exploring Bremen & its surrounding areas
You are here: worth seeing in the surroundings
Cycling to Lilienthal (3/3)
The Wörpe River at Mühlendeich: It’s hard to imagine a watermill by this stream
However, the history of the mill dates back to the 13th century when nuns began managing the newly founded monastery Vallis Liliorum (Valley of the Lilies) in 1232 under Bremen Archbishop Gerhard II. The name Vallis Liliorum, referring to the white lily - a symbol of the Virgin Mary - became the place name. With the start of monastic operations, the original course of the Wörpe was redirected into its current bed.
Old Courthouse
Despite the Cistercian nuns converting to Lutheranism between 1540 and 1604 during the Reformation - perhaps to avoid expulsion - the monastery gradually lost its former grandeur and significance. It was eventually dissolved under Swedish rule two years before the end of the Thirty Years' War, which had begun as a religious conflict and concluded in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. During and after the war, many monasteries and their properties were secularized and transferred to state ownership, leading to their disappearance - including Lilienthal’s monastery through demolition.
East side of St. Mary’s Monastery Church; to the left lies the Courthouse Garden
Apart from a protected building that now serves as the Old Courthouse for municipal youth work, only the brick-built monastery church of St. Mary (constructed between 1250 and 1262) remains. This single-nave hall church underwent extensive renovations in 1738 and 1976 and continues to function as a place of worship. The latest renovations revealed sections of valuable wall paintings depicting biblical themes, showcasing the artistic skill of the nuns. Additionally, there is an imposing Baroque-style wooden pulpit altar from 1738 and an organ built by Johann Hinrich Röver in 1884, which first resonated under the vaulted ceiling.
The sculpture Jan and Lili by Ingeborg Ahner-Siese stands between the town hall and monastery church
Adjacent to the church lies the Courthouse Garden, with the town hall located nearby. In this garden, astronomer Hieronymus Schroeter (who died in 1816) erected Europe’s largest observatory in the second half of the 18th century, hence the fitting names Amtsstraße (Courthouse Street) and Sternwartestraße (Observatory Street), branching off from Klosterstraße near the green space. Streets bearing his name and those of other astronomers are found in another part of Lilienthal.
Sparkasse (bank) at Klosterstraße / corner Amtsstraße, built 1903
Following Klosterstraße past the Old Market - where a weekly market takes place alongside the Schroeter monument - toward Hauptstraße, then turning right leads to the aforementioned Amtmann-Schroeter House on the opposite side of the street.
In principle, this would conclude a cycling visit from Bremen to Lilienthal. However, we plan an additional stop at Lilienhof in Worphausen, a suburb of Lilienthal. To get there, we continue toward Falkenberg, passing by the Alte Schule Falkenberg (Old School Falkenberg) museum.
The former high school building (Alte Schule Falkenberg), erected in 1910, now houses the school museum, a meeting place, and an adult education center
Cycling is possible on both sides of the road, but the slightly rounded yet several-centimeter-high curbs at street intersections are incredibly annoying, this has been handled much better in other places. From the tram’s final stop in Falkenberg, we venture into the countryside. The Falkenberger Landstraße transitions into the Worphauser Landstraße, which eventually connects to roads leading all the way to Worpswede, but we won’t go that far.
Lilienhof in Worphausen: the farmhouse (left) and barn (right); the building in the background is the Handwerkerhaus (see below)
Lilienhof is a noteworthy, slightly hidden collection of historic agricultural buildings used by a large working farm. Here you’ll find a sheep shed, a Spieker (barn, 1720), a bakehouse (1738), a farmhouse (1651), and a barn. The site is maintained by the registered association Worphüser Heimotfrünn. While the buildings are pleasant to look at, visiting is more rewarding when an event is taking place - such as baking day, offering coffee and fresh butter cake from the stone oven.
Handicraft Museum
Next door stands a complex featuring a handicraft house, museum, blacksmith’s hut, and workshop of "Oll’n handwarkers ut Worphausen un annere Dörper e. V.", an association preserving endangered crafts, offering courses, and hosting art and craft markets.
Blueberries (Heidelbeeren) for self-picking at a plantation near Lilienthal
If you’ve made it this far, you’re not far from large plantations where you can pick blueberries starting in July. Freshly plucked, only the plumpest, ripest, and sweetest fruits go into your containers - and of course, some are enjoyed along the way.
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Map
Further information
www.lilienthal.de
Lilienhof / Handwerkermuseum-Lilienhof
Worphauser Landstraße 26b
28865 Lilienthal-Worphausen
www.lilienhof-worphausen.de
From Bremen's main station to Vegesack by bike
The journey starts at Bremen's central station, passing through Bürgerweide near the distinctive Stadthalle, Congress Center, and trade fair halls, then through Findorff along the Torfkanal. This canal, which runs along the edge of Bürgerpark and Stadtwald, was constructed between 1817 and 1826 to transport peat from the Teufelsmoor near Worpswede in Lower Saxony to Bremen using peat barges.
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Artists' colony & peasant village: Fischerhude
Signposts make it clear to every previously unaware visitor that this place differs significantly from many other traditionally agricultural villages. Fischerhude is hip. Numerous cafés and restaurants, ceramics studios, art galleries, a local history museum, the Modersohn Museum, and more vie for the favor of an audience that is sometimes more and sometimes less interested in art but regularly strolls through Fischerhude in large numbers.
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Worpswede
In 1889, the painters Fritz Mackensen, Otto Modersohn, and Hans am Ende laid the foundation for this art center with their decision to work and live in the small, previously unknown village. They were quickly followed by other artists such as the painter Paula Becker, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, Clara Rilke-Westhoff, Fritz Overbeck, Heinrich Vogeler, and later the sculptor, painter, and craftsman Bernhard Hoetger, after whose designs, among others, the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-House in Bremen's Böttcherstraße was built.
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Cycling tour in Bremen: from the city center to Weser weir & back
On the way back toward the city center, you pass by sports facilities, Café Sand with its small beach, as well as a motorhome parking area with over 70 spaces surrounded by many trees right on the Weser River. With your mobile home, you couldn't be in a better spot - by bike, you're just a few minutes away from the Neustadt district and the city center. Not far from the parking area stands a red-brick building that the people of Bremen affectionately call the "Umgedrehte Kommode" (upside-down dresser), a comparison that, upon closer inspection, isn't entirely unfounded.
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Water-based activities in Bremen
Since not everyone owns a boat, it's convenient that you can easily rent canoes and kayaks—for example, at Torfhafen in the Findorff district, which borders Bürgerpark, or just beyond the city limits at Kanu-Scheune in Lilienthal, accessible by tram line 4.
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Weser cruise from Bremen to Bremerhaven
Of course, you can take a car for a visit to Bremerhaven from Bremen or board the regional train at the main station. However, with suitable weather and enough time, it is more interesting to cover the route on the Weser by ship. The shipping company "Hal över" operates the connection from May to September. The ship departs from the Martinianleger near the city center along the Schlachte. Those who wish can even take their bicycle with them; additionally, you can pre-book a breakfast onboard.
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Neu-Helgoland (New Heligoland) / Hamme Harbor Worpswede
From April to October, the Hamme Harbor in Worpswede attracts many day visitors, weekend trippers, cyclists, and campers. The campsite operators run not only a bistro & beer garden with waterside seating but also rent out kayaks and canoes. Those who don’t want to paddle on the Hamme themselves can instead book an excursion trip aboard one of the Adolphsdorf Peat Boats. Food and drinks are also available just a few meters from the harbor at "Hamme Hütte Neu Helgoland." Tip: A great bike trip destination from Bremen!
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