Easy hikes and walks in Standortsübungsplatz Wüstenei

Groß Steinrade was incorporated into Lübeck in 1970 as part of a regional reform from Stockelsdorf. The first owner is named in 1306 as Marquard von Sandberg, who sold Groß Steinrade and Eckhorst to the Lübeck citizen Dietrich von Ahlen. Later, there were frequent changes of ownership (v. Wickede, v. Calven, v. Brömbsen, etc.) until the estate came into the possession of Henning von Rumohr in 1732. This family remained in possession of the estate until the death of the last Rumohr, General Detlev von Rumohr (1961). The house and farm have since been demolished; the approximately 150 hectare forest property has been transferred to the federal government and has been used as the Wüstenei military training area since 1965. The grave site is also located on the training ground. The pioneer units from the Trave barracks mainly use the site, but of course also the units stationed in the Hanseaten barracks (HL) in Lübeck-Blankensee. The public part of the Wüstenei, which has been separated since 1994 and is around 100 hectares in size, is a landscape conservation area and is open to the public. The Bundeswehr still uses the Wüstenei training area today, so entering the military part is prohibited. https://pzgrendiv6.de/pzgrendiv6/standorte/stouebpl-wuestenei.html

Here you drive over the eastern part of the Wüstenei military training area (near Groß Steinrade), which has been designated a nature reserve since 1994 and is freely accessible to the public. The rest of the training area is still used by the German army, although apparently only rarely. Units from Lübeck and Bad Segeberg used to train there, but their bases have all been closed since the 1990s. The numerous warning signs are apparently quite new and therefore still serious. The signs on both sides just show the same warning, so you can never be really sure whether you are driving in or out. And there is no prohibition sign on them either.

Only the eastern part (near Groß Steinrade) is freely accessible to the public and has been designated a nature reserve since 1994. The rest of the training area is still used by the German army, although apparently only rarely. Units from Lübeck and Bad Segeberg used to train there, but their locations have all been closed since the 1990s. The numerous warning signs are apparently quite new and therefore still serious. The signs on both sides show the same warning, so you can never be really sure whether you are driving in or out.

I have cycled here many times and on January 6th, 2024 I had my first meet5 hike with 11 interested people over 14 km through all areas and on all paths. I have never seen or heard of BW exercises here. So no criticism from me! Almost all dog owners adhere to the leash requirement and there is absolute silence and no traffic here. My hiking group was thrilled! She didn't know that at all. By the way, we parked in 23619 Badendorf, Zur Wüstenei. Our tour: [https://www.komoot.de/tour/1409155027]

From the bike you can let your gaze wander over the green meadows.

The entire hiking area is to be judged critically! E.g.: Target practice took place on February 8th, 2023. Since the warning notices [old normal signs: military security area] were poorly set up - so no locking away - we started on the way back to be on the safe side. Outside of the area marked red on the Komoot map, very beautiful open moor and meadow landscape that is easy to walk on!

It's fun, but be prepared to hit the top of the hill with your chainring or pedals pretty quickly if you're going too slow. From my own experience, I can say that getting stuck on the hill and then getting off the bike is no fun.

... I approached the wall carefully and stopped briefly at the top. (And as a "mountain biker out of town" - for my normal routes the MTB is almost inadequate, like an SUV in the city - I had to swallow for a moment ... 😂🙄). Otherwise, however, the description of Bärbel fits and really just bluntly misses when in doubt. A little later you are back on the paths that komoot also knows.