Times when man and beast shared the same roof
A sparse habitation, single farms, and dispersed settlements are still characteristic of the Nature Park Lüneburger Heide.As are indeed old farmhouses with thatched roofs, stone walls and oak trees a part of the landscape.
The typical Heide farmhouse can be recognized by its long uninterrupted roof made of straw or reeds, with low eaves. The walls were made up mostly of loam, plaited with brick in half-timbering. This type of house is numbered among the so called „Hall houses“ of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), that originally housed stall, storage and living quarters under one roof. Many farms have multiple outhouses.
Churches
There are many old and well preserved churches from different epochs in the Nature Park Lüneburger Heide. In Soderstorf-Raven there is a bricked Gothic church ; in Egestorf however there is a half-timbered church from the Renaissance, with a separate church tower. Equally worth seeing are the Romanesque field stone church of St. Peter and Paul, with it's round tower and Gothic brick nave in Betzendorf, as well as the field stone church of St Johannis with a field stone tower, and a half timbered east gable end in Salzhausen.
The One-World-Church in Schneverdingen is something special. In conjunction with the EXPO 2000 it was built completely out of wood and contains soil from every continent in its symbolic One-World-Altar.
Mills
Another interesting aspect of the Heide architecture is the Mill, the windmill and the watermill. The Sprengeler windmill in Neuenkirchen, and the Erdholländer windmill in Eyendorf, where an annual mill festival is held, are still completely functional .Of the watermills the one in Holm is the most notable. Cultural events often take place there.
Archeology
Archeological witnesses are no rarity in the Nature Park Lüneburger Heide. Because of the particular agricultural use of the land and the long tradition of protecting the environment, a lot of archaeological sites have been preserved. Thus there are quite a few Dolmens and Tumuli or Barrows dating from the early Stone age and the Bronze age to be found in the region. You can find out more about them in the Museum for Archeology and the „Oldendorfer Totenstatt“
