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The Rothaarsteig is a 154.80 km long hiking trail along the crest of the Rothaargebirge mountain range in Germany in the border region between the states of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
(NW) and
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
(HE). It was opened in 2001.


Overview

The main route of the Rothaarsteig trail runs from Brilon (NW), mainly in a southerly direction over the Kahler Asten (NW) to
Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German-Dutch holiday road ...
(HE). Most of the Rothaarsteig is located in the Rothaargebirge Nature Park. It runs mainly along the watershed between the rivers
Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
and
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
over the heavily forested mountains of the Rothaargebirge and through its valleys and uses the existing network of metalled and unmetalled forest tracks. In an extremely sparsely populated region it links hills and places of interest such as the Bruchhauser Steine, the Langenberg, the Kahler Asten, the Rhine-Weser Tower, the Ginsburg and several sources of major rivers like the Ruhr,
Eder Eder may refer to: People * Eder (surname) * Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins *Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau E ...
,
Sieg The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine. The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length. The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From here t ...
and
Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in ...
. Between Schmallenberg and
Bad Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest o ...
the Rothaarsteig meets the ''Waldskulpturenweg''. Despite its route inside a range of high hills, the Rothaarsteig generally easy to walk. It passes several towns including
Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle o ...
, through which it runs.


Marking

The signpost symbol for the Rothaarsteig is a white "R" on its side on a red background. The paths leading to the trail from the valleys along the way have the same sign but in black on a yellow background.


