Discover Hille: Moorland and milling heritage

A trip to Hille brings natural landscapes and milling history together. The municipality of Hille lies between the slopes of the Wiehen Hills and the open North German Plain; the Mittelland Canal runs through its fields. The Großer Torfmoor and several reminders of the grain distilling and milling trades offer visitors different ways to explore the area.

Moorland, forests and landscapes

The Großer Torfmoor covers around 500 hectares and was officially designated a nature reserve in 1980. It is considered Westphalia’s largest raised bog. Wooden boardwalks lead into the moor, where rare plants and birds find a habitat. The Moorhus provides information about how the Großer Torfmoor formed and offers guided walks through the moor; check current booking options in advance. The Dütt un' Datt programme also combines a guided walk through the Großer Torfmoor with an introduction to grain distilling at the distillery museum. Check dates and booking conditions before making specific plans. Another natural setting is the roughly 47-hectare woodland and meadow landscape of the Mindenerwald around Sonnenhügel, where you can go hiking and relax. The natural highlights are distinct: the moor visit centres on the protected area, boardwalks and rare habitats, while the Mindenerwald focuses on woodland and meadows, hiking and relaxation.

Mills, distilling and architecture

The historic Meyer distillery complex at Mindener Straße 71 consists of the distillery building and a boiler house with a chimney. The preserved equipment from the former Meyer distillery makes every step of the grain-distilling process easy to understand. The Südhemmern windmill was built around 1830 as an octagonal wooden mill. The local history room in the former miller’s house showcases flax processing, spinning, weaving, rope-making and cigar-making. This offers a range of crafts, from technical aspects of grain distilling to textiles, rope-making and cigar-making. The Von-Oeynhausen’sche Hof, also known as Reimlers Hof, is a Baroque manor house and a listed historic building and cultural monument. Historic windmills in Hille are also linked to the Westphalian Mill Route.

Another option for your itinerary combines a ride on the historic Prussian Railway from Minden with a walk through Hille and a visit to the Alte Brennerei. Check the railway’s operating days and availability in advance.

Culture and mills in the wider destination

The milling culture is also part of a broader story across the wider destination of Minden-Lübbecke. The Mühlenkreis (Mill District) has 43 working wind, water and horse-powered mills. The Mill Route connects more than 40 wind-, water-, horse- or motor-powered mills on a circular route of about 280 kilometres. The Mühlensteig offers a different scale: over four daily stages of 11 to 20 kilometres each, it takes you to ten restored mills. For art and culture rather than milling history, the LandArt Route connects more than 80 sites along five sub-routes; along the way, you’ll encounter artworks, studios, galleries and other stops in a variety of landscapes. The LWL Industrial Museum Glashütte Gernheim is also in the wider destination of Minden-Lübbecke. Every day, you can watch glassmakers in the glass tower built in 1826 use a blowpipe, a wooden mould and shears to shape vessels from glowing molten glass.

Discover more destinations: Rothenuffeln, Hüllhorst, Petershagen, Stemwede, Lübbecke, Preussisch Oldendorf, Bad Oeynhausen, Minden

Back to the wider travel overview: Minden-Lübbecke.