while the section of the Saale Cycle Route described here is particularly defined by woodland and meadows.

The EL-SA Tour passes through a sparsely populated part of Salzlandkreis with its largest contiguous woodland areas, and partly runs through the section belonging to the town of Barby in Salzlandkreis. The possible cycling highlights therefore differ considerably: a day trip along three rivers, the Bode Cycle Route with its floodplains and historic places, the Saale Cycle Route through a peaceful river landscape, or the EL-SA Tour with its woodland. When planning your trip, you can start by choosing the landscape or theme that matters most to you.

Plan your stay around your own priorities

If you want to combine culture and cycling, first decide which places and routes matter for your trip. When choosing accommodation, it helps to compare its exact location with these destinations rather than assume from the name of a cycle route alone that it will be a suitable starting point. This way, you can begin planning with the experience you want to make the focus of your trip.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Bernburg, Aschersleben, Hecklingen, Schönebeck, Welsleben, Staßfurt, Calbe, Könnern, Nienburg, Barby, Seeland, Egeln, Plötzkau, Baalberge and Wolmirsleben.

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