The best city hikes and walks in Hüggel

The Poggenburg is the seat of the Evangelische Stiftung Osnabrück

The Poplar Lake, an idyllic destination for many desert dwellers and home to dozens of duck and moorhen families, is actually a so-called “standing body of water”

The sculpture of the arguing couple stands near St. Catherine’s Church.

This realistic-looking, arguing couple was created in 1990 in sandstone and bronze by Holger Voigts and stands next to St. Catherine's Church on Hakenstraße in Osnabrück. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Holger_Voigts_o.T._1990_Osnabr%C3%BCck.jpg

In reference to the Hase River, which flows through the city of Osnabrück, Heinrich Brummack (1936–2018), a participant in documenta 8 in 1987, created the fishing city hare. His 1999 work, made of sandstone and painted metal mounted on a double-T beam, stands on the banks of the Hase near the intersection of Georgstraße and Öwer de Hase. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunst_im_%C3%B6ffentlichen_Raum_in_Osnabr%C3%BCck

At the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, it was decreed that Osnabrück should henceforth be governed alternately by a Catholic and a Protestant prince-bishop. In 1662, the Lutheran Welf Ernst August of Brunswick-Lüneburg took over this office. In order to meet his representative wishes and at the same time limit the city of Osnabrück's efforts to become independent, the Prince-Bishop's Palace on Neuer Graben was built between 1667 and 1675 in the Baroque style. The four-wing complex had a private chapel and a ballroom in the main building with its four floors. The design of the Baroque garden according to the plans of the well-known garden architect Martin Charbonnier was the responsibility of the Prince-Bishop's wife in particular, who incorporated the impressions she had gathered in France. With the abolition of the old empire in 1803, the castle lost its function as a prince-bishop's residence and was used for administrative purposes from then on. The Osnabrück castle was badly damaged by bombing raids in the Second World War, only the outer walls remained. The building was rebuilt by 1953. The castle garden was redesigned on its original site by Prof. Werner Lendholt. After the Pedagogical University initially used the castle, the premises were integrated into the new University of Osnabrück in 1973, which has had its administrative headquarters in the castle since 1974. The departments of music/musicology and Protestant theology are also housed in the main building. Today, the former residence of the Osnabrück prince-bishops is characterized by student life. https://erleben.osnabrueck.de/de/stadt-erleben/sehenswertes/schloss-osnabrueck/

The Evangelical Lutheran St. Katharinen Church is a late Gothic hall church in the old town of Osnabrück. Its tower, which can be seen from afar, is considered the highest medieval building in western Lower Saxony (103 m). The "Steinwerk St. Katharinen" community center is located right next to the church. St. Katharinen, formerly the "church of the nobility from the neighboring castle," looks back on a long history: St. Katharinen was first mentioned in documents in the 13th century. Even after more than 700 years, the beautiful, late Gothic church building with its high tower shapes the cityscape of Osnabrück. But St. Katharinen has something to offer not only from the outside: those who visit the church will notice the friendly, bright church space, which is characterized by the typical Gothic design. A place that invites you to silence, to reflect, to pray, but also to celebrate and make music. The church is open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Church tours take place every second Saturday of the month at 11 a.m. https://www.katharinen.net/ueber-uns/kirchengebaeude

The historic town hall of Osnabrück was built between 1487 and 1512 in the late Gothic style, but already exhibits clear Renaissance features. The front elevation is dominated by an 18-meter-high hipped roof. At its lower end are a total of six towers, reminiscent of watchtowers and corner towers of a fortress. Since 1846, a large stone staircase has provided access to the town hall, after a retractable wooden staircase. Since 1963, the 500-year-old entrance door has featured the heavy bronze "Peace" door handle by the sculptor Fritz Szalinski. It depicts a dove on a beam with the inscription "Peace 1648" and the city's coat of arms in the form of the Osnabrück wheel. The city's founder, the Franconian King and later Emperor Charlemagne, sits enthroned above the entrance. Since the 19th century, the eight so-called Emperor sculptures, a gift from the Prussian royal family to the city of Osnabrück, have stood alongside it. On the ground floor of the town hall are, among other things, the Peace Hall and the Treasury, in which the council silver, coins, minting stamps, the oldest rifle chain and important documents are kept. On the upper floor is a model of Osnabrück in 1633, created by the sculptor Heinrich Bohn in the mid-1950s. From 1643 onwards, the Peace Hall became one of the two venues for the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Alongside Münster, the peace treaties ending the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) were signed here. The Peace of Westphalia is considered an outstanding event in German and European history, as it laid the first foundations for a united Europe. Since April 2015, Osnabrück Town Hall and Münster Town Hall have been awarded the European Heritage Label. The European Commission awards this label to places of particular significance in European history. On September 13, 1944, the town hall was severely damaged in an Allied bombing raid. The historic building had been relocated some time earlier and was thus saved. Reconstruction began in 1947 and was completed on October 25, 1948, just in time for the 300th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia. https://erleben.osnabrueck.de/de/stadt-erleben/sehenswertes/rathaus-des-westfaelischen-friedens/