Country:
City:
Start: St Margaret’s Church
Politically, Neustadt belonged to the Electorate of Cologne until 1803 and became part of Prussia following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The first parish church, dating from 1229 and situated on what is now Hauptstraße, was replaced in 1873 by a new neo-Gothic building, St Margaret’s Church, on Wiedbachstraße. It houses a 14th-century baptismal font.
(S) We begin our walk at St Margaret’s Church. We turn right, reach the Kölner Weg on the River Wied after 200 metres, cross the river via the L255 and continue on the left-hand side of the L255. Shortly afterwards, we walk past a company site on the left-hand side and turn left onto a path which very quickly leads us to the route of the former Linz–Neustadt (Wied) railway line.
The railway line was built between 1909 and 1912. The construction costs amounted to 7.5 million Reichsmark, a large proportion of which had to be raised by the local authorities along the route. Between Kasbach and Kalenborn, the line climbs a height difference of around 300 metres. This originally required rack-and-pinion operation on this section. In 1931, rack-and-pinion operation was discontinued when locomotives fitted with back-pressure brakes were introduced.
Due to the war, train services were suspended in March 1945, but were soon resumed as far as Neustadt following repair work, and from October 1945 also as far as Neustadt-Mettelshahn. In May 1950, services on the Neustadt–Mettelshahn section were discontinued; from the end of May 1960, passenger services between Linz and Neustadt (Wied) were also discontinued.
(1) A little further on, the K turns left, passes under the old railway line through a small culvert and rejoins the River Wied. We turn right and walk slowly uphill along a wonderful path above the River Wied. To the right, the former railway line runs through a tunnel. The narrow path climbs higher and higher and joins a road on the left, next to a wayside cross.
(2) We are in Krummenau; we turn left onto the road but leave it again after a few metres, turning right. We continue along a tranquil grassy path, running alongside a tall hedge on the left. The path leads to a tarmac road running across it, onto which we turn right.
(3) Eventually, the path climbs slightly and rejoins the former railway line, which now serves as a walking trail. If we now turn sharply to the right, we reach the entrance to the Neustadt Tunnel. The tunnel is accessible along its entire length.
However, we continue along the Kölner Weg and turn left. The River Wied approaches the old railway line once more. We meander slowly on through a magnificent deciduous forest until we finally reach an inconspicuous junction.
(4) The ‘K’ is clearly marked, forcing us to leave the footpath to the right. A little later, the path in the wood curves upwards to the right and soon meets a cross-path, where we turn right at a meadow. About 50 metres further on, we turn left and, continuing slightly uphill, we reach another cross-path, into which we turn left. We are now heading towards the first house in Rüddel.
(5) From here, we have a lovely view over the meadow we have just half-circled and the Wied Valley. Behind the first house in Rüddel, we turn sharply right onto an ascending grassy path. To the right, deciduous woodland climbs up the slope, whilst meadows and pastures stretch out to the left. In the distance, we can make out the Bertenauer Kopf.
Eventually, the deciduous woodland engulfs us completely. We cross through it, head towards a hilltop meadow, walk about 20 metres to the left and turn right at the end of a fenced-in pasture. We now head straight towards Etscheid, though we only skirt its outskirts.
(6) A little later, we cross the road from Etscheid to Wiedmühle. Once again, the lovely footpath leads through meadows with good panoramic views until we reach another stretch of woodland. We then head steeply downhill along a shaded path. To the right, the valley of the Hammerbach stretches out. We are now approaching the valley floor, where the Hammerbach joins us. Here, at a junction, we keep to the right, cross the Hammerbach and arrive at the tiny hamlet of Hammerhof.
(7) Centuries ago, there was a hammer mill in this hamlet. The Kölner Weg curves to the right, climbs a short incline and leaves Hammerhof. To the left of the path, the Pfaffenbach now flows through a wide meadow floodplain.
Until the local government reorganisation in 1970, the Pfaffenbach formed the boundary between the administrative districts of Asbach and Neustadt (Wied), and the municipalities of Windhagen and Bühlingen. Even today, it remains the boundary stream between the Archdiocese of Cologne and the Diocese of Trier. The stream takes its name from the monks, the ‘Pfaffen’. For almost 600 years – until secularisation in 1803 – the monks of Heisterbach Abbey in the Siebengebirge had held the right of patronage and undertaken the pastoral and spiritual duties in the parish of Neustadt. To carry out their duties, the monks had to walk along the Pfaffenbach.
We continue strolling along the tranquil footpath in the Pfaffenbach valley for some time. To the left, we have an unobstructed view of the stream’s floodplain and the hills beyond the stream.
(8) Eventually, we cross the stream, which now runs to our right. Further on, we come to a fork with a sign reading ‘Jugendlager’ and keep to the right.
(9) At the next fork, we leave the Pfaffenbach Valley, turn left and continue through the Stockhauserbach Valley. Once again, we walk along a wide forest path.
(10) At a junction, we turn left, cross the Windhagenerbach and pass a mountain hut. The stream now flows on our left. After about 200 metres, we turn left at a fork and, after a further 100 metres, turn right onto a cross-path before a slope. From here on, the path climbs steadily through the woods. We cross the stream several times; it has carved its way deep into the ground and formed scree slopes.
(11) Behind a former sewage treatment plant, we turn right onto a wide cross-path. We now head towards Windhagen through a narrow little valley.
(12) Finally, the path leads into the village. In front of the Raiffeisenbank, we turn right onto the main road and arrive at the Hotel Zur Post.
(13) The Church of St Bartholomew rises up before us.
Windhagen was first mentioned in the year 893. It is said that a church already stood in Windhagen as early as the 8th century. Until 1803, the parish priests in Windhagen were appointed by the Archdiocese of Mariengraden in Cologne, which was founded in 1058. Until 1803, Windhagen belonged to the Electorate of Cologne and, from 1815, to Prussia. Construction of a new church began in 1869. In 1871, an earthquake caused the preserved west tower of the former church to collapse. The present parish church was built as a new Gothic-style structure attached to the old tower and extended by half a bay in 1908.
Behind the Hotel Zur Post, we turn left into Vierwindenerstraße. At the next fork, Schulstraße branches off to the right. The Hotel Garni 4 Winden is located there.
(14) We stay on Vierwindenerstraße, which from here on is just a narrow cobbled path.
(15) Shortly afterwards, we reach the K28, which runs across our path. We turn left and immediately leave the K28 again, turning right onto the road towards Hallerbach. We now walk towards the motorway, pass under it and then cross the Deutsche Bahn railway line.
(16) A little later, we take the second road on the right, then follow the signpost to the left after 200 metres. Passing through meadows and along the edge of the wood, we reach the Hallerbach stream. Before a golf course, we turn right and follow the stream to a crossroads.
(17) There, we turn left and pass the Köhlershohn fishing park. Shortly afterwards, we turn right onto a forest track.
A small stream runs alongside us on the left through the woods. This is the boundary stream between Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. A few metres further on, we cross the border into North Rhine-Westphalia and walk along the forest track to a fenced-off pumping station.
(18) Here, the Kölner Weg branches off to the left towards the Rederscheid-Rottbitze road. If you wish, you can walk along the Kölner Weg for around 500 metres to Rederscheider Straße and end the walk there.
As our destination is Rottbitze, we continue straight ahead along the wide forest path towards the L247, Rottbitzer Straße, to reach the Hotel Domblick. We turn right onto the L247, follow it past the next roundabout until just before the Honnef/Linz junction, and arrive at the Hotel Domblick (E)
Association / Club / Walk leader
Visorando Member
Tourist office
Difficult 
