Cycling along the 4-star Peace Route

Online registration is underway at friedensroute.de

Some stages of the 163 km Peace Route between Osnabrück and Münster are already half booked. The organisers from the Osnabrück region and Münsterland, who are offering guided tours on 13 stages on two weekends in April to mark the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia, are delighted about this.

Accompanied by experienced tour guides, on 22 and 23 April as well as on 29 and 30 April, the stages will be cycled one after the other along the circular route of the Peace Route. Participants can choose either the entire day's tour or sections, e.g. from their home town. A maximum of 100 cyclists can take part in each stage, divided into groups of about 20 people. Participation is free of charge. In each of the neighbouring towns, the cyclists will be welcomed with a small entertainment programme. Music, a visit to a museum, a short lecture or a village and cherry blossom festival. The stage towns have a lot to offer!

A lot of information about the route, the exact course of the tour and online registration can be found in compact form at www.friedensroute.de. Those who do not organise their return journey individually can use a bus shuttle with bicycle trailer at the end of each day of the event via all stage locations to the starting point for 2 euros, although this must be booked online in advance together with the registration. The return journey can also be made via the centrally located railway station in Kattenvenne by regional train to Münster or Osnabrück.

The tourism managers of Münsterland e.V. and Tourismusgesellschaft Osnabrücker Land mbH are looking forward to the cycling event in the spirit of peace. A donation link to the children's relief organisation terre des hommes has been set up on the registration page on the internet. Anyone who wants to can donate 5 cents for every kilometre cycled, for example.

Meanwhile, the trainees at Amazonen-Werke in Hasbergen-Gaste are working on a special bicycle that will spray a message of peace on the asphalt in the towns where the stages will take place. Osnabrück artist Volker-Johannes Trieb has modified a quote by peace author Erich Maria Remarque for the message: "I always thought everyone was for peace". Trieb explains: "The question of peace is unfortunately once again of utmost relevance. Peace can be achieved through diplomacy, just as it was 375 years ago".

The exact programme schedule and the link for the required online registration can be found at www.friedensroute.de.