Strauch

First, however, we set off to explore the village. Right next to our parking lot rises the parish church of St. Matthias, inaugurated in 1951. But despite all our curiosity, we will save it for last. At the end of Kesternicher Street, we turn into Sonnenstraße, lined with birch trees. In front of the sports field, we turn left. The many tidy houses in this new development show that Strauch is a modern place where it is good to live. Through Sonnenstraße and "Zum Heister" we reach Kölner Straße. The old, listed half-timbered house on the opposite side of the street immediately takes us back to old times. Behind the "Jägerstube" inn, we turn into the street "Auf der Hof." To the right, a tastefully designed chapel from around 1900 greets us. Soon a playground appears on the left, an ideal opportunity for a break, not only for children. In fact, throughout our walk, we encounter rest benches inviting us to take a break. Where the path forks, we stand before one of the two "germ cells" of Strauch, the so-called "Hof." Here stood the property of Servos Stroch, built around 1700 but now disappeared, from whom the village takes its name. We now turn left and follow the descending road past some noteworthy old houses. Then we step into open terrain. Above the Tiefenbach valley, the ridge of Langschoß rises on the right horizon. Our gaze wanders left over Rollesbroich and Lammersdorf to the forested heights of Hoscheit. To the east, as is so often the case on this tour, a magnificent view of the beech landscape of Strauch opens up. At the next opportunity, we turn left and pass the cemetery again back to the church. Right next to the parking lot is a large playground that the children have surely discovered long ago. Here, it's time to romp freely. You can already end the village tour at this point. But beware! Those who do not continue the path miss the probably most beautiful views this village tour has to offer! We therefore follow Kesternicher Street, making a short stop at the lovingly maintained chapel. Via Steckenborner Street, we reach at the edge of the village a farm track leading us right into the extensive meadow landscape. At the end of the path, we stand fascinated. Our gaze follows the valley of the Weidenbach to the Rur valley. Behind it rises the densely forested Kermeter. To the right towers the former NS-Ordensburg Vogelsang. Further right, the heights of the Eifel National Park and the village of Dreiborn with its widely visible church tower mark the horizon. The "Laienweg" on which we continue our hike is ancient. People from Woffelsbach and Steckenborn used it in earliest times on Sundays and public holidays to go to Konzen, the mother church of the Monschau region. From 1346 it became a bit easier for them. Until the construction of their own churches, they only had to go as far as Simmerath. At "Am Kreuzchen", we reach Strauch's highest point at 539 meters. We go down Hölzkaul and turn into the first farm track on the left. We follow it past gnarled beeches to the B 266. There we turn right and after about 150 meters on the left, we find another panoramic path. Our view now extends over the Simmerath church to Stehling on the edge of the High Fens. It is the highest elevation of the Monschau region at around 658 meters. This view is especially enjoyable when the trees have shed their leaves. And when in winter the snow transforms the landscape into a fairy tale world... Via the fourth farm track on the right, we reach the L 246. Now we are in the second "original village," the former Oberrollesbroich. The Keischgenshof, located somewhat away from the road at the village entrance, stands on the foundations of Strauch's oldest building, first mentioned in documents in 1361. Along Monschauer Straße, we can quite well understand how Strauch has grown together since the 19th century. We repeatedly pass half-timbered houses and tall protective hedges that, then as now, shield against harsh west winds. Behind the village square and the former parsonage, we reach the parish church again. It has a rather eventful past. The first church from 1846 had to yield to a new building in 1921. But that did not last long either. During World War II, on September 20, 1944, the church was blown up by German soldiers to deny enemy artillery a landmark. Inside, the high altar made of limewood by the Cologne sculptor T. C. Pilarz in 1936 catches our eye. It also has its own story. In the 1960s, it was banished from the church. However, it was not destroyed but survived the following decades in a shed. In 1996, it returned to its rightful place.

Text taken from flyer, download see "Literature"