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Start: Selters market square
(S) The hike begins in Selters on the market square, passes the Protestant church, then immediately turns left into Kirchstraße and a few steps further on to the right into Amtsstraße. We pass a mighty village lime tree on the left and walk towards St. Bonifatius Church.
(1) The church tower stands exactly in line with Amtsstraße. There, we turn left into Wachtweg and follow it to the right, climbing higher between meadows and soon reaching the Hahn hill, a trachyte dome from which we can enjoy a magnificent view of the Montabaurer Höhe.
The Montabaurer Höhe is a range of hills between Höhr-Grenzhausen and Montabaur. Its highest points are the Alarmstange (545 metres) on the right and the Köppel (540 metres) on the left. A 39-metre-high observation tower was erected on the Köppel in 1966. The Alarmstange is crowned by two telecommunications towers. The mountain got its name during the Napoleonic era: due to its height, it was ideal for relaying important messages over long distances. A little further on, we come to a refuge hut, the Wacht. Numerous flint fragments were found here long ago. It is believed that flint nodules were processed here more than 3,700 years ago. In the Stone Age, they were used as raw material for making cutting tools and weapons. Flint nodules were highly prized and were brought from far and wide.
(2) Shortly afterwards, the K takes us to the right into a forest past the guard hut.
(3) We then arrive at the Jewish forest cemetery, which is located almost directly on the edge of the path.
This is where the Jewish citizens of Selters were buried from 1870 to 1938.
The Kölner Weg then descends steeply and meets the L305, where we turn right and then soon left again. A little later, we cross the Saynbach stream and turn left into Rückersteg.
The Saynbach was renaturalised thanks to compensation payments made for the construction of the ICE railway line from Cologne to Frankfurt. It is now the only watercourse in Rhineland-Palatinate where trout, grayling, barbel and salmon can be found from its source to its mouth. In this area, red kites, black storks, kingfishers and dippers can also be observed in large numbers.
The hiking trail runs below a settlement, turns right at the end and leads through meadows and pastures. We now climb slightly uphill and follow the K sign along beautiful paths, first to the right and then left at the next crossroads through a forest.
(4) Finally, we reach meadows and pastures again, cross the K131 and head for the sports field in Sessenhausen.
(5) There, we turn right, circle around one side of the field and reach the L306, where we turn left. We only pass through Sessenhausen.
The village was marked by great poverty in the 19th century and many inhabitants emigrated to America. Sessenhausen became famous for its "Landgänger" (land travellers), who travelled across the country in large numbers from spring to autumn with goods for sale. Many of them made it as far as Silesia and East Prussia.
We stay on the L306 for only a short while and turn right into a small road at a factory. At first, we walk along an asphalt road lined with spruce and larch trees on both sides and, after a pleasant walk, we reach a crossroads where we come across a surprising sign.
(6) A sign directs hikers to turn left to the Landsberg an der Warthe kiosk, 500 metres away.
The solution to the mystery of this strange name lies in a request made by Federal Transport Minister Seebohm in 1964. He asked that the former German territories in the east be taken into account when naming rest stops. As a result, 14 rest stops were given the names of former East German towns that lay beyond the Oder-Neisse line. The former "Kutscheider Hof" was renamed "Landsberg an der Warthe". His successor, Georg Leber, ended this practice, but the rest stops that had already been renamed retained their new names.
The asphalt road leads half-left, and Kölner Weg now continues straight ahead on a gravel path through the forest. On the left side of the path, we notice a stone with the names of distinguished forest officials engraved on it. Finally, the K leads to a fork to the right. Kölner Weg winds its way through the extensive forest until we reach a small meadow valley.
(7) There we turn right and head for a biotope ahead of us. The path leads past the pond and continues over the Holzbach stream. Once again, we walk through a wooded area and then come out into the open.
(8) We cross the Siershahn-Altenkirchen freight railway line and walk slightly downhill through meadows and pastures. We cross a road and continue straight ahead for a while.
(9) On the left, in a valley hollow, we see a forest, which the path now heads towards. The K directs us through the forest, at the end of which we turn right and walk past a riding stable, turning left a little later. Dierdorf now spreads out before us.
(10) We pass the Nelson Mandela School and reach Obertorstraße via Giershofener Weg, where we turn left into Hauptstraße.
(E) A little later, we reach the Protestant church in Dierdorf.
Emperor Charles IV granted Dierdorf town rights in 1357. Only two towers remain of the medieval town fortifications: the round tower near the Holzbach stream and the central tower with a clock created in 1772 by Christian Kinzing, a clockmaker from Neuwied. The Protestant church was built in 1903/04 from the stones of Dierdorf Castle, which was demolished in 1903. The Romanesque bell tower dates back to the previous church, St. Jakobus, which was built around 1200.
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