Alb-Donau-Kreis Ice Age Path – Neanderthal Way

https://www.wanderbares-deutschland.de/wege/alle-wege/neandertalerweg-fd98180688 http://www.lonetal.net On the way back from Ulm, made a stop here and completed this quality route. The weather was ok. The path beautiful and the highlights (caves) worth seeing.

The last of the traces of time on the Albschäferweg, the "Neanderthalerweg" between Bissingen and Stetten ob Lontal. For me, the path was a worthy conclusion to the total of ten loop paths that are located on the Albschäferweg and partly follow the same route. https://www.heidenheimer-brenzregion.de/ich-bin/familie/wandertouren/neandertalerweg/ The path lives up to its name. It is peppered with information about the time around 40,000-50,000 years ago, when the ancestors of modern humans also lived on the Swabian Alb, and the caves that are located along the path and were probably homes and places of refuge for Homo Neandertalensis give the whole thing a touch of adventure. You can drive into the caves, but only into the entrance area. Then you stand in front of heavy iron bars that prevent you from entering any further, but that makes sense, because the caves are considered to be overnight quarters for bats. I also know from my own experience that you may be putting your life in danger if you enter caves that you don't know without the appropriate equipment and/or guide. Two of the striking caves are mentioned here: The Hohlenstein: There are actually three caves here - the Stadel Cave, the Bärenhöhle and the Kleine Scheuer. The Stadel Cave in particular became famous as the site where an ivory statuette was found, the so-called "Lion Man", a hybrid figure of a human and a lion. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6wenmensch The Bockstein Cave: This is considered to be the oldest Neanderthal settlement complex in southern Germany, proven by corresponding finds and dated to be 50,000-70,000 years old! http://www.lonetal.net/lonetalhoehlen.html The Lone Valley itself is also a special place. If you walk through the valley, you can follow the course of the river, but it is usually not there! It is a very rare sight to actually experience the Lone as a flowing water, because the riverbed is usually dry. The Lone Valley is therefore considered one of the longest dry valleys in Germany. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonetal It is regrettable that the Vogelherd Archaeological Park, located not far from the car park at the start of the trail, will permanently close its doors in 2023. It was designed as a theme park to give visitors impressions of the Neanderthal era and to make their era understandable. The Vogelherd Cave is also located here, where figures made of mammoth ivory were found in 1932. With an estimated age of 32,000 years, they are among the oldest works of art known to mankind (see the link above). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch%C3%A4opark_Vogelherd https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/ulm/archaeopark-schliesst-100.html Nevertheless, the Lone Valley with its caves and the wealth of information about the first people there is worth a visit!

Today the question was not whether to go out but where to go! We chose the Neanderthal Trail through the beautiful Lohne Valley and we didn't regret it. A beautiful, varied and well-signposted trail. What was important to us was that despite the heavy rain of the last few days, some of the trails were very dry and cracked. Have a nice weekend everyone 🥰

I actually didn't find the route as good as I thought. To be honest, I expected more from it, especially since it was so heavily advertised. But it was still worthwhile, a nice route overall. 👍😊

On the way to the Alps 🏔️🏔️🏔️ today we made a detour to the Lone Valley 🏞️. Where exactly is this valley...? It is in the Alb-Donau district and also in the Heidenheim district. The A7 🛣️ is also not far away. And in nearby Stetten today there was a knight's tournament ⚔️. There was a lot going on there. About the valley: "For every visitor to the Lone Valley, the beautiful natural panorama of the small, curved valley is an experience in itself. Limestone cliffs adorn the typical Alb valley, most beautifully in the lower Lone Valley near the caves and archaeological sites. 3 caves in the Lone Valley are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Caves and Ice Age Art of the Swabian Alb". Unique ivory carvings from the Paleolithic period and even traces of Neanderthals have been discovered here. The Lone Valley has been awarded the title of "National Geotope" by the Hanover Academy of Geosciences. Hohlenstein: The first archaeological excavation in a cave in the Swabian Alb was carried out here. The cave is the site where the famous Lion Man, a 40,000-year-old ivory figure, was found. Due to the exceptionally rich finds, it is an archaeological gem for scientists. Bockstein: The cave is part of the so-called Bockstein sites, which consist of several sites and caves. One of the most famous finds is the Bockstein knife, a stone tool used by Neanderthals. The elevated position offers a good view of the valley. Vogelherd Cave: The cave is the center of the Vorgelherd Archaeological Park with a visitor center, café and outdoor area with Stone Age experience stations. 11 small animal figures made of mammoth ivory were found here. The most famous are the wild horse and the mammoth." 😊 Source: https://www.tourismus.alb-donau-kreis.de/thema/lonetal/

Quiet hike. Unfortunately the sun was well hidden.

Ice Age Trails 3/20 ✅️ What a week it was... first I couldn't hike because I had important appointments, then the cold came, then the rain... Today I was fed up and grabbed my backpack and drove to the Lone Valley, hoping that the paths weren't too muddy. The loop was perfectly easy to walk, a few places are a bit muddy, but no problem for good shoes. The Ice Age Trail takes you from Lindenau Castle via Bockstein Cave, Hohlenstein Caves and Archaeological Park Vogelherd to Stetten ob Lone Valley, then it goes back across meadows and fields. I really enjoyed the loop, it drizzled a little now and then, once a little more heavily, but it just didn't bother me at all. Three deer sightings were really great, and I was even able to capture all of them on camera. First two deer jumped around aimlessly, then I saw two adult animals with a cute fawn (unfortunately not in the photo) and finally a single animal that stood like a statue in a field and stared at me. I got myself a delicious farmer's bread at the Lindenau restaurant, and as soon as my car was in sight, it started pouring, and how! My car and I swam back home, there's no other way to put it 🙈 Absolutely good timing, I would say.

Fantastic weather today in February, so get out there. A great circular hike, where you can visit some caves in the Swabian Alb. Very good signposts, interesting information stations along the way. Highly recommended 👍