Mill Route around Porta Westfalica

Bike touring routes & trails

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Kreis Minden-Lübbecke

Bad Oeynhausen

Mill Route around Porta Westfalica

Hard

4.3

(19)

riders

Mill Route around Porta Westfalica

04:59

82.1km

530m

Cycling

Where the Weser flows through the mountain gate between the Weser and Wiehen Mountains into the North German Plain is Porta Westfalica. You circle this city for around 82 kilometers and visit eight mills. And at the same time, you'll gain a few meters in altitude as you cross the Weser and Wiehengebirge mountains.

A state spa with one of the most beautiful spa parks in Germany, that is Bad Oeynhausen. From here you start your tour east towards the Weser. On the other side of the Weser you can pay a visit to the first mill - the Holzhausen mill. Before you cross the Weser Mountains to the north, you will pass three more mills. The terrain becomes noticeably more mountainous in this section.

In the north of Porta Westfalica you cycle along ground-level streets and cycle paths. A detour to the Dützen mill is worthwhile because the mill park, which is looked after by an association, is beautifully decorated and inviting. Shortly before the end of the tour, a final detour takes you to the Hofwassermühle, which is located below the Bad Oeynhausen museum courtyard.

For this route you can orient yourself at the junctions in the following order: 54-51-52-40-41-42-43-38-37-36-35-33-29-49-28-64-63-56- 55-54

Last updated: March 24, 2025

Tips

Cycling is not permitted along parts of this route

After 3.92 km for 105 m

After 66.6 km for 96 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

15.5 km

Holzhausen an der Porta Windmill

Highlight • Monument

The Holzhausen windmill on the Porta (also called Maschmeyers Mühle; Mühlenroute No. 38) is a Wallhollander with a plastered conical quarry stone tower. The year of construction of today's mill is unclear (it must have been between 1807 and 1837). As early as 1740 there was a royal post mill at the same place, which burned down in 1832. The wind drive was replaced early on by a steam engine (1910), then by an electric motor (1927). The mill was shut down shortly after 1945. After years of decay, it was restored between 1987 and 1989: on the outside it is a pretty windmill again, while a working electric motor is installed on the inside. Since then, the mill and the restored miller's and bakehouse have been open regularly for grinding and baking days. The mill site is also freely accessible outside of the events.

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23.6 km

Veltheim Windmill

Highlight • Monument

The Veltheim windmill from 1903 is a Wallhollander with sails and wind rose (dummy). Your grinder is now operated with a motor and used for grinding for your own use.

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27.4 km

Röckemanns Mill (Eisbergen Windmill)

Highlight • Monument

This Erdholländer was erected in 1855, but only found its final location in 1992 through relocation. The mill tower is a conical building made of sandstone and quarry stone.

You can explore the inside of the mill on the grinding and baking days between March and October.

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31.6 km

Hartings Mill (Kleinenbremen Watermill)

Highlight • Monument

There is a village museum on the upper floor of the mill and a mill café on the premises. The Heimatverein takes care of many great events.

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41.6 km

Meissen windmill

Highlight • Monument

Very nice windmill, definitely a nice meeting point for cyclists in summer.

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54.6 km

Dützen Windmill and Mill Park

Highlight • Monument

The Heimatverein Dützen operates a windmill here with an adjacent mill park that is well worth seeing.
Rest stops are also provided. Further information: heimatverein-duetzen.de

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66.6 km

Bergkirchen Watermill

Highlight • Monument

The Bergkirchen watermill is one of the few overshot watermills in the Minden-Lübbecke mill district. Opinions differ as to the age of the mill. Parts of the foundation walls probably date from 1618. The mill must have looked as it does today at the end of the 18th century.

The mill has been owned by the Schöne/Haupt miller family for centuries and was still operated as such until the end of the 1970s, combined with a country store.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the Minden-Lübbecke district became interested in Schönen Mühle and decided to restore the mill historically and place it under monument protection. The mill has a fully functional grinding mill and, what makes the mill unique in the district, a restored oil mill that was probably used in grandfather's time to press oil from rapeseed, beechnuts or sunflower seeds.

Source: muehlenzauber.de

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79.8 km

Manor watermill in the Sieker Valley

Highlight • Monument

The farm water mill in Siekertal (also called the farm water mill on the Osterbach; mill route no. 37) is idyllically located in the forest below the Bad Oeynhausen museum farm. The mill, built in 1772, originally belonged to the Bartlingshof in Enger-Herringhausen and was in operation until 1952. In 1978 it was dismantled there and bought by the town of Bad Oeynhausen. In 1984 it was rebuilt true to the original at its current location. Since then the mill has been open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from April to October. An active mill group organizes regular events. The small mill with a medium-sized water wheel (diameter 2.4 m) is a typical example of farm mills on small watercourses. The mill grounds are freely accessible and outside tours are possible at any time.

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82.1 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

29.2 km

22.7 km

21.1 km

8.54 km

611 m

Surfaces

68.5 km

7.75 km

2.78 km

1.63 km

1.35 km

168 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (160 m)

Lowest point (40 m)

Weather

Monday 12 October

15°C

7°C

77 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 17.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

June 9, 2025,Mühlenroute rund um Porta Westfalica

Beautiful scenery, beautiful mills on Mill Day – the mills are open every Whit Monday. Some offer guided tours, or you can simply stop by and see for yourself.
Some mills served coffee, cake, and/or bratwurst. A nice change of pace and a wonderful thing.
The only drawback, unfortunately, was the poor roads.

Showing Translation

October 21, 2022

Where the Weser flows through the mountain gate between the Weser and Wiehen Mountains into the North German Plain is Porta Westfalica. You circle this city for around 82 kilometers and visit eight mills. And at the same time, you'll gain a few meters in altitude as you cross the Weser and Wiehengebirge

Translated by Google •