Rotthäuser Bachtal

We start our hike at the Basilica of St. Margareta in Gerresheim. You can get here by walking back along Gerricusstraße from the parking lot or by walking through the pedestrian zone "Neusser Tor" and "Flachsmarkt" to the church from the Gerresheim-Rathaus stop. First, we visit – if we have checked the opening times – the late Romanesque church from the beginning of the 13th century with a cross from the 9th century from a predecessor building, the paintings in the vault center from the construction time of the current church, and take a look into the small treasury at the right transept.

Then we walk across Gerricusplatz to the Heimatbrunnen, which shows scenes and personalities from the history of Gerresheim. Small plaques at the edge of the fountain provide us with information about the events.

We go to the east side of the square where we see a passage by the half-timbered houses. On the other side, we look at the Quadenhof castle house, which was built in the second quarter of the 15th century and was formerly surrounded by moats. Since Quadenhof is private property, a closer visit is not possible.

We now walk past the half-timbered houses into Steinweg, then follow it to the left and walk alongside the Gerresheim forest cemetery for some time. At the very end, we turn left into the forest and soon see the Older Jewish Cemetery in front of us, which was used from 1812 to 1893.

We now hike always along the cemetery uphill. Also at the top, we always follow the fence. We come to a striking cut in the terrain, go down, and then ascend again on the other side. After about 75 m we take the path to the right, shortly before the cemetery fence turns left. We walk along the narrow path, which is not shown on all maps, then turn left onto another small path and descend into the Rötthäuser Bachtal. We would also have come to this point if we had taken the wide path up to the right at the top where the fence turns left.

On the other side of the stream, we now walk up the wide forest road through the valley and reach Papendell farm, which was already mentioned in 1462 and was partially liable to pay tithes to the Gerresheim Foundation. Our hiking route turns right just before the farm and we walk between two ponds to enjoy the wide view over the farm and the valley at the forest edge. We leave the marked hiking trail, which goes uphill to the right, and take the small path straight ahead, which is also not shown on all maps.

In gentle ups and downs, we come to the valley floor below Groß-Reutersberg farm, which was already mentioned in the Gerresheim Foundation’s tithe register in 1508. Coming from Papendell farm, where the path leads left to the other side of the valley, we climb the steep slope on the right. We follow traces of paths which we can make out if we look very carefully. At the top, we reach a wider path which we follow to the left and descend the mountain again. Here we have reached the marked section again. Down in the valley, the hiking trails become muddy in wet weather. We pass old ponds and reach the ponds at Rotthaus farm, which is already shown on older maps and which we can assume, like the other farms in the valley, was liable for tithes to the Gerresheim Foundation.

We now have the worst trail section in the wet season ahead of us. It is then difficult to pass to the right of the ponds. Diverting up the steep slopes is also not possible because the risk of slipping is very high. Nevertheless, we can enjoy the view over the ponds. Afterwards, the terrain becomes slightly gentler as the trail is no longer quite as bad. We continue to follow the valley and pass some fallen trees until we reach a large meadow on the right side.

Here we turn left onto the wider path, come to the valley floor below Schäpershof. We cross the Rotthäuser Bach and should not miss walking to the right first because we then see in front of us the Abshof or Gut Plungscheuer, a nature conservation project in the Rotthäuser Bachtal. The farm itself is very old, as it was already liable for tithes to the Gerresheim Foundation in 1392. We walk back again, take the path to the right past Schäperhof, and then follow a hollow way uphill, which is registered as an archaeological monument.

We hike along the path, come to Rotthäuser Weg at the top, and cross the small road. We go straight ahead, enter the forest, and descend the mountain again. Below, we reach a road, turn right, and stay on the small path beneath the road. We continue along the path and stay on the road where the path turns right. We reach Pillebach and take the path immediately after the bridge on the left. We pass allotment garden settlements and can learn from information boards about the importance of the gardens in the past. We now simply stay close to the stream and reach our parking lot in Gerresheim or walk back via Gerricusstraße and the pedestrian zone to the stop.