Glan-Blies Way
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The Glan-Blies Way () is a long distance cycle route and
hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...
that is 130 kilometres long. It begins in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
at Staudernheim on the River Nahe, follows the course of the Glan, crosses the state of
Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
along the
Blies The Blies (; ) is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany ( Saarland) and northeastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and ...
and finishes in
Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
in France.


Route

The way begins on the Nahe Cycleway. Running past Disibodenberg Abbey and then making its way via
Odernheim am Glan Odernheim am Glan is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of ...
and
Meisenheim Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Meisenheim (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meise ...
it reaches the
Kusel Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat. The well-kno ...
Musikantenland. In the Veldenz town of
Lauterecken Lauterecken () is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the '' Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein, to which it also belongs. Lauterecken bears the nickname ''Veldenzstadt'', after the comital famil ...
there is a railway connexion and the option to switch onto the Lauter Valley Cycleway to Kaiserslautern. A few kilometres further on, the trail passes
Offenbach-Hundheim Offenbach-Hundheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district ...
and the old Benedictine Provost Church of St. Mary. It then continues initially in a southwesterly direction, then swings south to
Altenglan Altenglan is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan. Alte ...
. At Altenglan, a junction with the Fritz-Wunderlich Way runs through
Kusel Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat. The well-kno ...
on an old railway trackbed to
Freisen Freisen is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km northeast of Sankt Wendel, and 20 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. The public transportation in Freisen/Oberkirchen is th ...
. Between Altenglan and Staudernheim, there is a separate
draisine A draisine () is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. The eponymous term is derived from the German inventor Baron Karl D ...
route that runs through the Glan valley. The cycleway continues for two kilometres alongside the federal highway. Between
Glan-Münchweiler Glan-Münchweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district ...
and
Niedermohr Niedermohr is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...
the Barbarossa Cycleway branches off, running through
North Palatinate North Palatinate''Das Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges in der Nordpfalz'' by Timo Scherne, Nordpfälzer Geschichtsverein, 2006. () is a region in southwest Germany with an area of just 650 km2, making it the smallest landscape in the Palatinate re ...
to
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
. From Glan-Münchweiler the route follows the old trackbed of the
Glan Valley Railway The Glan Valley Railway () is a non-electrified line along the Glan (Nahe), Glan river, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It consists of the Glan-Münchweiler–Altenglan section, which was built as part of the Landstuhl–Kusel railwa ...
via
Nanzdietschweiler Nanzdietschweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district ...
, with its old washing facility and the preserved mill from 1884, through the Elschbach Tunnel. It continues past the lake of Ohmbachsee to
Schönenberg-Kübelberg Schönenberg-Kübelberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, dis ...
, where it passes the protected
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
. Next, the way passes
Waldmohr Waldmohr is a town in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Oberes Glantal. Geography Location The municipality lies at the western end of the Landstuhl ...
with its bog mill and the Eichelscheiderhof. Here it leaves the route of the railway and follows cycle tracks to Homburg. After Beeden the way runs along the River Blies through the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve. In Wörschweiler, a detour goes to the abbey ruins and the Schwarzenacker Roman Museum. On the next stage, the route reaches
Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...
with its
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
''Altstadt''. The route runs along the old embankment of the Blies Valley Railway. The last station on German soil is the Bliesbruck-Reinheim European Culture Park, with a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
prince's grave and settlement from the
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
. Here the way crosses the Franco-German border and comes to an end after
Saargemünd Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department of the Grand Est Regions of France, administrative region in ...
(French: ''Sarreguemines'') at the confluence of the Blies and the
Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...
. In Sarreguemines the Glan-Blies Way is joined from the north by the Saar Cycleway, which runs between Sarreguemines and
Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...
parallel to the Saarland Cycleway. To the south is a junction with the cycling path along the Saar Canal and thus to the French cycle network.


Signage and surfacing

The bidirectional way is signposted throughout. The
waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...
s along the route give the distances and destinations as well as the logo of the way. The multicolored emblem features a bicycle calling out and reads Glan-Blies-Weg. The route runs predominantly on
asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
forest track left, alt=Pathway through forest., Concrete pathway through deep forest in India. Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, ...
s, farm tracks and cycle paths.''Glan-Blies-Radweg''
Tourenplaner Rheinland-Pfalz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.


Literature

* Thorsten Brönner: ''Deutschlands schönste Flussradwege. 15.000 traumhafte Flusskilometer vom Alpenrand zum Nordseestrand.'' Bruckmann, München 2013, , pp. 178–181.


External links

{{Commons category, Glan-Blies-Weg
Cycle routes in Rhineland-Palatinate (tour planners, height profiles, etc.)

Glan-Blies Cycleway at the ADFC tour portal

Overview map with connecting ways and stations


References

Cycleways in Germany Transport in Saarland Transport in Rhineland-Palatinate Cycleways in France Naheland Western Palatinate Palatinate (region)