If you are planning a stay in Barleben, you can combine different interests: St. Peter and Paul offers a glimpse of several building phases and historical details, while walking and cycling trails provide a different focus. To plan your visit, it helps to ask a simple question: would you mainly like to explore architectural history or follow a route?

St. Peter and Paul: architectural history and interior

St. Peter and Paul is a plastered hall church with Gothic features dating from the 14th century. The lower section of the tower, the sacristy and the masonry of the nave date from this period. Several historic gravestones in and around the church are of particular historical interest. Alongside the exterior architecture, visitors can also see preserved structural elements and traces of the past.

The church was partially destroyed between 1632 and 1636; reconstruction in the Baroque style followed from 1681 to 1699. Gothic features and surviving parts from the 14th century thus meet a later building phase. Inside, a two-tier gallery, a flat coffered ceiling and the Magdeburg council pew with bullseye panes shape the impression of the space. The church offers several tangible points of interest for anyone interested in architectural history and historic furnishings.

Exploring on foot and by bike

One route follows nature trails along the Kleine Sülze and passes the Barleben nature and village educational trail. Information boards along the way provide explanations. The route thus combines outdoor exercise with stops where you can explore the information on the boards.

For cyclists, the Mittelland Cycle Route offers a circular tour linking Barleben, Ebendorf, Meitzendorf and Rothensee before returning to Barleben. The starting point described is Barleben Town Hall; according to the route description, you can also begin the loop at another point. From Barleben, the route follows an avenue to Ebendorf and then continues to Meitzendorf on a cycle path running alongside the road.

On the stretch towards the Rothensee Ship Lift, there is a view of Lake Jersleben. An optional detour across the trough bridge at the waterway junction and beneath the Mittelland Canal is also described. From the observation tower at Rothensee Lock, you can see the lock’s technical structures and the surrounding region. Check the route details again before setting out.

From Barleben, you can also reach the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide area, Groß Ammensleben estate, Wolmirstedt castle estate, Friedrichsruh Park, Barleben Petting Zoo, Lake Jersleben and the waterway junction by bike. In nearby Ebendorf, the Georg-Schulze Quarry is classified as a geotope; it documents geological history and the extraction of local building materials. This gives you two separate considerations when planning: the nature and village educational trail offers explanations along a walking route, while cyclists can choose between a loop and an optional detour.

The wider setting: the Börde travel destination

Across the wider Börde travel destination, the Börde district stretches from the fertile Börde in the south—the largest contiguous loess-soil region in Germany—to the meadows and marshes of the Drömling in the north. Wooded ridges and the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide, home to Europe’s largest continuous lime forest, characterize the central part of the district. This variety of landscapes provides the wider regional setting for a stay in Barleben.

Churches, monasteries, castles, fortresses, museums and historic architectural monuments are also part of what the Börde district has to offer. The Romanesque Road includes ten different sites for visitors there. One specific example of industrial heritage is the Ziegelei Hundisburg technical monument. The complex includes a brickworks and a technology museum, brick production using the hand-striking method, a coarse ceramics workshop for shaping and pottery, a building materials workshop and a carpentry shop. The historic narrow-gauge railway offers a visitor ride of about two kilometres past historic kilns, a bucket-chain excavator and the former clay pit.

Discover more travel destinations: Kroppenstedt, Wefensleben, Oschersleben, Sülzetal, Loitsche-Heinrichsberg, Niedere Börde, Eilsleben, Glindenberg.

View the regional travel overview: Börde.