The city of peace Osnabrück is located between the Teutoburg Forest and the Wiehengebirge in the federal state of Lower Saxony.
Charles the Great founded the city as a bishop’s seat as early as 780. The city became really famous in 1648 when the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated and decided in the town hall. This is where the name “City of Peace” comes from.
Osnabrück is the only major city in Germany that is located in a nature park. This surrounds the city and even extends into the urban area.
Excursion tips and sights in Osnabrück
At the market of Osnabrück is probably the most important building of the city, the city hall Osnabrück. Close to it stands the current registry office (former scales house) and St. Mary's Church.
One of the most beautiful sights in Osnabrück is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter (also known as St. Peter's). Even before you reach the impressive cathedral of the Osnabrück diocese, you can discover the Little Church, the Lion's Poodle and the Witches' Walk and the Osnabrück Wheel.
In a building designed by Daniel Libeskind in Osnabrück, you can see an impressive collection of paintings by the Jewish painter Felix Nussbaum. An architectural and artistic visit to the Felix Nussbaum House not to be missed.
For the 5th time already, I attended the congress “bewegte Kindheit” (moving childhood) in Osnabrück. Up until now, I only walked back and forth between the castle, several university buildings and some gyms without paying too much attention to the city. This time, things went a little differently.
The train station in Spandau is pretty easy to navigate. It only has 6 train tracks on three platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are for the “S-Bahn”, the regional trains to and from the city. Platform 3 and 4 are for trains leaving Berlin and 5 and 6 for trains going into Berlin. Relatively straightforward.
Accommodation tips
In 2016 over 3000 pedagogue experts met again for their annual conference in Osnabrück. Every year being quick is essential when booking a hotel during that time. Especially reasonably priced hotels in a good location. This time, I chose the B & B Hotel Osnabrück.
A congress brought us to Osnabrück for two nights. I looked for a reasonably priced hotel near the train station and I found the Ibis Hotel Osnabrück.
Osnabrück travel information
Arrival
By plane
The airport Münster Osnabrück is located about 30 kilometers away in the town Greven. From there you can reach the city by express bus.
By train
Osnabrück’s main train station is about a 10-minute walk from the city center.
Two main rail lines cross at right angles in Osnabrück. The north-south connection runs from Basel to Hamburg and the east-west connection runs from Berlin to Amsterdam. In addition, numerous regional connections link Osnabrück with the surrounding region.
By bus
The long-distance buses of various providers stop in Eisenbahnstraße next to Osnabrück’s main train station.
By car
Osnabrück is easily accessible via the A 1, A 30 and A 33 freeways. In addition, the federal highways B 51 and B 68 lead into the city.
By ship
From the Mittellandkanal a branch canal leads directly to Osnabrück. This can be used with boats. The river Hase, which runs through the city, is suitable for water tours.
By bike
By bike, you can reach the Peace City of Osnabrück, for example, via the EuroVelo 3 and the Osnabrück-Bremen Bridge Cycle Path.
On foot
The long-distance hiking trail E 11 leads through the city. Osnabrück is also the starting point or destination of several long-distance hiking trails, for example the 208 km long Hünenweg (to Papenburg), the 107 km long Pickerweg (to Wildeshausen) and the 90 km long Wittekindsweg (to Porta Westfalica).
On the way in ….
By car
Osnabrück has set up environmental zones that may only be entered with the green environmental sticker on the car.
By public transport
The bus connections in Osnabrück are well developed. The main lines run about every 10 minutes during the day, the secondary lines about every 20 minutes.
On foot
The city center can be explored very well on foot.