The best cycling routes around Denkte

Not only is there an attractive range of goods at the Schöppenstedt weekly market, but Friday mornings have long since become a popular meeting place for the people of Schöppenstedt and many visitors from the surrounding area. People exchange news and have many a chat in the market square in front of the town hall. You can still feel the good old days here sometimes. Recently, questions about Schöppenstedt's history have come up repeatedly in conversations between market visitors and guests. For example, about the stream bed of the Alteau. The water opening in the market square, in particular, is criticized from various sides and is chewed over like a worn-out piece of gum. Meanwhile, the newly designed market square with its inviting staircase and the large functional area (for weekly markets, town festivals, Maypole festivals, Europe festivals, etc.) has long since established itself. The source of the Alteau (formerly called Nette) lies in the Elm northeast of Eitzum. The main spring is called Weinberg. The Alteau flows through the town of Schöppenstedt via Eitzum. Here, a right arm flows predominantly openly but heavily channelized north through the town, while the southern arm is almost completely covered over. It flows past Bansleben and west of the former sugar factory in Dettum. Further on, it passes the Wendesser Mühle and the town of Wendessen, where it bends southeast below Klein Denkte. After another bend to the southwest, it enters the Okeraue south of the district of Linden. Near Halchter, a district of Wolfenbüttel, it flows into the Oker. Already in the 16th century, Duke Julius brought the Dutch hydraulic engineer Wilhelm de Raet to the region and commissioned him, among other things, to regulate the Alteau so that it could be navigated by rafts. In particular, limestone and wood from the Elm were to be transported this way. The stream bed was developed over 12 kilometers. A weir near Dettum ensured the necessary water depth. Despite later improvements, commercial shipping ended due to tight finances. Even back then, money was often scarce. The coat of arms of the town of Schöppenstedt still points to the former navigability of the Alteau. The lion there refers to the former rule of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The ship indicates the former navigability of the Alteau. There is a tradition of the origin of 4 mills in or near Eitzum. In Schöppenstedt and Küblingen itself, a total of 5 mills once clattered on the Alteau. In the east (towards Burgtal), there was the Waldmühle, which many people from Schöppenstedt will surely remember as a later excursion restaurant. For both the Biermanns Mühle located within the town and the Brüdernmühle, a ditch that no longer exists was specially created. The water supply was regulated by a weir at the fork in Burgtal. There was also the so-called Obermühle (near the former Uhde bakery). Here, another branch to the Freiflut existed, which was opened in case of flood risk. At the western end of Stobenstraße (today at Bismarckplatz) was the Untermühle. Here, the stream bed and the diversion channel still merge today.

Wonderful, how a simple transformer house becomes a work of art 🖼️🎨🖌️

There are no records of the construction of the Groß Denkte church. Legend tells that it was built from the stones of the Asseburg Castle, which was destroyed in the early Middle Ages. An original document from Pope Innocent III from 1206 confirms the transfer of the Groß Denkte property, including the church, to the Bad Gandersheim Abbey. Thus, the church existed long before the Reformation. Until secularization in 1803, the abbesses of the Bad Gandersheim Abbey were the local rulers of Groß Denkte. Therefore, the Groß Denkte coat of arms also features the crosier, for "life is good under the crosier." This was a peasant saying in the Middle Ages, as the clerical authorities were considerably more lenient than the secular lords when it came to collecting taxes and duties. There is evidence that the church was robbed during the Schmalkaldic War (1546/47). During the Second World War, Groß Denkte and the church, including its then-spire, were severely damaged in a British bombing raid on January 14, 1944. This raid was originally intended to have targeted Braunschweig. Due to a lack of materials, the destroyed roof structure could not be rebuilt until 1948. After its complete restoration, the church was finally consecrated on the third Sunday of Advent in 1956. On the first Sunday of Advent in 2003, an organ by organ builder Amadeus Junker from Meinersen was consecrated. The congregation had saved up for it for decades, having had to make do with a makeshift instrument since 1956. No name for the Groß Denkte church appears in old records. More recent research suggests it could possibly be "St. Peter and Paul." After the renovation of the church tower, the congregation would like to give their church a name and is therefore continuing to follow old traces.

The estate dates back to a surviving farm and also includes two other former farmsteads. In 1842, it was elevated to a knight's estate. The current complex, with the exception of the old residential building, was created shortly after its acquisition in 1853 by Albert von Pawel-Rammingen, who, among other things, had a new manor house built and the existing park expanded, designing it according to English models. The preservation of the complex is in the public interest due to its local historical significance, its historical significance due to its value as a witness and exhibit for architectural and art history, its artistic significance as an experience for significant interior design, and its urban development significance due to its formative influence on the townscape.

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The Nordic Tuscany, locals told me...

Cool pictures from all over the district. Everything that isn't nailed down has been embellished ;-)

Nice picture, not just scribbles like in HH :-)