Wilderness Trail Eifel National Park
| Wilderness trail | |
|---|---|
 On stage 2: across the Dreiborn plateau from the Urfttalsperre to Wollseifen : view of the former Vogelsang order castle and the Kermeter high forest |
|
| Data | |
| length | 85 km |
| location | Eifel |
| Markers | Pictogram of a wild cat |
| Starting point |
Höfe 50 ° 32 ′ 3 ″ N , 6 ° 15 ′ 13 ″ E |
| Target point |
Zerkall 50 ° 41 ′ 29 ″ N , 6 ° 27 ′ 16 ″ E |
| Type | Long-distance hiking trail |
| The highest point | 626 |
| Lowest point | 175 |
| season | All year round |
| Viewpoints | Eifelblick "Einruhr", Kickley, Modenhübel |
| particularities | Natural and cultural landscape in the Eifel National Park |
Map with all coordinates: The Wilderness Trail is an 85 km long long- distance hiking trail in the Eifel . It was created in 2007 by the National Park Forestry Office and leads through the Eifel National Park in four stages . Its overarching didactic topic is the return of land used for agriculture and forestry in the " wilderness " as intended by the national park administration ; According to estimates by the national park administration, this process will take at least one generation from the time the national park was founded (2004).
The route was mapped and signposted using existing roads, forest and farm roads and hiking trails set up by the Eifelverein .
The long-distance hiking trail, which corresponds to stage 2 with stage 4 of the Eifelsteig , takes the following course:
| stage | begin | target | length | Duration | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yards | Einruhr | 24.7 km | 6.5 h | +483, −743 |
| 2 | Einruhr | Gemünd | 20.5 km | 5 h | +551, −496 |
| 3 | Gemünd | Heimbach | 22.4 km | 5.5 h | +427, −547 |
| 4th | Heimbach | Zerkall | 17.7 km | 4.45 h | +430, −465 |
In addition to its didactic aspects, the hiking trail serves to promote tourism in the Eifel. a. also the accommodations along the way that the national park administration has selected as suitable (so-called “certified national park hosts”).
The individual stages
Stage 1
The first stage is the most physically demanding in terms of distance and altitude. From Monschau-Höfen - "National Park Gate" (documentation center with permanent exhibition) - it leads downhill to the south into the Perlenbachtal , then uphill along Fuhrtsbach and Döppeskaul . It reaches the highest point of the long-distance hiking trail at Wahlerscheid, then swings north and alternately leads downhill and uphill along the Wüstebach into the valley of the Erkensruhr and through the village of the same name to Einruhr with the "Eifelblick" viewpoint over the Obersee .
Didactic topics on this section are
- the return of spruce forest to natural mixed forests. Storm damage to the spruce forest caused by hurricane Kyrill in 2007 was not cleared up, but the devastated area was left to nature (" process protection "). In the edge zone of the national park forest in the transition to the managed forest, a 500 m wide transition belt is to be created, in which gaps in the spruce forest are "thinned out" by beech plantings.
- Quarry and alluvial forests along the streams,
- Narcissus meadows in April, Bärwurz meadows in summer.
Stage 2
This hike (starting at the Einruhr National Park Info Point) leads first along the east bank of the Obersee to opposite Paulushofdamm , then past the south bank of the lake to the Urft barrier , which was the highest in Europe when it was built (1905). The steep ascent then leads to the Dreiborn plateau (former Vogelsang military training area ) to the Wollseifen desert , the village abandoned by British troops in 1946. Across the wide grassland of the Dreiborn plateau, where the gorse blooms in early summer , you hike to the former Nazi training center (so-called " Ordensburg ") and Vogelsang Castle, which was used by the Belgian military until 2005 . After two vantage points (Kickley with a view of the Urft valley and Modenhübel with a view of the Kermeter and Vogelsang Castle) you descend to the Urft and past its south bank eastwards to Gemünd.
- The didactic nature theme of this section is the open land area on which the tanks drove until 2005. If left to nature, it would be reforested within a generation. In order to protect the grassland with its flora and fauna, the national park administration intervenes in this area ("zone with biotope management") with measures (mowing, sheep grazing).
- Vogelsang Castle has been developed into a historical place of learning (self-definition) about the Nazi past and the Belgian military era; the documentation is to be expanded in the coming years.
- This stage is - apart from the slightly shortened entry in Einruhr - almost congruent with stage 4 of the Eifelsteig .
Stage 3
The third stage leads from the "National Park Gate" Gemünd to Heimbach (also "National Park Gate"). First it goes "back" along the north bank of the Urft to the west, then up through the Böttenbachtal to Wolfgarten , along the eastern edge of the Kermeter mountain range to the Trappist monastery Mariawald Abbey , then steeply downhill to Heimbach.
- The didactic theme is the beech forest of the Kermeter with its flora and fauna. Even if the logo of the wilderness trail suggests sighting one of the approx. 1000 wildcats living in the Eifel , which find refuge in such closed beech forests, as a rule, this shy animal is not to be expected.
- Cultural sights of the long-distance hiking trail (Mariawald Abbey, Hengebach Castle , Antwerp reredos in the Heimbach parish church) are on this section.
Stage 4
The last section from Heimbach to Zerkall (National Park Info Point) is the least physically demanding in terms of distance and altitude. It leads through the Rureifel to the north through the oak forests of the Hetzinger Forest, then up through the quiet Schliebach Valley to shortly before Schmidt , then down into the Kall valley to the destination at the confluence of the Kall and Rur rivers , which at 175 m is the lowest point of the hike .
The didactic theme is the oak forests of the Hetzinger Forest.
The accompanying literature recommends a visit to Nideggen , which is east of the Rur outside the national park , after the long-distance hiking trail is over.
literature
Maria A Pfeifer, Gabriele Harzheim, Hans-Georg Brunemann: The Wilderness Trail in the Eifel National Park - 4 day stages between 18 and 25 kilometers . 2nd Edition. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2011, ISBN 3-7616-2465-4 .
Web links
- Description on national park website
- Description on the Wanderkompass website
- Course of the wilderness trail at OpenStreetMap