5 – (GER 5) – Soltau – Bergen

Soltau lies in a central position between Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover, in the heath of Lüneburg on the river Böhme. Its name derives from Soltau: Solt (salt) and au (river). The region of the Luneburg Heath has been colonized around 4.000 years ago, and the Soltau region has been initially settled by some individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and its earliest wooden church Sante Johannis Baptista (St. John the Baptist) dates back to that period. Later it was destroyed by various fires, and was rebuilt after 1464. Resuming our pilgrimage with this 5th stage, we leave from the Municipium, on the 71 or Poststrasse; continuing with the Wilhelmstrasse, we pass the crossroad with the Celler strasse, turn to the right on the Birkenstrasse which we follow up to the junction with the Reinickendorfer strasse, where we turn left and continuing up to the junction with the Heidlanstrasse (second crossing), here we turn right and proceed to meet the Trift where we turn left and continue until we cross the railway. We are now out of town. We continue on the Weidedamm which will take us to cross more railway lines, we go on for 100 m, and follow along a footpath another railway line first on the left , then on the right; we cross the Grosse Aue Torrent and 150 m on we turn right, fair 250 m, then left only to return on the railway after 400-500 m and again cross the railway, which we follow now at a greater distance, for 600 m when we arrive on the road which , turning right, leads to crossing the railway again and 1,3 km on , we shall cross the motorway N.7. We turn right then sharp left and having crossed a stream, after 600 m we leave the road for a lave on the left, which by running through woodland leads on road  K36. We go on for 1,3 km and turn right; we are now on a secondary road across the fields, skirting woodlands, and in about 4 km, we arrive at a large camping ground the Sudsee Camp, with a beach next to a fine lake. We go around the Camping, first turning right and then left to arrive on road K41, which we cross continuing straight on to the Hohes Feld for 1,5 km , up to road K10. We turn right and enter Wietzendorf. We now turn left on road K12, 500 m and we shall be before the Church of St. James. After a due visit to the church, we return to our way for 200 m to turn left onto the Kampstrasse which we follow for 1,2 km, then we turn left and we are on the Wietzendorf. We will be now in a natural environment, surrounded by tilled fields, woodlands and ponds for a distance of 3 km. After such ponds, we carry on straight for 350 m and turn right on a lane running long the railway, which we follow, with brief tracts of discontinuity, up to Wardbohmen, where we must turn right on the Alte Dorfstrasse and left on the Dageforder Weg, to cross over the railway. We go on  up to the crossroad, where we turn right , we cross the Torrent Meisse turning left, then again right  to cross road K11. Straight on for 700 m then left , and right and 1,4 km on we will be in Hagen. After going through the village we shall continue along the Hagen road , which takes us to Bergen in 3,5 km. We enter Bergen walking the Am Weinberg; we cross the Harburger Strasse and we will be in town centre.

G.Caselli e Th.Dahms   Via Romea Stade-Mittenwald Pilgerfuher Duetschland  Ostfalia