The Rural Neustadt

The city of Neustadt am Rübenberge with its 44,000 inhabitants is actually a normal country town, but because of its extensive land area, it is remarkable. After the community reform of 1972 thirty-three independent communities were added to the city of Neustadt. Covering 357 square kilometres, the city suddenly became the fourth largest in Germany, but its rustic character has been preserved until today.

The countryside of Neustadt with its old villages blends seamlessly with the rest of lower Saxony to form a unique landscape of forest and swamp, heath and marsh, hills, and a lake. For instance, the Wacholderpark in Helstorf with its red beeches, oaks and Hülsenwäldchen, the wildlife reserve Blankes Flat in Vesbeck with its various flora and small marsh, and the Grinderwald in Eilvese with its wide ranging hills and hiking paths make up the most remarkable nature attractions in Neustadt’s countryside. Another highlight is the farmyard in Evensen with its beech-lined walking path reminiscent of the Großer Garten in Hanover Herrenhausen.

While in Neustadt, tourists can also visit important historical sites, for example, the Zisterzienserkloster (a monastery) in Mariensee, which was founded around 1200, or the St.-Osdag-Kirche (St. Osdag church) in Mandelsloh, the main parts of which were built around 1180. This church is the southernmost flat-ceilinged Roman basilica and the only historical monument of this architecture to also have an ornamental ceiling. Around 1757 the Earl Wilhelm from Schaumburg-Lippe built the Wilhelmstein fortress as a military academy directly on Steinhuder Lake. Today this institution is a weapons museum ( Steinhuder Meer).
As you explore Neustadt, you can also see the castle Landestrost, which was built on a little hill overlooking the Leine River and offers a broad view of the surroundings. The lookout was once vital for the protection of the Leine River.