Freden (Leine): Cycling Route, Church and Landscape

In Freden (Leine), an extensive cycling route, an old church town and notable nearby attractions come together. This means you can shape your stay in different ways: around a leg of the Leine-Heide Cycle Route, local architecture and history, or discoveries in the surrounding landscape. This mix makes Freden a destination where active and cultural interests can sit side by side.

A town on the Leine-Heide Cycle Route

The approximately 410-kilometre-long Leine-Heide Cycle Route runs through Freden (Leine), the Leinebergland, the Hannover region and the Lüneburg Heath, all the way to Hamburg. Its source is near Leinefelde in Thuringia. Freden is therefore part of a route that crosses several landscapes; for your planning, the entire route is on a different scale from a single outing around the town. If you are interested in the cycling route, you can consider Freden both as a destination and as a place along its course.

The town’s history offers a different perspective through time: Freden was first mentioned in documents as a church town in 1068. This first mention and the later construction phases of St. George’s Church are distinct points of reference for discovering the town’s historic character.

Church, Zehntscheune and Music

The oldest parts of the massive church tower of St. George’s Church are made of rubble stone masonry and date from the church’s Romanesque construction phase. Inside is a Baroque baptismal angel from the second half of the 18th century, particularly characteristic of the Hildesheimer Land-Alfeld church district. The architecture and artwork offer different insights: the tower points to an early construction phase, while the baptismal angel represents a later period in the church’s history.

Another cultural venue is the Fredener Zehntscheune. The building is distinguished by rubble stone masonry and timber-frame construction and serves as a venue for cultural activities. It offers seating for about 350 people. The International Fredener Musiktage last several days, with various venues in Freden and the surrounding area serving as stages for musical performances. Before your trip, check the specific event dates and venues if you would like to plan your stay around them.

The outdoor swimming pool is on Schildhorster Straße and reopened to the public on 21 June 2025.

Landscape and geological traces in the surrounding area

Near Freden, a hiking trail from the “Apenteich” car park at the edge of the forest in Winzenburg leads after about 150 metres to the Apenteich spring and the Apenteich ponds. The Selter is a ridge in the Leinebergland that stretches from Greene near Kreiensen, above Freden, to Delligsen south of Alfeld. These two destinations offer different landscapes: at Apenteich, a short path leads to the spring and ponds; the Selter provides a sense of a much more extensive ridge.

The Selter is also notable for geological finds: fossilised ammonite shells up to 40 centimetres in diameter have been found there at depths of up to two metres. The Großer Salzberg contains numerous fossils of mussels, fish and snails up to 30 million years old.

Hildesheim as a distinct regional cultural setting

The wider Hildesheim destination lies between the Hildesheimer Börde, the Leinebergland and the foothills of the Harz Mountains. The Fagus Factory in Alfeld is a distinctive architectural landmark there: it is considered the first truly modern building and a pioneering work of modern industrial architecture. The Fagus Factory UNESCO Visitor Centre offers interactive stations on the history of the World Heritage Site and the core ideas of the World Heritage Convention. In Hildesheim itself, St. Michael’s is another subject of artistic and architectural interest: the three-aisled basilica, built in the Ottonian, pre-Romanesque or early Romanesque style, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Hildesheim Cathedral in 1985.

Choosing accommodation to suit your trip

When looking for accommodation in Freden (Leine), it helps to first decide what you would like to focus on during your stay: a cycling trip along the Leine-Heide Cycle Route, local history and church art, a cultural programme, or discoveries in the surrounding area. This allows you to tailor your choices to your own travel plans without trying to fit every destination into a single day. If you visit during the Fredener Musiktage, it is especially worth including the specific dates and venues in your plans.

Discover more destinations: Algermissen, Nettlingen, Wittenburg, Holle, Nordstemmen, Weenzen, Rheden, Elze.

Return to the main travel overview: Hildesheim.