The federal state of Lower Saxony is one of those places where if you just jump on a bicycle and ride around all day, you’d be more than happy. However, in the town of Dassel with her seventeen local villages you might be here a while, especially if you haven’t been on a bike in a while.
Bicycling isn’t the only claim to fame in this town. We Germans take our sports very seriously, and a good game can transcend any language barrier that might arise. In Dassel, you can swim, play a game of tennis or table tennis, go horseback riding, and enjoy a good game of football (that’s soccer, my friends in the U.S.).
You don’t need to speak German when you’re walking the forest paths, or taking a bike out for a spin along the trails alone. No words are necessary (other than WOW!) when you’re sitting under Dassel’s Oak trees that were planted here back in the 18th century.
More outside fun can be found at the Neuer Teich (New Pond) or taking a guided forest tour.
Speechless you might be when you get a load of the St. Laurentius Church with its Renaissance paintings; the church itself was built in 1447.
A real quiet place are the ruins of Burg Hunnesrück. Only some of the 13th century walls remain today and this castle was the older sister of Erichsburg Castle.
Erichsburg wasn’t built until the 16th century and while it isn’t in ruins, the castle’s in not too good of a shape. That doesn’t mean you won’t find something beautiful at this place, though.
The history of Erichsburg and Burg Hunnesrück; and much of the area as a whole can be found within the walls of the local history museum (Heimatmuseum), known as Grafschaft Dassel. Another piece of Dassel’s history is the old Wassermühle from the mid 1600’s.
Isn’t that a lot to see and do? I told you that you’d be here for a while. Now, if I could just remember where I parked my bike, I would join you. ;-)
