The best dog-friendly hikes and walks around Wunstorf

"The Jewish cemetery in Hohen Holz is already marked on Praetorius' map of 1769. It was expanded in 1793. Until 1942, Jewish families from Hagenburg, Großenheidorn, and Steinhude used it for the burial of their deceased. Jewish cemeteries are generally intended to last for eternity. There is no leveling, as in other cemeteries. On site, Rabbi Simon explains how Jewish graves are laid out. The deceased are always placed in the grave with their head facing the Hebrew inscription. Since everyone is equal in death, the clothing of the deceased, along with the coffin and gravestone, is also the same. In communities of larger cities, mausoleums, like those found in Christian cemeteries, later became common. Graves were also later enclosed by walls or fences. From 1900 onward, the first double graves for married couples appeared. Until then, spouses were not buried together. Children were often buried in a corner of the cemetery." Family members were quite far apart. All the graves face east. In Jewish tradition, the deceased stand upright and then know that they should walk to Jerusalem, explains Rabbi Simon. Some gravestones also have German inscriptions or just a German text on the back. Inscriptions must always be approved by a rabbi, says Rabbi Simon. Many of the faithful could no longer speak Hebrew. This also applies to stonemasons. Consequently, there are only German inscriptions on Jewish gravestones. One special feature is a memorial stone, similar to the one in this cemetery. It is a memorial stone for the Jonas sisters, who were murdered in Riga in 1942. Survivors of the Holocaust often commemorated their murdered family members in this way, says Rabbi Simon.

Article in the Wunstorf City Gazette, November 15, 2025 edition: "The Jewish cemetery in Hohen Holz near Steinhude looks back on a long history – and remains a place of remembrance to this day. To better protect the graves, a fence with a gate has now been erected. Visitors are still welcome at any time. The administration of Jewish cemeteries in Lower Saxony is the responsibility of Rabbi Tobias Jonas Simon of the State Association of Jewish Communities of Lower Saxony. His jurisdiction includes 220 cemeteries. One of them is the cemetery in Hohen Holz. His predecessor had already informed him that not everything there was in perfect order. His own visits confirmed this impression. During his visits, Rabbi Simon repeatedly found dog feces on the graves and horse tracks on the grass in front of the graves. To protect the graves and to emphasize that this area remains a cemetery, a fence with a gate has now been erected. The gate is open to all visitors." There will be no closing times, unlike those of Christian cemeteries. A sign with the contact information for the cemetery administration, including contact persons, will be installed shortly. Link to the newspaper article, presumably only accessible until approximately 2029: https://www.wunstorfer-stadtanzeiger.de/epaper_ws Link to Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCdischer_Friedhof_(Steinhude)

The narrow-gauge railway primarily transported recreational travelers to Steinhude along its approximately 50-km route. The exhibition includes information on the history and displays several carriages and pictures from the past.

Nice playground for small children. For the older ones there is a nice adventure playground on Blumenauer Kirchweg.

Beautiful farm shop of the organic farmer. Depending on the season, the farm's own products include mainly zucchini, tomatoes, various salads, potatoes, leeks and pumpkins. I find the zucchini in particular to be very good value for money, even the discounter can't compete with that. In addition, of course, there is pretty much everything you need to eat and drink.

Sun or rain, you can rest well here.

The town hall of the city of Wunstorf is a multi-storey building with arched windows, several pointed roofs and a carillon on the outer facade. It is located at Südstraße 1. Originally, the Stadtsparkasse was also housed there.

very nice building, makes something