The best cycling routes around Balje

A great bascule bridge with a great view of the Oste. A super bike and hiking trail runs along here amidst beautiful nature 💚.

Freiburg lies on the southwest bank of the Elbe River, approximately at river kilometer 682. Within the Stade district, the town is situated quite far north. As the crow flies, it is 27 km to Stade and 40 km to Cuxhaven. The nearest larger town, Glückstadt, is located on the opposite bank of the Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein and can be reached by the Glückstadt-Wischhafen ferry. Along the Lower Elbe, Freiburg borders the Schleswig-Holstein municipalities of Brokdorf and Wewelsfleth, separated by the riverbed. On the Lower Saxon side, Freiburg's neighboring municipalities are Wischhafen to the southeast, Oederquart to the south, and Krummendeich to the west.

Freiburg, originally an island in the Lower Elbe River, lies in the Kehdingen region. Pliny the Elder, who reached the Elbe with a Roman fleet under the general Drusus, reported on the inhabitants of the riverbanks who lived primarily by fishing, making their nets from reeds and bulrushes. A castle in Freiburg, along with the town of Freiburg itself, is first mentioned in 1154, when Archbishop Hartwig I of Bremen had it repaired, along with the towns of Stade, Harburg, and Bremervörde, to defend himself against Henry the Lion of Stade. The County of Stade had built the castle before 1144. In 1158, it was further expanded due to the ongoing conflicts between the archbishop and Henry the Lion. This measure proved unsuccessful, as Henry the Lion conquered Freiburg in 1167 and subsequently razed it to the ground. The exact location of the castle has not yet been definitively determined.

During the Napoleonic era, Freiburg, like the entire Elbe-Weser Triangle, was under alternating military occupation by France and Prussia. In 1810, it briefly became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia before being incorporated into the French Empire as part of the Département des Bouches de l’Elbe. After the Wars of Liberation and the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the former Electorate became the Kingdom of Hanover, which transferred the province of Bremen-Verden into the Landdrostei (district) of Stade in 1823. As part of the Hanoverian judicial reform, later extended throughout Germany, the Freiburg Elbe District Court was established in 1852. After the Second World War, the state of Hanover was initially re-established, which included Freiburg. Shortly thereafter, in 1946, Freiburg, along with the state of Hanover, became part of Lower Saxony. The early postwar years were also marked by the arrival of many refugees and expellees from the former German eastern territories who came to Kehdingen.

⚓ 1. Alte Liebe (The Maritime Heart) This is the most famous viewpoint in Cuxhaven. The former bulwark now serves as a two-story viewing platform. 🗼 2. Kugelbake (The Landmark) Where the Elbe River ends and the North Sea begins, you'll find a fantastic panoramic view. Experience: Because ships have to navigate a bend here to enter the Elbe estuary, the Kugelbake offers particularly great photo opportunities. It's especially atmospheric here in the early morning hours at sunrise.

🚢 In Cuxhaven and the immediate surroundings, you have the unique opportunity to observe huge container ships up close. Since the Elbe shipping channel runs directly along the coast here, these behemoths pass by within arm's reach on their way to Hamburg or the Kiel Canal.

A great cycling route and a hiking trail lead along here amidst beautiful nature 💚.

A visit is highly recommended and interesting, as well as a beautiful hike.