Zeitschleife Kupfererbe - Die Meisterliche

A heart for ore: experience a landscape that has been shaped by mining and metal processing for centuries on this time loop along the course of the River Inde.

What appears quiet and green today was once a center of European brass production. Copper, zinc, lead - and especially the rare zinc ore galmei - provided the region in and around Stolberg with work and prosperity in the 17th and 18th centuries. The unique, magnificent copper yards and old churches bear witness to this industrial development and are a reminder of Stolberg's heyday.

The first section of the tour takes you through the idyllic Indetal valley. You pass the Busch, Hau and Bock mills on the way to Büsbach. These three mills are representative of the centuries-old tradition of metal processing. The route continues through the idyllic village of Breinig with its listed quarry stone houses and past the Schlangenberg nature reserve, a former mining area and home to the rare galmei flora. The tour then takes you back to Stolberg, where the medieval castle towers high above the town. Stories of lords of the castle, copper masters and cloth makers as well as legends such as that of the dwarf cave at the Tatternsteinen accompany you along the way and remind you of how deeply mining shaped the region - not only economically but also culturally.

Highlights along the route

Indetal nature reserve

Zinkhütter Hof Museum

Tatternsteine time window

Historic center of Alt-Breinig

Schlangenberg

Time slot Waldrast

Time slot Offermann-Platz

Old Town Stolberg

Stolberg Castle