Deister

Barsinghausen

...an experience combining nature, culture, and sports right at the foot of the Deister.

The town of Barsinghausen is located on the northwestern slope of the Deister. The five neighborhoods on the Deister look back on over 800 years of history and offer idyllic diversity and a wide range of recreational activities for all ages.

In the world of sports, Barsinghausen has made a name for itself far beyond the region: Germany’s national team players regularly hold their training sessions at the Lower Saxony Football Association’s sports school, which is located within the Gilde Sporthotel Fuchsbachtal.

The Polish national soccer team stayed here during the 2006 World Cup. Time and again, this venue hosts national teams and clubs from various sports, both domestic and international.

Among recreational athletes, cyclists and hikers in particular feel right at home here. The forest and country trails throughout the Deister and in Barsinghausen, as well as the bike paths, are generally well-maintained and often marked. The E1 long-distance hiking trail, which runs from the North Sea to Lake Constance, follows the ridge of this mountain range, which rises over 400 meters.

Two observation towers along the Kammweg trail—the Annaturm and the Nordmannsturm—offer fantastic views. Several rustic forest restaurants along the way invite you to stop for a refreshing break.

Barsinghausen also has a lot to offer culturally: The Deister Open-Air Theater is one of the most beautiful and largest forest theaters in all of Lower Saxony. Since it opened in 1931, this former quarry has captivated around one million visitors.

The town’s coat of arms alone indicates that mining was a cornerstone of the local economy for a long time. For over 100 years, up to 2,000 miners extracted coal in Barsinghausen; the last shaft was closed in 1956. Today, this industrial tradition can be experienced in a truly impressive way at the Klosterstollen visitor mine and the Deister Mining Museum. The ride on the mine train and the roughly two-hour guided tour underground are truly special experiences and rank among the top tourist attractions in the Hannover region.

In Barsinghausen, nature, culture, and sports can be combined in a way that is both fascinating and relaxing. But the town on the Deister is also a popular destination for a leisurely shopping trip.

In the downtown area, with its pedestrian zone, specialty shops, cafés, ice cream parlors, restaurants, and beer gardens invite you to shop and take a break. Good to know: At “Zweirad Dannenberg” at 17 Osterstraße, you can get a replacement bike tube even outside of business hours—thanks to the “Schlauchomat”!