Salzgitter: Ice Age History, Water Sports and Industrial Culture

Salzgitter can be explored through a wide range of interests: water sports on Lake Salzgitter, nature at Heerter See, regional history at the Museum Schloss Salder and insights into steel production. Historic buildings and cultural events add further highlights. The topics you choose to focus on shape the character of your stay.

Experience water and nature

Lake Salzgitter is the water sports hub of southeastern Lower Saxony. It covers 75 hectares and extends 2,120 metres from north to south. It serves as a venue for sailing, windsurfing, rowing and canoeing. Its area and length convey different aspects of its size, while the sports listed show its focus as a water sports destination.

The grounds of the former settling pond 3 at Heerter See offer a different focus on nature. The 272-hectare area is a nature reserve and also includes a small remnant of the former forest. A hiking tour is possible around the Heerter See nature reserve and European bird sanctuary, and is considered a special experience for nature lovers. This means Salzgitter offers water sports and a tour through a protected area as distinct ways to enjoy the outdoors.

The Ice Age and regional history

The Municipal Museum Schloss Salder presents the region’s history from prehistoric times to the early 20th century. The 2,000-square-metre Ice Age Garden has been part of the museum since 2 July 2006. Together with the permanent archaeological exhibition “50,000 Years of Life in Salzgitter,” it shows the living conditions of Neanderthals, who hunted in the northern Harz foothills at the beginning of the last Ice Age. Relevant finds come from Krähenriede in Lebenstedt.

The museum also offers a range of educational activities: all departments have guided tours, workshops, children’s birthday parties and hands-on activities on their programme. If you would like to plan your visit around a specific event, check the date in advance, as individual programme dates may change. The historical exhibition and the museum’s educational programme each have their own focus.

Towers, castles and churches

The Bismarck Tower in Salzgitter-Bad was built in 1900 on the 272-metre-high Hamberg. It is one of three Bismarck towers made of metal, but is not made entirely of metal. Its four platforms are reached by 24 stone steps leading to the first platform, followed by another 57 wooden steps to the top. Its construction, materials and sequence of steps give the building a distinctive character.

Gebhardshagen Moated Castle in Salzgitter was built around the year 1000 and is one of the oldest moated castles in the state of Braunschweig. The rebuilt keep of Lichtenberg Castle’s ruins houses a permanent exhibition on the castle’s history and archaeological finds. Schloss Ringelheim combines another historic building with a recurring cultural event: the abbey church was rebuilt and reconstructed in the Baroque style in 1694; the Ringelheim Organ Days are held there every May. Check the dates of the relevant edition when planning your visit.

Industry, gardens and special sites

Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, a Salzgitter AG company, offers guided tours of the steelworks. The tours explain steel production from the blast furnace, where pig iron is produced, through to semi-finished and finished products in the rolling mills. Individuals and small groups of up to 15 people can take part. The minimum age is 16; at least average fitness is required, as the tour involves long distances and stairs. It is not suitable for people with mobility impairments. Take these requirements into account when planning and check the tour date in advance.

Outdoor culture is also among the experiences on offer: the Gutspark in Flachstöckheim, formerly the English garden of the aristocratic von Schwicheldt family, has an open-air stage for concerts and children’s theatre. In the rose garden, the graduation pavilion invites visitors to breathe in the air, which is considered healthy there. The salt-production structure consists of a wooden framework filled mainly with bundles of blackthorn brushwood.

Getting here

Salzgitter-Ringelheim has its own railway station with regional services. The bus stop closest to Schloss Ringelheim is called “Goslarsche Straße” and is served by routes 650 and 656. Check the timetable before travelling, as schedules may change.

Discover more destinations: Bad Salzgitter, Lebenstedt, Peine, Emsland, Cuxhaven, Hildesheim, Delmenhorst, Aurich.

Back to the main travel overview: Lower Saxony.