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Start: Corner of Kuchhausener Kirchweg/Am Kurheim in Leuscheid
Hiking trails are taken for granted, and extensive signposting and some of the tedious administrative procedures involved are often overlooked. Sometimes, unusual obstacles have to be overcome when working on trails. Recently, a small group of trail markers from the Westerwald Association, Cologne branch, gathered with paint pots and brushes at the edge of the forest on the road from Ückertseifen to Birkenbeul to move the trail from the country road to a more beautiful forest path. All the official obstacles had been overcome. At that moment, a school bus stopped nearby. Several children from Ückertseifen got out, rushed towards the signposters and shouted: " What are you doing to our Cologne path?
" The
signposting could only continue after the children had been explained why the path was being moved into the forest and they had agreed.
(S) We start at the corner of Kuchhausener Kirchweg/Am Kurheim in Leuscheid. The K takes us out of the village into open countryside with a magnificent view of the Westerwald. The path then turns right, soon after left, and runs along the edge of a forest.
(1) A little later, we cross the road from Alsen to Eutscheid and pass Eutscheid on the right. Rowan and fruit trees line the path on both sides.
(2) At a crossroads with a bench, we turn right and pass Röhrigshof. The Kölner Weg then gradually descends into the valley and turns into a winding asphalt road, which takes us to Ehrentalsmühle.
(3) We walk along the L120 to the left for a few metres and turn right at its junction with the L312. On the right-hand side of the road, we notice the former mill building in Ehrentalsmühle. Immediately behind the building, we turn right again and follow a meadow path that leads us towards a forest. Shortly afterwards, we cross the Irsenbach, which forms the border between North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
(4) After a short time, we turn into a shady side valley, climb slowly uphill in a sunken path, emerge onto fields and meadows and pass the village of Ückertseifen.
(5) We leave the village on an asphalt road towards Niederirsen, but soon turn left, head towards the edge of the forest ahead of us and reach the road from Ückertseifen to Birkenbeul.
(6) Here, a magnificent view of the Hammer Ländchen and the Bergisches Land opens up. However, the K trail leads into the forest before that.
The path winds its way through unspoilt forest, returns to the road, which we follow for a short distance, and then turns left.
(7) We walk along the edge of the forest and turn right into a wood, which we quickly cross.
(8) We then come across the Ückertseifen-Birkenbeul road again, stay on it for a short while and leave it behind a small group of trees, turning right and then immediately left onto a dirt track.
(9) A little later, we pass the outskirts of Birkenbeul. The K heads towards the forest again and leads us to a natural monument, the Wunderbuche(miracle beech).
(10) This mysterious weeping beech tree has stood here for generations and is also known locally as the Wunderbuche (miracle beech). The forest land here belonged to Wilhelm Krämer from Birkenbeul, who "donated" the beech tree to the Hamm War Veterans' Association in 1902 as a token of gratitude for a memorial stone erected to his brother who was killed in action. Various legends surround this tree. They tell of an innocent virgin who was executed and buried here, of a buried treasure and of the grave of a foreign general in whose honour this beech tree was planted. The closest to the truth is probably an incident from the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), according to which a French general is said to have been murdered in the village of Schabernack together with 12 other Frenchmen during a celebration. They were loaded onto a horse-drawn cart and taken to the Beulskopf to a grave that had already been dug.
The path continues uphill and after a while we come across a wooden figure, Köhler-Jörg.
We are on a section of the local Köhlerweg, an old charcoal road used to transport charcoal. There used to be a few huts here where horses and oxen were fed.
(11) A final climb leads to the 388-metre-high Beulskop with its 35-metre-high Raiffeisen Tower.
The wooden tower was built in 1990 in honour of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (1818-1888), the social reformer and founder of the cooperative movement in Germany. Raiffeisen was born a few kilometres north of here in Hamm (Sieg).
From a height of 420 metres, there is a magnificent view of the Montabaurer Höhe with the Köppelturm tower, the Salzburger Kopf in the high Westerwald and as far as the Siebengebirge mountains. The Beulskopf also forms the watershed between the Sieg and Wied rivers.
From the Beulskopf, the trail descends to Beul. The Hubertushöhe restaurant/guesthouse is located directly on the trail.
The village has a special feature: the L267 road, which runs north-south, forms the municipal boundary between the eastern part of the village, which belongs to Busenhausen, and the western part, which belongs to Heupelzen. Most of the houses, including the Aloysius Chapel, are located in the Busenhausen district, while the smaller part is in Heupelzen.
(12) The K passes the restaurant on the right. Soon we are walking through mixed forest again.
(13) Later, we cross the busy K37 road. The path now runs along the K37 on the left for a short time and turns left at the edge of the forest. The church tower of Hilgenroth rises up from the valley on the left.
(14) At the end of the forest, we turn left, then right again and descend to the K52. We cross the K52 and hike into the Erbachtal valley. A sign shows the direction and distance to the Obererbach stop. However, we climb out of the small valley.
(15) Once again, we head towards the edge of the forest, turn left and come to a wide path leading to the Waldesruh refuge. Shortly afterwards, we turn right into a mixed forest.
(16) We cross a road and arrive at the crossroads, which leads us to the Marienthal monastery after several loops (E).
The monastery traces its origins back to a legend. Once upon a time, a shepherd from Hamm (Sieg) led his flock into the valley "In des Kellers Groben". There, the shepherd carved an image of the Mother of God and placed it under an oak tree. He visited the image as often as possible and, according to legend, his "pious devotion was rewarded by manifold acts of grace from heaven". Word of the event spread quickly, and many people came to the image to pray. After the shepherd died, the statue was taken to the church in Hamm. Strangely, the image disappeared from the church and reappeared in its original place the next day. This happened several times. Therefore, in 1460, it was decided to build a small chapel to house the figure in a dignified manner. News of the strange events eventually attracted many pilgrims, and the name "Marienthal" became established for the previously unknown region. The original image no longer exists. The current image in the Marienthal church is probably a figure created in 1460. Thirty years after the first chapel was built, it proved to be too small. In 1494, the original longitudinal building was probably extended with side aisles. The three-nave late Romanesque church was 26 metres long and 15 metres wide.
in 1561, Count von Sayn introduced the Reformation in his domain. For the next 100 years, the practice of Catholic customs was prohibited. In 1652, the county was divided between the two daughters of Countess Juliana. Ernestine received Sayn-Hachenburg and Johannette received the offices of Altenkirchen and Freusburg, which became the county of Sayn-Altenkirchen. The border between the two counties ran through Marienthal. The boundary line was the stream flowing there. Marienthal fell to Sayn-Hachenburg. Since Sayn-Hachenburg had re-admitted the Catholic faith, a Catholic mass could be celebrated again for the first time in 1664. In 1666, the first monastery building was added to the church, but construction of a new monastery complex began as early as 1756.
The Imperial Deputation Main Resolution of 1803 led to secularisation, the transfer of church property to secular ownership. The Franciscans left the monastery in 1813. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the monastery was revived. Due to the Franco-Prussian War (1870/71) and the subsequent Kulturkampf, in which Bismarck attempted to break the influence of the Catholic Church, the friars had to vacate the monastery again. Since 2008, the pilgrimage church has been looked after by secular priests of the Archdiocese of Cologne.
In Marienthal, you can stop for refreshments or stay overnight at the Waldhotel Imhäuser, Haus Elisabeth or Marienthaler Hof. If you wish to leave by train, simply turn left at the junction of the hiking trail and Am Kloster and continue uphill until the next bend. At the apex of the bend, a forest path branches off to the right to the railway station.
Tourist office
Association / Club / Walk leader
