Sögel: Baroque, history and trails through the Hümmling

Sögel combines an exceptional Baroque palace ensemble with history, striking buildings and trails through forests and meadows. This offers a range of options for your trip: you can explore historic sites, plan a walk or choose Sögel as the starting point for a cycling tour. Which holiday apartment in Sögel is right for your stay also depends on whether culture, outdoor activities or both are your main focus.

Clemenswerth Palace and remarkable buildings

Clemenswerth hunting lodge is a star-shaped Baroque ensemble with an extensive park and is considered unique in Europe. It dates back to the 18th century and is exceptionally well preserved. The complex includes eight pavilions, one of them a chapel, as well as a stable block and a belvedere. These individual elements give the palace ensemble a varied structure; a visit offers more than just a view of the main building.

The Romanian Orthodox church in Sögel is also notable for its construction: built entirely of wood, it is the first Romanian Orthodox church in Lower Saxony and the largest of its kind in Germany. It can accommodate 200 worshippers standing. The church is visited as part of a short guided tour. Those interested in religious architecture and different styles of construction will find another cultural highlight here alongside the Baroque ensemble.

Discover the town’s history

The European History Trail runs for about 3,500 metres through Sögel. Its 46 steles are arranged chronologically; the starting point is at the market square near the tourist information centre. The sequence makes the trail a way to take in history step by step on your own walk. A different experience awaits at the History and Future Workshop Forum Sögel e. V. in the town centre: it presents history with a regional and national perspective in an interactive way, through sight, sound and experience. On guided tours, you can learn how events in Germany affected life in the Hümmling. The main topics are the Second World War and the lives of Sögel’s Jewish residents.

The Sögel Heritage House includes a Heuerhaus, a coach house and a stone bread oven. The park-like Fehnwiese, with its pond, invites you to go for a walk. So, as well as the palace and historical themes, you can choose to explore a historic group of buildings or enjoy a stroll through a green space.

Explore on foot, by bike and through active pursuits

The Kurfürsten-Runde, just under eight kilometres long, starts at Clemenswerth hunting lodge and passes through varied forests and meadows, including along the Nordradde. If you prefer a longer cycling tour, Sögel is the main starting point for the Hümmlinger Megalith Tour. It is described as a very easy 55.2-kilometre route, with a stated duration of 3 hours and 40 minutes. The different route lengths make it easier to choose between a walk and a full day of cycling. Bikes and e-bikes can be hired from Bike Park Koopmann in Sögel.

Other options focus on different activities: Sögel outdoor swimming pool has a toddlers’ pool, a non-swimmers’ pool and a swimmers’ pool, two diving platforms at heights of 1 and 3 metres, a slide and a playground. The Rot-Gold Sögel 1926 e. V. tennis club has seven outdoor courts; guests can also rent one of its three indoor courts on request and subject to availability. Horse-drawn wagon rides through the wooded Hümmling are offered for groups around Sögel, with drinks on board and a convivial snack in the countryside. The Sögel indoor shooting range also offers laser rifle shooting in a shooting cinema, where participants shoot at moving or stationary targets on a video screen measuring approximately 10 by 3.5 metres.

Choose experiences to suit your stay

At Clemenswerth Palace, special activities offer another way to experience the complex: on a treasure hunt for adults, you solve tasks at various locations to find a treasure chest containing a hunting trophy. The “Baroque with all the Senses” programme introduces visitors to Baroque life through scents, Baroque music and dressing up, among other things. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Sögel, these differences can help you choose the focus of your holiday: the palace and history, trails through the landscape or active pursuits each offer their own highlights during your stay.

Other places you can also explore: Werpeloh, Haselünne, Dörpen, Lähden, Freren, Lingen (Ems), Holte and Stavern.

For the regional travel overview: Emsland.