Detmold has a giant looking over its shoulder. On a hill in the Teutoburg Forest above the city stands the Hermannsdenkmal, a copper statue of the Germanic chieftain Arminius, who defeated three Roman legions in the year 9 AD, raised on a stone base and holding a sword to the sky. It was completed in 1875 after decades of work, in the first flush of German national feeling, and at about fifty metres is among the tallest statues in the country. The exact site of the battle is still debated, and most scholars think it took place farther north, at Kalkriese.
The city itself, with about seventy-four thousand people, was the seat of the princes of Lippe and still has a palace in the Weser Renaissance style, with fine gables and a courtyard. Johannes Brahms worked here as a court musician in the late 1850s, teaching the princess and conducting the choir, and the city is proud of the connection. The open-air museum, the largest of its kind in Germany, has hundreds of old farmhouses, mills and workshops moved from all over Westphalia and set in a wooded landscape, and it makes a fascinating afternoon.
For riders, the Teutoburg Forest ridge road, the Hermannsweg road and the lanes that climb through the beech woods are a delight, with smooth surfaces and tight, flowing bends. The ridge is steep on the eastern side, and the views from the viewpoints are excellent. Fuel, bike shops, hotels and restaurants are all available in Detmold, and the old town has a pedestrian zone with cafes.
The weather is mild but changeable, with rain at any time of year. In summer, the forest is cool and shady, while in autumn the beech leaves turn a deep copper. Come on a weekday, since weekends are busy with day trippers. A visit to the monument, followed by a climb up its stairs for the view, makes a fine break.