Grenzen, Galgen und Geschichte

Today I am doing the continuation of the hike "Geschichtsstraße Rund um den Hochkelberg". This circular route is called "Grenzen, Galgen und Geschichte" (Borders, Gallows, and History). It starts at a free hiking parking lot at the entrance to Sassen. Directly at the parking lot is a children's playground. There are several children's playgrounds distributed along the entire route. The entire hike is accompanied by information boards. It goes past the Eifel-Guck observation tower and then through a beautiful green forest. The first highlight of the hike is a gallows. In the time of the Counts' rule, people were executed here. Hanging, beheading, burning, quartering. It continues towards Ürsfeld, partly through forests but also with beautiful distant views. Always more children's playgrounds and nice rest stops. After passing through Ürsfeld, the hike leads to the "Grube Bergkrone" mine. A mining tunnel. Baryte was mined in this area until 1967. The following section leads along an asphalt path to Gunderath. Here it passes the Heibachsee lake and the holiday village. Then comes a steady ascent, first through forest, then over a gravel path and open terrain back to Sassen. In Sassen, there is another children's playground, this time even at the bus stop, with a changing table. 10 km hike, varied. I wish you all a good week. Clemens

A tour that takes you along wide paths and has something to offer you historically. The signage on the path leaves a lot to be desired

One could assume that I was out and about in a glossy advertising brochure for the Eifel today. Sorry for the many pictures ... My tour started at the parking lot of the "Eifel-Guck" observation tower near Sassen. The parking spaces are signposted and therefore easy to find, well, the place is also very clear übers. The observation tower is a few steps away from the parking lot and so you immediately have your first highlight. Strangely enough, the 68 steps up are not a problem for me this time, as I had to give up earlier on other observation towers. The view is just fantastic. The blue sky with the white clouds over the Eifel landscape is picturesque, just like a glossy tourist brochure. And here I also meet an old friend: Willi Basalt. He will accompany me on the themed tour borders, gallows and dishes. By the way: in all publications the route is called "Boundaries, gallows and history", but the signs are: dishes. I have already pointed out to VG Kelberg, they were so kind to answer me that when they heard the word "dishes" people would have thought of food, they were looking for an alternative name. There are things ... So it goes on, the history route "Mystery of Nature and Life" also seems to lead along here, I am confused for a moment, but then I rely on my planned tour. "Traud's footsteps" also leads here, by the way, I pass a few stations. The 3 hiking trails all meet at the observation tower. The path first leads through the forest, past the green pond at the whore bush and a gallows (reference to the theme of the circular path), before you come to a tarred field path, and a wonderful foresight opens up in front of you. Here you can also discover a playground on the children's hiking route, the balancing path. The path continues in the direction of Uersfeld, and offers a very beautiful view of the village and the higher village of Höchstberg. In Uersfeld - if you like and when it's open - you can still visit the Nostalgikum. Opening times Nostalgikum: all year round on Sundays, from April to October also on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Groups can make appointments by telephone. Admission is € 2.50 to € 5.00, children under 6 have free admission. There is also a beautiful fountain in Uersfeld, reminiscent of the mining of the mineral barite, also known as barite. The mineral was mined until 1967. In 1985 the community built the basalt stone well to commemorate the "good times" of the prosperity at that time. Past the Kaiserlinde it goes on a tarred bike path to Gunderath. On the way there you pass a disused mine tunnel, the entrance of which is beautifully designed. A display board provides information about the "Barytgang near Uersfeld". Along the way there are always nice resting places, often with information boards that explain the origin of their names. In Gunderath I come along the Heilbachsee, which gives the nearby holiday park its name. This is a play paradise for children - a pirate ship invites you to adventure. I didn't take a picture of it because I couldn't take a picture without kids on it. You can swim and fish in the lake itself. The Upper Elztal children's hiking trail between Sassen, Gunderath and Uersfeld (Flyer: https://www.vgv-kelberg.de/daten/bilder/wandern/flyer-kinder-wanderland-neu.pdf?cid=4ii) also leads here to great fun Adventure playgrounds, a paradise for children! The way back to Sassen goes first over a beautiful forest path, the last 800 meters lead over a tarred dirt road back to the town of Sassen, which you should also take a closer look at, there are beautiful houses and more to discover. I have very nice impressions and fantastic photo opportunities from this tour, I can only recommend everyone to experience this themed trail.

