Altes Land & Stade

 Altes Land

On the flood plains stretching for more than 30 km (19 miles) between Hamburg and Stade, along the Lower Elbe River, is the Altes Land (old land). This area is fertile and has the largest number of orchards in Germany. Many visitors come here in May, when cherry and apple tree blossom turns everything into a sea of white and pink.

In this riot of colour stand sturdy red-brick houses with white half-timbered panels, thatched roofs and carved gates. The most beautiful villages are Neuenfelde, Jork, Borstel, Steinkirchen and Hollern, with their richly furnished Baroque churches.

 Stade

This medieval Hanseatic town has retained most of its halftimbered buildings, with the most attractive in the Alter Hafen (old harbour). There is a also a quaint crane and the Schwedenspeicher (Swedish granary) dating from the Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years’ War (1692–1705). It is now home to the Schwedenspeicher-Museum, Stade’s regional museum with exhibits on the town’s history and defence system, including wheels from 700 BC, which were part of a Bronze-Age cart. Nearby, an interesting building at Am Wasser West 7 houses the Kaufmann Collection, with works by Worpswede artists. The entire old town is surrounded by preserved modern fortifications.

Other attractions are the Burgermeister-Hintze-Haus at Am Wasser West 23, a house built for the mayor, Hintze, in 1617–46, and the exquisite Baroque Rathaus (town hall) from 1667, its design revealing Dutch influence.

It is also worth visiting two Gothic churches: St Wilhadi from the 14th century which boasts an interesting Gothic hall and a leaning tower, and St Cosmas and Damiani, founded after the Great Fire of 1659, with marvelous Baroque furnishings.

 Soltau

The main attraction of the town of Soltau is Heidepark Soltau, a vast funfair with trains, water rides and a genuine Mississippi steamboat.

For nature lovers, there is the Vogelpark Walsrode, 20 km (12 miles) southwest of Soltau. It holds about 1,000 species of birds from every continent, from penguins to birds of paradise. Aviaries, some 12-m (40-ft) tall, seek to simulate an impression of the birds’ natural environment.

Environs:

In grim contrast to both parks stands Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp built in the moorland of Osterheide, about 30 km (19 miles) south of Soltau. A monument and small museum commemorate the place where 50,000 people were murdered, among them Anne Frank.