Easy hikes and walks in Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach

If you leave the road at the entrance to Embsen, on the right, you can see a piece of idyll at the Melbecker Bach.

The Barnstedt Manor Chapel, a half-timbered building with a polygonal eastern end, was built in 1593 by Ludolph von Estorff. Originally built on a different site, Eleonore de Farcy de St. Laurent, wife of Ludolph-Otto von Estorff, had the chapel moved to its present location in 1731 and equipped with a tower and a bell dating from 1368. In 1893, Albrecht von Estorff renovated the chapel, relocating the north entrance to the west side and adding a porch. In 1966, overpainted images from the pulpit altar dating from 1731 and painted beams were uncovered. In 1985, the Lüneburg district carried out a thorough renovation, exposing an old tiled floor and revealing the half-timbering of the gable façade. The chapel is set in an idyllic garden and is now used for church services, weddings, and concerts.

The Pixie toilet, which I discovered by chance behind the chapel, was spotlessly clean, mosquito-free, equipped with toilet paper including a spare roll and smelled very pleasantly of the sea breeze due to the approx. 50 liters of blue perfumed water in the collecting container under the toilet seat. But: it wobbles. Unfortunately, this toilet does not stand flat on the ground, but on four rather small wooden blocks that are not on the same level. As soon as I got on it and put down my backpack, the thing wobbled considerably, only calmed down a little while I was sitting and wobbled so much when I stood up that I thought someone outside was shaking it. In no time at all, I pulled up my pants, opened the door and stepped out of the rocking ship. The uneven position and the vibrating amount of water in the tank make using the toilet a real indoor-outdoor adventure.

The chapel was built in 1593 by the then owner of the manor Ludolph von Estorff and was last renovated in 2016/17. Today it is mainly used for summer concerts. But also from the outside it's a wonderful little church in an idyllic location.

The estate has existed since the 14th century, the current complex dates back to the 17th century, and has belonged to the von Estorff family almost without interruption.

Quiet and secluded place, almost a peaceful forest

The Melbeck mill is a historic building that was first mentioned in 1265 when it was sold on the Monday before Ascension Day. About a hundred years later, in 1355, the upper ownership of the mill was again sold to the abbot of the Michaeliskloster. Since then, the mill has been a monastery mill and is subject to tithing until the tithing was replaced in 1834. The current mill building as a warehouse was built in 1907 and was then extended in 1923. The old oil and grist mill became a modern mill that could also deliver flour. The good quality of Melbeck flour was soon known and a solid group of bakeries developed in and around Lüneburg. In the seventies the mill was shut down due to the general death of the mills and the associated agriculture was sold. Since then, the mill has been privately owned and now shows its history and tradition in a new ambience to interested visitors and guests. The NDR III came to Melbeck in June 2005 with a large contingent to report on the 700-year-old mill. Since then, the mill in its current form has been enjoying increasing awareness and popularity as a venue for private celebrations with a special flair. As a unique industrial monument, the work of art watermill offers rooms for celebrating a special and natural way - weddings, family celebrations, events, seminars, workshops and much more. In the warehouse there are extraordinary rooms on all four floors with the old mill machines as contemporary witnesses. On the first floor is the romantic wedding room for civil weddings, the branch office of the Ilmenau community. On the ground floor, the Mühlenkontor, there is food at events and then dancing. The lavishly restored mill machine room with waterfall and running Melbeck brook in the basement is now used as an adventure world with fire and water. Source: https://lueneburg.city-map.de/02010400/700-jahre-kunstwerk-wassermuehle

The nature reserve "Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach" is located in the Uelzen and Bevenser basin in the district of Lüneburg on the border with the district of Uelzen. It encompasses the lowlands of the Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach with its side streams Glindenbach and Billerbeck from Betzendorf to Melbeck as well as adjacent valley edge areas. As part of the Fauna Flora Habitat (FFH) area "Ilmenau with tributaries", the area is of outstanding importance for nature conservation. As a tributary of the Ilmenau, the Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach is characterized by a near-natural, strongly to slightly meandering, predominantly shaded stream with diverse structures. The mostly scree-rich river bed of the upper reaches is replaced by a sandy to gravelly bed in the middle and lower reaches. There are also moderately developed, structurally poorer stream sections. On the wet to freshly damp locations of the lowlands there are numerous spring rivers flowing in from the side. The brook valleys are characterized by damp forests, in particular floodplain and broken forests, which accompany Bach or occur in larger complexes in partly very good condition. In addition, these are closely intermeshed with reeds and reed beds, meadows and pastures. Natural oak and beech mixed forests often grow on the edges of the valley. The area is more characteristic as a habitat, e.g. T. endangered animal and plant species. The lowlands serve primarily as a habitat for a number of rare species of birds, mammals and fish (e.g. creek lamprey and bullhead). In the nature reserve, the living conditions of the characteristic flora and fauna are to be preserved and further improved in the future through suitable maintenance and development measures. Source: www.nlwkn.niedersachsen.de