"Melsdorf - Small Village near Kiel" Melsdorf by wstrank

There is not really a lot to see in Melsdorf, but it might be a good starting place to explore the picturesque Nord-Ostsee-Kanal (Kiel Canal) by bicycle (via Ottendorf) or for some strolls into the countryside west of Kiel. The village itself has only about thousand inhabitants and is mainly a sleeping town for people who work in Kiel. Although situated very close to Kiel (about 800m from the outskirts) it belongs to the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district and is the central village of the hundred-year old Melsdorf commune.

Melsdorf was first mentioned in the 13th century as "Miltigstorpe" and has not developed much since apart from old houses being constantly replaced by new ones. That being, there is no visible historical town centre left to be seen. It exists though, and still the few shops (like a bakery, a bank and an ice-cream shop) are situated around a new housing area which replaced the small park in the town centre a few years ago. The small pond, Dörpsdiek, however still survived, though in an alternated shape, and if there is such a thing as a meeting point in Melsdorf, it may be right there. A few metres along the Rotenhofer Weg lies Melsdorf's oldest building, the smithy, which is obviously far from beautiful.
The long Dorfstraße (village street) connects the outer reaches of Melsdorf which is mostly situated along this road. Melsdorf can be separated into the East settlements between Kieler Weg and Rotenhofer Weg and the West settlements along the railway. Two roads, Karkkampweg (church yard road) and Kählenweg, lead out of Melsdorf and into the countryside. Kählenweg makes for a good stroll into the picturesque agricultural countryside alongside Kählenwald (Kählen forest) and further on to Stampe while Karkkampweg is a nice road for a cycling tour to Quarnbek and Achterwehr. The Dorfstraße leads to Quarnbek on its West side and also connects Melsdorf with the very rural Fegefeuer and nearby Schönwohld on the B202. On its East side it leads to the Heitholm farm and further on to Ottendorf from where it's a short bike ride down to the Kiel canal. There is also a cycling route leading from this road to Kiel-Mettenhof and further on to the Domänental and Kronshagen.

Melsdorf has no accommodation to offer, but there is one traditional German pub (Dörpskrog) and a few sports facilities (for playing tennis and - notorious in Germany - soccer). The rather ugly church building still holds services every first Sunday of the month (although administration duties have been passed on to the community of Flemhude) and the elementary school has already existed for 100 years being one of the smallest schools in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district.
There are two festivals in Melsdorf held every year apart from some smaller lantern walks (mostly for children): the traditional Vagelscheeten (bird-shooting) which starts with some traditional games on the school grounds in the morning, and the fire department festival in late September, which is a rather small town festival held on the meadows north of the fire department. These are about the only occasions that Melsdorf people celebrating in their own town instead of going out to nearby Kiel.

A town map can be found under: http://www.melsdorf.de/Ortsplan.htm

• Pros:Good starting point to explore the countryside west of Kiel.
• Cons:Very small village with no exceptional sights.