Oberkirchener Tunnel – Old Railway Bridge loop from Herchweiler
Oberkirchener Tunnel – Old Railway Bridge loop from Herchweiler
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Oberkirchener Tunnel – Old Railway Bridge loop from Herchweiler
01:34
22.3km
360m
Gravel riding
Hard gravel ride. Good fitness required. You may need to push your bike for some segments of this route. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: September 24, 2026
Tips
Your route passes through a protected area
Please check local regulations for:
Waypoints
Start point
Bus stop
5.29 km
Viewpoint and Juice Fridge Overlooking Oberkirchen
Highlight • Viewpoint
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5.92 km
Rail trail through nature
Highlight (Segment) • Cycleway
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8.00 km
Stone Arch Bridge on the Fritz Wunderlich Cycle Path
Highlight • Bridge
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10.2 km
Oberkirchen Viaduct
Highlight • Bridge
With its 12 arches, the Oberkirchen viaduct, built between 1934 and 1936, is by far the largest and most impressive structure on the Westrichbahn Türkismühle - Kusel. In terms of its design, it is one of the largest stone bridges in southwest Germany. It spans the Ostertal at a height of 30m over a length of 275m. The core of the bridge consists of reinforced concrete, the masonry was made with 16,000 m³ of local natural stone "Basalt - Deopryll". The stones come from the quarries of Heinrich Decker in Pfeffelbach and Thallichtenberg the rails on the valley bridge were also removed. The bridge was renovated in 1992. Since then, the “Fritz-Wunderlich-Wanderweg” has led over the building and allows hikers and cyclists a beautiful overview of the upper Ostertal. Source: Text information board
Here is an interesting website with the history of Oberkirchen.
oberkirchen-saarland.de/dies-das/historie
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11.5 km
Oberkirchener Tunnel
Highlight • Structure
The tunnel penetrates the Pitzrech (height 413 m above sea level) between Oberkirchen Nord station and Schwarzerden. The route leads over a length of 216m in a slight curve through the tunnel with a width of 6.05m and a height of 6.16m. The inside of the tunnel and the front sides at the entrance and exit were bricked with local natural stones, the vault with bricks. The mountain cover is approx. 8m in the middle of the tunnel. The breakthrough work yielded interesting geological findings. The upper sandstone layers were heavily shifted by vibrations or pressure effects. Therefore, there were many crevices inside the mountain, on the walls of which crystals had formed over time. In addition, "red chalk" and the rare, valuable "blue clay" were discovered. The radius of curvature was calculated using the tangent method and advanced step by step. The deviation from the target at the end of the portal was only 14mm, which was a more than remarkable feat of engineering for the technical possibilities at the time. The tunnel was built by the company "Wix und Liesenhof" from Dortmund". Source: Text information board
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13.2 km
Schwarzerden Ostertalbahn station
Highlight • Monument
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15.6 km
Old Railway Bridge
Highlight • Bridge
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15.6 km
Stone Arch Bridges and Forest Paths near Kusel
Highlight • Bridge
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22.3 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
17.3 km
2.93 km
1.34 km
615 m
123 m
Surfaces
8.48 km
7.25 km
4.48 km
1.57 km
424 m
126 m
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Highest point (470 m)
Lowest point (320 m)
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Wednesday 7 October
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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