Lamspringe: A dream garden and a mysterious forester’s lodge
Summer time is garden time. The wonderful idea of an „open garden gate“ is not only offered at Braunschweig but also at Hildesheim. Such an oasis was presented last sunday by the couple Lagershausen. Lucky enough the garden visit could be combined with a marvellous hike starting at the parking lot Glashütte. Additionally the weather was also nice. After a hot and humid saturday temperatures fell back to 25 degrees. A ripple of wind helped us too. We experience rolling hills, beech forests, idyllic estates and cultural garden feelings of the Leinebergland.
Glashütte of county Hildesheim
The name „Glashütte“ reminds of the small town in Saxony and the namesake clock manufacturer. Today, however, we are on a parking site for hikers between Lamspringe and Rhüden. The cloister Lamspringe build a glass factory in 1971. The production itself is said to be of such high quality that overseas exports took place. On the eve of World War I the factory was shut down. The sculpture of a glassblower is all that remained.
„They have wild pigs here“ I shout to Burkhard. I get a sceptic look. The symbol on the hiking map shows definitely a boar! Okay, next to those heavyweights there are butterflies, red kites, bunnies and tits. Those are the names of the hiking routes around Lamspringe.
We move upslope through the village and walk on the ridge of the forest until we reach Leopoldstein. We go straight. We turn left on a junction and reach the rest area „Schwarzes Holz“. We cross the playground and turn right into another forest track. The closer we get to Lamspringe the more beautiful the views onto the town are. We walk on a very nice and narrow path. After about five kilometres we reach an estate in the woods. At first we are a little bit irritated. There is a Swiss flag blowing above the premises. The place looks very tidy. We are fascinated by the amount of firewood that has been piled up here very precisely. From afar it resembles a medieval castle.
Where are we?
Zehnder’s Eck
It is the Zehnder’s Eck – a nice rest area with two benches and a wonderful view on Lamspringe. This
place is a memorial for Kurt Zehner, a Swiss, who – as we learn later – supported Lamspringe in many ways. Now it is his grandson who looks after the place. On the right side there is a comfortable wooden divan bed that calls for us. It is hard to move on, but we have to.
We reach Lamspringe. We are looking for „Hauptstraße 65“ and the „offene Gartenpforte“ (i.e. owner of a special created garden let people have a free look at it). In order to get there we cross the compound of the cloister Lamspringe. We take a look at the three hundred years old plane tree and the sequoia. We take a look at the minster and than move on the „Hauptstraße“ (main road). We enter an interlaced space and have a careful look around.
A friendly lady gives us directions. A very steep staircase takes us to the hillside garden. Wow! An illustrious coffee party enjoys itself. Instantly our eyes are on the Viking longboat raised bed. The landlady explains the tour to us and aks us to kindly close the gate at the end of the garden. That is because of Frieda and Anneliese, two sheeps that live there taking care of the lawn. We are leaving the Viking longboat and come across the first really impressive design ideas. A bathtube has been turned into a bench; a former overlay serves as a cussion by now.
A little bit further up I marvel at a bedframe which has been converted into a raised bed. Afterwards I take a look at the artificial pond. Meanwhile I pass by again and again lovely decorated seating-accommodations. I instantly see myself sitting there enjoying a glass of wine and the view onto Lamspringe.
The whole place is so diversified, so consistent and designed with a breath-taking imagination that I feel at home right away. I could not help but wonder! I am caught in a dream garden and do not want to get out o fit.
Following our tour we have a talk with the landlady. The couple bought the half-timbered house in the eighties. The garden was bought in the year 2014. Since then they are working on it. Many ideas, she said, are stemming from magazines or from visits to other gardens. Mrs. Lagershausen also lets us know that sometimes it is not easy to find the right materials or items for decoration. In those cases you have to do it yourself. For example, two bathtubes have been put together to build the Viking longboat. Friends have tailored the cladding and the husband did the woodwork at the end of the ship.
The „lavender sea“ in the middle of the garden was supposed to become a pond. But because of the hillside it was not possible to get a digger into the garden. Therefore the landlady decided to make a flower ocean out of it by planting lavender in spirales. After the viewing we spoil ourselves with coffee and cake before we started back for home.
A myterious forester’s lodge
On our way back we pass by a house in the woods that asks us riddles. It is supposed to be the forester’s lodge Rolfshagen. We are suprised how carefully the domicile is being protected. A sign saying „Beware of the dog – doberman“ stands for trespassing. A big wall surrounds the area additionally. In front of the entrance there are two SUVs from Mercedes Benz with a license plate ending up on 3000 and 4000. Are these really cars that belong to the forestry office? We have our doubts and our imagination is stimulated. Is this a territory for drug dealing or a hideaway for the mafia?
We do not know. Still the warning sign at the end of the road stating: „Driving and walking on this road at one’s own risk“ renewed sustenance to our fears. Finally we concentrate again on the rest of our hiking tour. After 4.5 hours and almost 17 kilometres we are back on the parking lot „Glashütte“. It was a fantastic day!
