The best hikes from bus stations in Forst Iloo

The Höllenau and the Olendieksau rivers originate in the Schönbek Moor; the latter flows into the Brahmsee lake. This places the moor on the watershed between the Stör river system and the Wehrau river system, the latter of which now flows into the Kiel Canal and formerly flowed into the Eider river 😉...

Das Viertshöher Moor war einst ein Hochmoor, wo bis in die Nachkriegsjahre Torf abgebaut wurde. 2001 begann durch den Naturschutzring Aukrug e.V. die Renaturierung. Der Wasserstand wurde um 1,5 m angestaut, so dass sich Torfmoose, Schwingrasen und Wollgräser wieder ausbreiten.

Parking lot, ideal for all tours around the moor

The Höllenau connects the NP Westensee with the NP Aukrug. In official German: "Load relocation of Höllenau from station 2+560 to station 3+500 including pivoting and upgrading of the structure". Yes, all right, but I like the main goal: natural development of the Höllenau by relocating and lengthening the course to improve the structure of the water body.

Here is the conference house "Haus am SchülperMoor" Ulenspegel e.V., note the entrance decorated in Art Nouveau style with a crane.

The Schulper Torfwerk Peat extraction in the Great Moor, which also includes the area around Schülp, has a long tradition. Peat briquettes were already being produced in the Schülper peat factory in 1922. At that time there was already a field railway. In 1930, the Meiners company bought Leon Levinson Levin's peat works. There have been up to 120,000 cubic meters of peat were mined each year, which were ground, sieved and processed into peat fertilizer and potting soil in the peat plant and in the large storage area in front of the peat plant. At peak times, up to 50 people worked in the moor and peat works. Until 1959/1960, the finished products could be transported directly to the Aspe train station via a rail connection. The peat extraction permit was last extended in 1989 and the peat plant was shut down in 1998. Until about 2008/2009 the peat was taken to other plants for further processing. After that, the demolition and renaturalization of the moor began. The pumping stations were dismantled, the peat heaps were cleared, the drainage ditches and the quarrying areas were extensively waterlogged. An original natural landscape with large shallow water lakes has almost emerged again. The raised bog is gradually regenerating. Source: Information board in the Moorwerk.

Why we can't take the old field railway to the moor: “In 2010, a local bought the peat plant and wanted to set up a museum that also offers rides on the old field railway into the moor. Unfortunately, this project has not yet been implemented.” Source: information board in the Moorwerk.

The Viertshöher Moor is a former raised bog with an area of approx. 20 hectares, in which peat was mined until the post-war years. Ring-shaped ramparts can still be seen in the south of the moor, in which peat coal was produced until around 1860. This was made similar to charcoal by covering and igniting the piled up peat. The water level was lowered for peat cutting, so that most of the typical upland moor vegetation disappeared and birch trees spread. In 2001 the renaturation of the moor began by the Naturschutzring Aukrug e.V., which dammed the water level by 1.5 m so that the remaining stocks of peat moss, oscillating grass and cotton grass could spread again. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viertsh%C3%B6her_Moor