Discover Merzen: Church and Local History

Merzen is a municipality within the Neuenkirchen joint municipality in the northwest of the district of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony. Its districts are predominantly dispersed settlements. The present-day municipality was formed as part of the 1972 municipal reform from the former municipalities of Döllinghausen, Engelern, Lechtrup-Merzen, Ost- and Westeroden, Plaggenschale and Südmerzen. This municipal history belongs to the more recent development of the area; by contrast, the history of St. Lambertus Church reaches back to earlier building phases.

St. Lambertus and Its Several Building Phases

St. Lambertus Church in Merzen is a Neo-Gothic, three-aisled hall church, built in 1874–1876. Merzen had one of the earliest churches in the Osnabrück region. The present church was built in the 19th century and preserves the old lower section of a fieldstone tower. The west tower also points to the Romanesque predecessor building: part of it dates from the earlier church, and the tower was raised in 1894. St. Lambertus therefore brings together the 19th-century church building and older tower fabric; the different dates refer to different building phases.

The church houses a Romanesque baptismal font made of Bentheim sandstone with four lion feet. It also preserves two iron arm rings associated with the legend of the Turkish chains. The font and arm rings offer different perspectives: sacred furnishings and local tradition add two further themes to the building’s history.

Juniper Grove and Route Lengths

The Wacholderhain adventure trail is about 500 metres long and has six stations exploring the natural and cultural history of the landscape. Part of the route is designed as a barefoot path. This makes the educational trail considerably shorter than the Terra Track Fuchsweg, a circular hiking trail marked with a red T and about 7.8 kilometres long. Another point of comparison is the Merzen circular route: it runs between Merzen and Voltlage and is around 39 kilometres long. The circular route is the cycling option, while the Fuchsweg is the hiking route; this makes it easy to distinguish between a short adventure trail, a hike and a longer cycle tour. The Wacholderhain is accessible at any time; visiting it is free of charge. Before your visit, check whether access and free admission still apply.

More Options in the Wider Osnabrück Destination

The regional cycling network in the wider Osnabrück destination offers additional routes. The Osnabrücker Land tourism programme lists 50 day tours introducing the towns and municipalities of the region. The DiVa Tour is one of them: it is 115 kilometres long, runs between Bramsche and Bad Essen, and offers relaxed cycling along the Mittelland Canal. The route is connected to public transport: the services listed include trains operated by WestfalenBahn, NordWestBahn and Deutsche Bahn, the Bremen tram system, and buses run by Stadtwerke Osnabrück. Check these connections before setting off. The DiVa Tour differs from the approximately 39-kilometre circular route between Merzen and Voltlage in both length and endpoints.

Discover more destinations: Bramsche, Alfhausen, Glandorf, Ankum, Badbergen, Bad Rothenfelde, Bad Iburg, Georgsmarienhütte

Go to the wider travel overview: Osnabrück.