Bathorn, Dalum, Twist

The Emsland is a vast landscape of raised bogs, forests, heath and open wetlands. Shaped over thousands of years by glaciers, meltwater and the slow growth of thick peat layers, it remained largely inaccessible for centuries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, people began to reclaim the land. Along this route, you can still experience its unique nature at the viewing hills deep in the peat or at the Emsland Moor Museum.

At the same time, this route leads you past a powerful and painful chapter of the region’s history: the Emsland camps. Just before and during WWII, a total of fifteen camps were built here. Originally intended as penal camps for land reclamation, they were soon used by the Nazi regime to detain political prisoners, forced labourers and POWs from across Europe. Some camps grew into major prisoner-of-war sites or even became satellite camps of concentration camps.

This cycling route passes four of these memorial camps. Information panels and artworks help tell the moving stories. In Dalum, you can visit one of the original buildings, now home to a historical exhibition about this dark period.

Besides the history, the route also shows how the area changed after the war and how much of it has now been returned to nature. This route brings together two powerful worlds: the raw beauty of the Emsland and the vital remembrance of what took place here.