Pestruper Gräberfeld und Rosengarten, Protected area and Bronze Age cemetery in Wildeshausen, Germany.
Pestruper Gräberfeld und Rosengarten is a protected nature reserve spanning 39 hectares in Wildeshausen that contains over 500 ancient burial mounds. The mounds sit scattered across moorland and heathland vegetation creating a distinctive archaeological landscape.
The area developed as a burial ground in prehistoric times but was only recognized as a site worthy of protection in the early 1800s. In the 1900s it received formal status as a protected nature reserve.
The mounds date from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age and show how people then buried and honored their dead. Visitors can still see today how these burial sites shape the landscape and represent evidence of ancient burial practices.
The site has established walking paths that allow visitors to explore the grounds while respecting protected areas and burial mounds. The best time to visit is during warmer months when paths are easier to navigate and the moorland is most visible.
Within the ancient burial ground stands a small grove of birch trees marking the crash site of an American bomber from 1944. This unexpected intersection of different historical periods makes the site a place where ancient and modern history literally overlap.
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