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Start: Grenzbachmühle
(S) From the Hotel Grenzbach-Mühle, the Kölner Weg leads to the left of the Grenzbach stream to a refuge hut, where it turns left and climbs steadily on a forest path to Horhausen.
(1) In the village, we turn right onto the B256, continue to Kirchstraße, where the K turns left. Following Rheinstraße straight ahead for about 50 metres, we come to a house with a commemorative plaque. This was the birthplace of Chaplain Georg Friedrich Dasbach (1846-1907), a Catholic theologian, publicist and social reformer. The route now runs through Kirchstraße and passes Kaplan-Dasbach-Straße, which branches off to the right and where Cardinal Höffner was born.
(2) A little later, in front of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, we come to the monument to Joseph Cardinal Höffner (1906-1987).
Cardinal Höffner was Archbishop of Cologne (1969-1987). The stately church, known as the Westerwald Cathedral, was built in 1902 to replace an earlier church. Only parts of the Romanesque tower remain of the original sacred building.
The path then leads through a small basalt park, takes us to Friedhofstraße, into Neue Schulstraße and finally left out of Horhausen.
(3) We walk downhill on a narrow forest path until we reach a road, turn onto it and shortly afterwards turn right towards Niedersteinebach.
(4) Finally, we reach the Otto Tunnel, named after Otto von Bismarck.
The tunnel was started in 1866 in the valley between Luchert and Niedersteinebach and, after a length of 340 metres in a straight line, reached the Louise and Nöchelchen mine fields, which meet at the Gabeler Kopf. Operations were discontinued in 1899.
We leave the tunnel, continue along Kölner Weg, turn left and arrive at the Friedrich-Wilhelm mine on the K3 just before Luchert.
(5) A few metres before the mine, Kölner Weg branches off to the right into a forest. However, we make a short detour to the former mine.
The first smelting took place from 1338 to 1664. In 1815, Prussia took over mining around Horhausen and in 1818 the Friedrich-Wilhelm tunnel was opened. Ore mining ended in 1894.
The path now leads uphill, curves to the right and descends through a meadow to Niedersteinebach.
(6) There we come across the K1, turn left shortly after and a little later climb steeply up the wooded slope via steps until we come to an open meadow. Here, after the strenuous climb, we are rewarded with a beautiful view into the distance.
(7) The path finally turns away from the open space and leads left through a beech forest.
(8) Soon after, we approach the Waldhotel Heiderhof, but turn right a short distance before it. The K now leads us once again along beautiful forest paths to the Bildeiche.
(9) The hiking trail then winds its way through spruce forest and descends into the Wiedbach valley. On the right, the view opens up to the Lahrer Herrlichkeit and Burglahr.
(10) Shortly afterwards, we arrive in Peterslahr, walk to Kirchstraße 23 and turn left.
(11) The K now leads us to the cemetery and a crossroads with old wayside shrines and St. Petrus Church.
Only the west tower remains of the original St. Petrus Church, which was built around 1150. In 1901, the church was demolished except for the tower and rebuilt in the Neo-Romanesque style. Among the sights are a reliquary of the Apostle Peter and two Gothic wooden sculptures from the 15th century.
Now the K takes us out of Peterslahr and over the Wied and to the left into a large forest area. The path climbs and then drops steeply back down into the valley.
(12) At a crossroads in the forest, we follow the signs to the left.
(13) Ahead of us, the mighty Ehrenstein castle ruins appear, which were first mentioned in documents in 1333. A small road finally takes us to Ehrenstein Monastery.
in 1449, the castle fell to the Knight of Nesselrode-Reichenstein. The castle chapel, which already existed at that time, was enlarged and Knight Bertram von Nesselrode obtained the elevation of the chapel to a parish church in 1477. In 1486, he founded a monastery for the Cross Brothers. Ehrenstein Castle was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. The Cross Brothers monastery was dissolved in 1812. Monastic life was not resumed until 1893. The single-nave building made of quarry stone is uniformly Gothic (1477). The choir and star vault date from 1486. Worth seeing are the 15th-century stained glass windows, the pulpit (around 1700), the neo-Gothic high altar from 1886 and the crucifixion group in the triumphal arch (around 1500).
(14) From the monastery, the Kölner Weg first leads to a bridge over the Wied, runs for a short distance on a former railway line, and then climbs higher and higher along enchanting forest paths until we finally see the Wied deep down in the valley.
(15) We have reached Metteshahner Schweiz. Finally, we reach the top of the climb.
(16) There, a path leads us to the left to the Bertenauer Kopf, a 351-metre-high basalt hill. It is worth leaving the Cologne Trail and climbing to the summit.
However, we continue straight ahead and enjoy the distant view before us, hiking downhill to Eilenberg.
(17) From Eilenberg, we continue to the Wied.
(18) The Cologne Trail runs along the Wied and past bizarre rock formations to Neustadt.
(E) At the Wied bridge, we turn left and reach today's destination, Neustadt (Wied).
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