Travel News
New cycle path follows ancient monk's trail in northern Germany
By DPA
Mar 27, 2007, 6:58 GMT

Hamburg - A new 340-kilometre cycle path in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein follows an ancient monk's trail where the first missionaries began spreading Christianity hundreds of years ago.

The route starts in the town of Glueckstadt, northwest of Hamburg, and ends on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, 18 kilometres south of the Danish island of Lolland.

Cyclists follow a scenic route of lakes, rolling hillsides, open plains and sea views up to the Danish coastline, according to tourism officials.

It was here where the first missionaries in northern Germany began preaching Christianity. Century-old artefacts can be seen in some of the churches and museums on the route, bypassing the battlegrounds where the Slavs and the first Christians fought each other.

The area is also steeped in fairytale legends such as the tale of the dwarfs that helped the family Rantzau find a gold treasure and how the devil of Moenkloh threw a stone onto the church in Stellau.

The Monk's Trail officially opens on May 12 this year in the town of Oldenburg with a music and variety programme in the historical market square.