Ancient Roads, Silent Trails

Anyone who loves fairy-tale paths through unspoiled nature, breathtaking views and an endless series of points of interest from five centuries will find this hike well worth it. Departing from the car park at the starting point of the hike, the trail first takes you east through the residential community of “Am Weiher”. You pass a playground, a school and a kindergarten before mighty beech trees rise to greet you and you reach the hedge country of Imgenbroich. Just before the Tränkhof road, you turn right and take the rustic path that leads you down into the Belgenbach Valley. Almost immediately, a pleasant silence envelops the hiker. The valley floor, dotted with birch and alder, and the bubbling stream running through it, are a paradise for numerous animal and plant species, and an uplifting breath of fresh air for the hiker. Just behind the old mill pond, and ancient road pierces the mighty slate rock. Countless carriages with wheels clad in iron, going back to the Middle Ages, created this, one of the best-preserved historical roads in the Monschau region. Their destination was the mill at Belgenbach. It was built between 1550 and 1560 as a “backup mill” to the first mill in the valley, which is referred to as early as 1306; but that mill was located further up the valley, and no trace of it remains. The first section of the rising road exhibits a few more historic wheel tracks. A forest path winding along the slope brings you to the next attraction: the “Eifel view” high above the Rur valley. Here, you have a spectacular view of Widdau, to the left, and beyond, from Rohren to Höfen.

After a short ascent, the path then leads you to the forest edge. South of the K 21, a memorial cross stands in silent vigil for four inhabitants of Imgebroicher who died here in the heavy fighting of the Second World. Other relics of that time are the trenches you pass as you ascend into the spruce Forest. Following the Belgenbacher Weg through a charming residential community, you cross Grünentalstraße and enter the southern meadows of Imgenbroich. The tiny village of Menzerath has a cultural highlight in store for you: hidden behind a high quarry stone wall, an old graveyard with imposing headstones. Between 1678 and 1862, local clergymen of the Protestant community, as well as many members of the textile-making families of Imgenbroich and Monschau, found their last resting place here. After crossing the Eschbach and passing the Hargard Hostel, you cross the B258 and enter the hedge country so characteristic of this region. For the end of your hike, the 1.4 km short loop west of the village offers a number of special treats. The stone cross in front of the plot of land surrounded by mighty trees marks where the Walchenau graveyard, the first burial ground for Lutherans and members of the Reformed Church in the Monschau region, stood between 1600 and 1794. At the westernmost point of the path you find another relic of the Second World War: the “Dragon’s Teeth” of the Siegfried Line, originally built as a defence against tanks. But the 500-metre long stretch of foundation remnant today offers more than just a grim memory of that dark period of history. What was once a blasted ruin has now become home to precious biotopes.

What will be most impressive to hikers, however, will be the spectacular panoramic view. To the south, the 660-metre high Pannensterzkopf at Kalterherberg looms on the horizon; to the west, the widestretched pastures of Mützenich meet the open green spaces marking the clearings of the Hatzevenn settlement, which emerged here between 1923 and 1929.

Highlights:

• Belgenbach Valley
• Siegfried Line west of Imgenbroich
• Menzerath Graveyard
• Belgenbach Mill