This themed circular route can be started from Sassen, Uersfeld and Gunderath - Sassen was convenient for us and this starting point is also suitable with a view to the explanations along the way. Thematically, this round is very varied: a place of execution, various mills, mining (barite) as well as agriculture and forestry are presented. The route is well suited for a winter walk, as this route (like the others) mainly offers wide and rather firm paths. When it comes to the km, the nine themed trails are, in our opinion, more designed for "unusual weather", but that's a matter of taste. In any case, all of the historical route's circular routes have now been completed, so we have to think of something new for the next winter days 😉. It's a good thing that the Eifel is such a diverse hiking paradise 🤗! Oh yes, one thing seems strange to us: this circular route apparently has two names that are used equally in the signage - one "Borders, Gallows and History", another "Borders, Gallows and Courts" 🤔. History Street: https://www.geschichtsstrasse.de/de/home Barite: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryt

Parking is available at the respective hiking car parks in the towns of Sassen, Gunderath and Uersfeld. We choose Sassen and start our tour towards the forest. Let's just ignore the beautiful observation tower, which is well frequented. It goes into the forest, which changes its appearance again and again, and leads us past places steeped in history. So Olli and I stand arm in arm in front of a cute little pond, surrounded by tall fir trees, the light casts magical patterns on the green water and we enjoy the romance of the moment - only to read on an information board 50 meters further that this idyllic Fleckchen was then considered a place of execution and the guilty were both drowned there and buried right next to it. Disillusioned and de-romanticized, we marvel at the replica gallows just a few steps away. The further way leads for a while through the forest to finally lead us to a great meadow path.

There is definitely a lot to see on this tour. However, you should have a map with you as the path is not always well or clearly signposted.

Anyone interested in the history of the Eifel and its villages is in good hands on this tour. It's a lot of fun in such great weather as today. How did people live and work? There was a lot of information on the corresponding boards. That made the hike very varied. The great summer landscape accompanied me meter by meter. I couldn't get enough of it. The hike leads around Uersfeld. It shows the traces of the past. The basalt well in the village is reminiscent of the mining times in the region, just like the cart at the hiking car park. The Dreese mill tells its story right at the beginning of the tour. At the old quarry you can learn something about the hard times in mining and the Second World War, where the cave served as protection for the population. So you hike from Uersfeld over a beguiling meadow landscape to Gunderath. Then you cross the street and pass a fish pond and the center park. Now you are in the cool forest. It doesn't stay cool for long because the path leads slightly upwards over meadows and fields. There is a fantastic view over the summer landscape. You are already in Sassen and change direction. Now the EifelGuck cannot be overlooked. Once at the top there is an unforgettable distant view today. Over meadows and mown fields it goes slightly upwards to disappear again into the cool forest. Now the way back to the starting point is mainly through the forest. The description on the green pond and how the culprits were dealt with earlier makes me shudder, as does the description on the gallows a few meters further on. Yes it was a different time. You weren't squeamish when dealing with the guilty. Interesting on the way back was the place where thieves could save themselves between the borders. Once there, they were safe. The last stretch of the way pleased me again with mown fields with huge bales of straw and summery smells. The view is terrific and it was a great summer hike with Willi Basalt. Today I have gained a lot of knowledge. Ever since I read the book Chamomile Flowers I wanted to get to know everything about the places in which Traud moved.

My first tour with this app. I have to say, I'm thrilled