The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Ankum

Where today there is a huge pit in the middle of the forest, there once stood an inn. It offered the churchgoers, who made their way from Alfhausen to the church in Merzen, a good rest halfway. But the innkeeper Alke was greedy and only cared about his profit. He constantly tempted the churchgoers to drink one more small beer. One Sunday, he promised the pious that they would still make it to the service in time and poured them another beer. His house should sink into the ground if that were not the case. So it happened as it had to happen. A hole opened up and swallowed his house along with the innkeeper. Many years passed, and where the Alkenkrug once stood, it is said to still be haunted. Whoever dares to ride around the Alkenkuhle 3 times at midnight and call the innkeeper by his name, for them Alke will appear as a fiery wheel and drag them into the pit. In Alfhausen, the farmer Grumfeld, knowing this legend, sat with his friends over a mug of beer. They bet on who among them had the fastest horse. Farmer Grumfeld wanted to prove himself and take on Alke. He prayed to God, prepared everything, and rode to the Alkenkuhle. There he called Alke from his grave, who emerged from the pit as a fiery wheel. Grumfeld spurred his horse and hurried back to Alfhausen - Alke hot on his heels. Alke almost caught him, but Grumfeld just made it to the door in time. He survived, but his horse collapsed from exhaustion. The next morning, Grumfeld discovered burn marks on his doorpost and vowed never to challenge God's grace again. The Alken legend makes the landscape with its mossy forest areas, an almost unbroken silence, and its significance for our ancestors right into the Bronze Age even more mystical. There remains enough mysticism even when you learn the true reason behind the Alkenkuhle (of which there are now three, by the way, and there will probably be more). They are sinkholes, and I don't know what is more unsettling: That a fiery wheel could emerge from the pit, or that the ground could simply collapse again at any moment because the rock beneath one's own feet is increasingly being washed away.

You have a perfect view of the golf course and can watch the golfers play and putt, as the hole is located almost directly on the path and you are already standing on the golf course.

Here you can see a burial mound, which is essentially the successor to the megalithic tombs that are 1000 years older. Urns were already buried here, not only in the core of the mound, but also on the sides and even next to the mound. The reason why only a few burial mounds contain grave goods today is due to looting. Here, the burial mound was deliberately left open for viewing purposes to show how grave robbers would leave it behind.

The megalithic tomb belongs to the Giersfeld stone tomb field. It is not known how many tombs the Giersfeld originally comprised, but many of them have been destroyed or removed. The Grumfeld-Ost tomb is no longer in the best condition, as many stones have been removed. The hiking trail leads right through the burial complex.

The megalithic tomb belongs to the Giersfeld stone grave field. It is not known how many graves the Giersfeld originally comprised, but many of them have been destroyed or removed. The state of preservation of this megalithic tomb is no longer very good, but it is one of the most beautiful in the Giersfeld because it lies amidst a green carpet of moss. A wonderful place and a hidden tip, as it is located quite far off the marked hiking trails.

In the Giersfeld, many megalithic graves can be found. But when urn burials became common later, not as much effort was put in. Instead, stone cists, which first appeared about 4000 years ago and in which the urn was stored, were sufficient. They were covered with an earth mound.

The megalithic tomb belongs to the Giersfeld stone grave field. It is not known how many graves Giersfeld originally comprised, but many of them have been destroyed or removed. Here at the megalithic tomb Rickelmann II, it is very clear that stone chambers were originally covered with earth. Half of the tomb has therefore been preserved half-covered.

At the Grumfeld-West megalithic tomb, two graves were combined - one chamber 17 m long and the other 12 m long. Due to its impressive size, the rumor persisted for a long time that a king had been buried here. In reality, however, the burial chamber is approx. 5500 years old. The megalithic tomb belongs to the Giersfeld megalithic field. It is not known how many graves the Giersfeld originally comprised, but many of them were destroyed or removed.