• Copyright: Rureifel-Tourismus e.V., Dennis Winands

Heinrich-Boell-Weg [35]

Type of tour:Hiking
-
Difficulty:easy
Duration2:00 h
Length6.2 km
Ascent220 hm
Descent220 hm
Elevation profile

Description

On the evening of September 11, 1944, just fourteen weeks after the Normandy landings, the 1st US Army stood on the German border and on the Siegfried Line, a line that was not actually to be reached until May 1945.


Heinrich Böll was conscripted into the Wehrmacht in the late summer of 1939. Today, he is considered one of the most important writers of the post-war period. The name of the trail comes from the fact that he liked to visit the "Burgschenke", a pub in Bergstein, during his lifetime.

The trail named after him leads you along field and forest paths, past wonderful views, through the area of Hürtgenwald that was heavily fought over during the Second World War.

If you start at the parking lot in Bergstein, you will reach the castle hill and the Krawutschketurm tower via a small climb. In good weather, you can even see the Siebengebirge mountains from here, overlooking Hürtgenwald. The path continues past bunkers and monuments. You finally reach Zerkall via a path above the Mühlenweg. From there, you hike a short distance through the Rur valley and finally return to Bergstein via an ascent.

You also have the option of starting from the Zerkall National Park information point.

Impressions

Further information

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