Bad Laer: Brine, history and paths in the countryside

Discover Bad Laer through its brine attractions, historic buildings and paths around the town. Depending on your interests, options range from a visit to the Erlebnis-Kurpark to a hike with geological and historical stops. These different themes offer ideas for planning your stay in Bad Laer.

Brine and attractions in the spa park

SoleVital offers a year-round bathing and wellness experience in natural brine heated to 32°C. Brine is also present in several places in the Erlebnis-Kurpark: one of the brine springs emerges in the open at the “Kolk” and feeds the Salzbach and the adjacent Glockensee. At the graduation pavilion, brine trickles over dense walls of blackthorn brushwood, where visitors can inhale the brine.

Other attractions in the park include a barefoot path with 21 different surfaces, an exercise trail for outdoor workouts, and a sound and rhythm garden. There, you can swing impulse spheres and play the triangles. Each station has its own focus: experiencing brine, getting active or trying out sounds.

Church, tower and local history

The “Griese Toarn,” also known as the Grey Tower, is the early Romanesque fortified tower of the Catholic parish church of the Nativity of Mary and is considered a landmark of Bad Laer. Standing 37 metres tall and dating from around 1010 to 1050 AD, it is a prominent point of reference for the town’s history.

At the Bad Laer local history museum, you can discover the town’s history in an old vicarage. The building was constructed in the Art Nouveau style using Piepstein, a stone typical of Bad Laer. In the linen room, an original 18th-century loom illustrates the process from flax to finished “Seidook.”

The “Liegende Acht” (Figure Eight) Historic Trail follows the historic layout of the churchyard castle and Thieplatz as a double circular settlement. Along preserved paths, you can learn stories from past centuries. The trail offers a way to combine local history with a walk.

Paths, geology and nature

For information about the history of the Earth, the Geo-Information Trail in Bad Laer offers a 6.4-kilometre route with eight information boards. Another thematic option is the Geotourism Educational Trail, which passes fossils, sand dunes in the middle of the forest and the old “Anneliese” quarry. It is presented as an experience for the whole family, with younger visitors accompanied by a prehistoric creature. A free puzzle booklet is available from Bad Laer Touristik.

The wooded Blomberg is part of a geologically interesting area within the UNESCO Global Geopark TERRA.vita. It has a rich ground flora that includes wild garlic and, in places, orchids protected by conservation laws. A well-signposted network of paths is suitable for walkers and hikers. The Ahornweg also passes through Bad Laer; a network of more than 100 kilometres of paths in the area invites you to hike and cycle.

Guided tours and events

If you would rather explore Bad Laer on a guided tour, Bad Laer Touristik offers guided “Waldbad” walks in the biodiverse Blomberg; advance booking is required. The themed tour “Steinreiches Bad Laer” (Stone-Rich Bad Laer) must also be booked in advance. It provides insights into Piepstein and its origins in the brine, and runs from the brine inhalation pavilion in the spa park to the local history museum. A tour of the spa park covers the origins of the park and Bad Laer’s spa tradition at the spring near “Springmeyers Kolk”; it can also be held in Low German on request. Bad Laer also offers weekly town tours and regular themed town tours. Check the dates before your trip.

The Fackelfest takes place every year on the first weekend in August in the Erlebnis-Kurpark, offering three days of entertainment with dancing, music, and light and fire shows. If you would like to include this festival in your plans, check the event dates before your trip.

Practical information

Thanks to the flat terrain and accessible design, visitors can get around the town centre between the historic buildings in wheelchairs, with pushchairs or using mobility walkers. As infrastructure can change, it is advisable to check conditions before your visit. The “Die Mühle” café-restaurant is also located in a historic watermill in the spa park by the Glockensee; it serves German and Mediterranean dishes, coffee and homemade cakes. Check the latest opening details before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Ankum, Gehrde, Melle, Bippen, Georgsmarienhütte, Nortrup, Bersenbrück, Bad Iburg.

View the overarching travel guide: Osnabrück.