Route


Main trail

The 154.80 kilometre long main trail of the Rothaarsteig runs over
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
s, past springs and natural and cultural monuments and through
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
s. These include, from north to south (with heights above
Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 18 ...
; NN): The Rothaarsteig starts at Brilon (450 m) and runs southwards past the source of the Möhne (500 m) to the Borbergskirchof (629 m; at Borberg, 669 m), over the Ginsterkopf (663 m) and past the Bruchhauser Steinen (up to 756 m) to the Richtplatz (old
Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focus ...
site for the
Electorate of Cologne The Electorate of Cologne (german: Kurfürstentum Köln), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (german: Kurköln, links=no), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th centur ...
; 762.6 m; near the Hoppernkopf, 805 m). The walking trail then runs over the Langenberg (843.2 m), the highest point in North Rhine-Westphalia, and through the Neuer Hagen nature reserve, whereby it runs past the source of the Hoppecke (785 m) up the Clemensberg (839.2 m) and past the Hillekopf (804.9 m) to the northeast. The route then continues on to the Küstelberg (666.1 m; which is the source of the river
Orke Orke is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia and of Hesse, Germany. It flows into the Eder Eder may refer to: People * Eder (surname) * Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer � ...
) to the ''Wagenschmier'' quarry (645 m), then past the source of the Ruhr (666.5 m) on the Ruhrkopf (695.7 m) and on in a southwesterly direction to
Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle o ...
(670 m), where it passes the southern portal of the Herrloh Tunnel at Herrloh (732,9 m), 200 m southeast of the St.-Georg-Schanze. The path then runs past the mountains of Poppenberg (745.5 m) and Bremberg (809 m) to the Kahler Asten (841.9 m), on which the Asten Tower (an observation tower) and e. g. the source of the river Lenne may be found (819 m). From the Lenne spring the Rothaarsteig runs by the high villages of Lenneplätze, Neuastenberg, Langewiese and Hoheleye to ''Albrechtsplatz'' (728.6 m) and past the source of the Friede (740 m; a tributary of the
Odeborn Odeborn is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Eder near Bad Berleburg. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the Möhne * ...
) to the ''Heidenstock'' (752.2 m). About 500 m southwest of the Heidenstock the Rothaarsteig divides into separate hill and valley courses: The ''Bergweg'' ("mountain path"), which is part of the main Rothaarsteig trail, crosses a section of the Waldskulpturenweg, which combines with it in places. Initially it runs in a southerly direction past the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
of Kühhude (697.2 m; a northern suburb of
Bad Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest o ...
) and the Saukopf (715.5 m) to the
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical ...
near the source of the Hochgelmke Siepen (680,5 m; in the catchment area of the Lenne tributary, the Latrop). Then the ''Bergweg'' runs westwards over the
Großer Kopf Grosser or Großer is the masculine nominative singular form of the German adjective "gross", meaning "big", "great", "large", "tall", and the like. It is part of many placenames, especially of mountains. It is also a surname. People with that surn ...
(740.3 m) to the ''Millionenbank'' (632.4 m), where it rejoins the ''Talweg'' or valley path. The ''Talweg'' (13.7 km long), also called the ''Hochsauerlandvariante'' ("High Sauerland Variant"), is the most important branch of the Rothaarsteig. It runs initially westwards past a war cemetery (''Soldatengrab'', 711.7 m) and the cultural monument of the ''Wegsperre'' (715.9 m) to the village of Schanze (700 m; east-southeastern suburb of Schmallenberg). It then runs in a more or less southeastern direction and then west again in the Grubental valley along the Grubensiepen (tributary of the Latrop) and its tributary, the Schladebach, past the ''Altarstein'' (heathen sacrifice site; 536.2 m) and the natural monument known as the ''Dicke Eiche'' ("Fat Oak", 482.7 m) to the village of Latrop in the Latrop valley (430 m; southeastern municipality of Schmallenberg). Thereafter the ''Talweg'' runs south around the neighbouring mountains of Große- (610.2 m) and
Kleine Bamicke Kleine is a German language, German and Dutch language, Dutch surname meaning "small". Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Kleine (born 1970), American writer, choreographer, and performance artist * Christian Kleine (born 1974), Germ ...
(659.8 m) to the ''Millionenbank'' (632.4 m), where it meets the ''Bergweg''. From the ''Millionenbank'' the main Rothaarsteig path continues westwards via Jagdhaus (650 m; southern municipality of Schmallenberg), where the ''Kapellenwäldchen'' natural monument is found at Heidkopf (665.9 m), to the ''Trudes Sonnenbank'' (657.3 m)
mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organizatio ...
and past the source of the Somborn (680 m; in the
Eder Eder may refer to: People * Eder (surname) * Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins *Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau E ...
catchment area), which is located on the southeastern slopes of the Härdler (755.8 m), to the crosstracks of ''Potsdamer Platz'' (678.1 m). The walking path then runs past the refuge hut on the ''Margaretenstein'' (685 m) to the Rhine-Weser Tower (680 m; observation tower) on the Westerberg (684.6 m). From the Rhine-Weser Tower the Rothaarsteig runs in a southerly direction to the source region of the Schwarzbach (right source stream of the Eder tributary, the Röspe). Just under 1 km further southeast it runs past the Panorama-Park Sauerland before following the valley of the Schwarzbach. After crossing that stream the walking trail runs along the Schwarzbach tributary, the ''Habecker Bach'', to its origin and then continues to the mountain hut (621.1 m) at ''Rastplatz Hochheide''. Continuing through the nature reserve of Haberg (625.4 m; ''Heinsberger Hochheide'') it runs over the 637.9 m high crest of the closed Heinsberg Tunnel (1,303 m long) and then heads south to the
Dreiherrnstein A ''Dreiherrenstein'' or ''Dreiherrnstein'' is the topographic name of a historical tripoint, especially in the German-speaking lands of central Europe, i.e. a place where the border of three princely territories met, together with any enclosures ...
(673.9 m), which is a northeastern subpeak of the Riemen (677.7 m). The Rothaarsteig runs past the summit of the Riemen about 150 m to the east to the valley of the ''Elberndorfer Bach'' (a western
Eder Eder may refer to: People * Eder (surname) * Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins *Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau E ...
tributary), which it crosses in a westerly direction. Next it runs a few metres east of the Ferndorf spring (600 m), and passes, further south, the cultural monuments of ''Schrammer Heide'' and ''Schanze'' and runs in a southwesterly direction − over the Schloßberg Tunnel (270 m long) of the
Rothaar Railway The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany. It is believed that its name must once have been ...
− to the ruins of Ginsburg (587.,6 m). Thereafter the Rothaarsteig runs eastwards over the Giller (653.5 m; with its
Giller Tower Giller may refer to: People * Agaton Giller (1831-1887), patriotic Polish activist * Doris Giller, Canadian literary critic ** Scotiabank Giller Prize, an annual Canadian English language literary award * Edward B. Giller (1918-2017), United Sta ...
) to
Lützel Lucelle (german: Lützel) is a village situated on the Fra ...
(575.1 m) southeast of
Hilchenbach Hilchenbach () is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein '' Kreis'' (district) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Hilchenbach is about northeast of Siegen. The town borders in the south on Netphen, in the west on Kreuztal, in the ...
. Next the trail runs along the
Eder Eder may refer to: People * Eder (surname) * Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name *Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins *Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau E ...
to its source (620 m) and over the old coal road (''Kohlenstraße'', maximum height 640 m) to Waldheim in Benfe, south of Erndtebrück, where it crosses the Eder tributary, the Benfe (568 m). Bordering the eastern edge of the village of Großenbach, west of
Bad Laasphe Bad Laasphe () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district. Geography Location The town of Bad Laasphe lies in the upper Lahn Valley, near the stately home of Wittgenstein Castle (de) (nowadays a boarding ...
, where the Rothaarsteig swings towards the southwest for a few hundred metres, it runs to the source of the
Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
tributary, the
Sieg The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine. The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length. The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From here t ...
(603 m), where it crosses part of the '' Eisenstraße''. After that the Rothaarsteig runs in a southerly direction parallel to and, in places, along the ''Eisenstraße'' to the source of the Ilm (622 m; tributary of the Lahn) and then past the origin of the
Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in ...
(605 m) itself in Lahnhof (a village near Nenkersdorf which is in turn part of the borough of
Netphen Netphen () is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Sieg, roughly 7 km northeast of Siegen. Geography Location Netphen lies on the Rothaargebirge's southern slope and forms the ...
) eastwards to the Ilsesource (620 m). It then runs over the Jagdberg (675.9 m), along a section of the border with the neighbouring state of
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
and past the ''Kaffeebuche'' natural monument (590 m) to the source of the
Dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual plant, annual herbaceous, herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice fo ...
(560 m) which lies in Hesse on the ''Haincher Höhe'' (606 m). Passing over the
Tiefenrother Höhe Tiefenrother Höhe is a mountain of Hesse, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member ...
(551 m) near Wilgersdorf on the state border and then the eastern subpeak of the Kalteiche (579,3 m), where the trail bends southeast to the ''Lucaseiche'' natural monument (440 m), the Rothaarsteig finally reaches Hesse. Through Rodenbach (310 m), north of
Haiger Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger. Geography Location Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern ...
, it continues to Manderbach (305 m), north of
Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German-Dutch holiday road ...
, and over the Dillenburg Galgenberg (302 m), running past the
Wilhelm Tower Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mou ...
(260 m) before finally ending in Dillenburg (233 m).


