Windeby: Hotels and Accommodations

In Windeby, paths, lakes, and traces of history come together in close proximity. Windebyer Noor is considered a large inland lake that was once connected to the Baltic Sea. Several hiking and cycling routes lead through the area, including the Noor hiking trail, a route south of Kochendorf toward Osterbek, as well as paths to Westerthal, Friedland, and the hinterland of Friedensthal.

Nature and Trails

In summer, Schnaaper See is considered a swimming spot with very good water quality in a peaceful natural setting. The lakes in the surrounding area are used for swimming and fishing.

Windebyer Noor can be circumnavigated by bicycle on the NoorTörn: The 26.83-kilometre cycling loop starts and ends at Windebyer Noor. It is described as an easy cycling tour and mainly uses paved paths. A signposted circular route around the Noor is seven miles long; with a detour to Kochendorf, the distance is 8.3 miles. The circular route partly follows a nature trail that provides information about the area around the Noor and a former railway line.

The Gammelby hiking route follows the historic Osterwall between Kochendorf and Windebyer Noor. An information board along the route explains the historical background of the Osterwall. As a broader regional route, the nature park hiking trail runs for 180 kilometres through four nature parks in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district.

History and Archaeology

The Windeby Child was discovered in 1952 near Schiefkoppel, an area that formerly belonged to Windeby. The Windeby bog body find is that of a 14-year-old child. Windeby Manor House and the surrounding estate buildings are also notable historic structures. Bog bodies from the former Domsland Moor, which was connected to Windeby, are among the main attractions of Gottorf Castle Archaeological Museum.

The Osterwall runs through Kochendorf as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Archaeological Border Region of Danevirke and Hedeby”. In Windeby’s landscape, only hedge-like remnants of the former Osterwall are visible. Existing information boards in Kochendorf introduce visitors to the Danevirke/Osterwall World Heritage Site.

An approximately one-kilometre-long unpaved section of the Old Military Road runs through Windeby and Kochendorf. The Old Military Road is older than the Osterwall and led from the Slavic territories east of Kiel to the Ochsenweg.

Windeby’s oldest archaeological monument is a megalithic long barrow from the Neolithic period, hidden in the forest. The area also contains Bronze Age burial mounds that are approximately 3,500 years old. In addition, there are archaeological burial grounds from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age, as well as earthworks of unknown date. Around 60 shell middens have been recorded around Windebyer Noor and are considered unique in the north.

More local pages: Loose, Dänischenhagen, Hanerau-Hademarschen, Groß Vollstedt, Bendorf, Meezen, Breiholz, Schönwohld.

To the higher-level travel overview: Rendsburg-Eckernförde.