Towpath below the Isenberg

Beginning of the old towpath with diversion for cyclists. On the Isenberg the ruins of Isenburg with house Custodis

The towpath below the Isenberg is a section of the towpath on the left bank of the Ruhr in the Hattingener Ruhrschleife below the Isenburg , which has been preserved as a monument in its original form.

The Ruhr shipping began around 1780. Along the river between the Ruhr estuary in Duisburg and Witten , a towpath was laid on both sides of the river, on which cold-blooded horses pulled the Ruhraaken , mostly laden with coal . Long after the Ruhr Shipping was abandoned, long sections of the towpath remained that were not officially allowed to be entered until 1980. When the tourist value of the towpaths was recognized, long stretches of route were turned into cycle and footpaths , which are now used by many walkers, cyclists, runners and skaters . For this purpose, the surface of the originally paved towpath was adapted to these needs and paved with asphalt .

Below the Isenberg, on which the historic Isenburg ruin is located, a section several hundred meters long was not expanded, but left in its original state. This section can also be used by pedestrians, for cyclists there is a diversion on the parallel state road 295. On this section there was an important ford over the Ruhr, which was already used in the Middle Ages by an old road , the Hilinciweg .

Web links

Commons : towpath below the Isenberg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of all locations on this themed route as part of the Route of Industrial Culture

Coordinates: 51 ° 23 ′ 23 ″  N , 7 ° 9 ′ 15 ″  E