Towns and villages

The Rothaarsteig runs through or past the following towns and villages (in alphabetical order):


Cycling the trail

The use of the Rothaarsteig by bicycle is problematic but possible. The
gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
s reach 15 % in many places. In addition there are stretches that have been damaged or turned to mud by forestry vehicles. Bicycles therefore need to be cross-country capable and the fitness of the cyclist sufficient for the challenge. Difficult sections of the path may sometimes be bypassed on parallel running country roads.


Rothaarsteig Marathon

Every October the Rothaarsteig Marathon starts in Fleckenberg and involves runners climbing a height difference of 838 metres. The first marathon took place in 2003. In addition to the full marathon distance, a half-marathon is also run.Homepage des Rothaarsteig-Marathons
/ref>


Transport to the area

The Rothaarsteig is more or less accessible on public transport. The bus and railway lines that run parallel to it or cross it have at least hourly services. The following places have a railway station or are part of a good bus network, but in some cases are several kilometres from the Rothaarsteig: * Brilon on the Upper Ruhr Valley Railway * Willingen on the
Upland Railway Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...
(
Kurhessen Railway The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...
) from Brilon to Korbach * Winterberg on the Bestwig and Winterberg railway * Schmallenberg on
bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...
s S40 and 367 * Altenhundem,
Haiger Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger. Geography Location Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern ...
and
Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German-Dutch holiday road ...
on the Ruhr-Sieg Railway *
Bad Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest o ...
and
Hilchenbach Hilchenbach () is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein '' Kreis'' (district) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Hilchenbach is about northeast of Siegen. The town borders in the south on Netphen, in the west on Kreuztal, in the ...
on the
Rothaar Railway The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany. It is believed that its name must once have been ...
* Erndtebrück on the
Upper Lahn Valley Railway Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
and Rothaar Railway *
Lützel Lucelle (german: Lützel) is a village situated on the Fra ...
(part of Hilchenbach) on the Rothaar Railway * Feudingen on the
Upper Lahn Valley Railway Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
via
Bad Laasphe Bad Laasphe () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district. Geography Location The town of Bad Laasphe lies in the upper Lahn Valley, near the stately home of Wittgenstein Castle (de) (nowadays a boarding ...
to
Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approx ...


References


External links


Rothaarsteig

Hessian Rothaarsteig


{{Authority control Hiking trails in Hesse Hiking trails in North Rhine-Westphalia Hiking trails in Rhineland-Palatinate Middle Hesse