A signposted circular trail begins and ends in the town centre, the Hasselbach Loop starts and ends at the Solchbachtal car park, while the Bachtäler High-Altitude Route begins with a stage to Simonskall. Zweifall therefore offers different kinds of hikes. When planning, the main thing is to decide whether you want a circular route or a trail with a different stage destination.
Hikes with Different Profiles
The signposted circular hiking trail created by IG Unser Dorf Zweifall is 15.5 km long. It begins and ends in the town centre, and shorter sections of 3 km or more are possible. The ascent and descent are each 255 metres, and the route runs mainly along wide forest tracks. This lets you choose between a shorter section and the full circular route around the town.
The Hasselbach Loop is rated as moderate and is 13.1 km long. Its starting point and destination are the Solchbachtal car park at 52222 Stolberg-Zweifall. Another option is the Bachtäler High-Altitude Route: it begins in Zweifall, and its first stage runs 15.5 km to Simonskall. It initially follows the Hasselbach and Gieschetbach streams. Although the circular route and the stage are the same length, they differ in where they begin and where they lead.
Starting Points and Directions
The IG Unser Dorf Zweifall circular hiking trail begins at the Old Schoolyard, opposite the Catholic church, at Döllscheidter Straße 2. Parking is available without time restrictions at the entrance to Zweifall from the direction of Vicht. The public transport stop is called Zweifall Kirche. When choosing a starting point, you can compare these details for the circular route with the separate starting points of the Hasselbach Loop and the Bachtäler High-Altitude Route.
Water and Wood in the Town’s History
Zweifall developed because of its favourable location at the confluence of the Vicht and Hasselbach. Water also played a role in work in the valley: the first sawmills were initially powered by water, and later by steam and electricity. Along Klapperweg, mill races, ponds and old weirs beside the Vicht bear witness to how water became the basis for crafts and early businesses, and how it was controlled, divided and channelled.
From the 16th century onwards, numerous charcoal-burning sites were established around Zweifall. Dark, round depressions in the forest floor remain as visible traces. On the edge of town are also the remains of the former Junkershammer, a hammer forge from the 17th century powered by the Vicht. The well-preserved Reitwerke ironworks also belong to the local history of crafts; they can be visited on a guided hike.
Church, Sawmill and Forest
The Protestant church in Zweifall was built in 1683/84 and is one of the region’s oldest purpose-built Lutheran churches. The keystone of the arch above the portal bears the inscription “The word of God endures forever.” This makes the church interesting for a specific architectural detail: the sentence is not just a dedication but part of the portal area.
At the Zweifall Museum Sawmill, the saw frame dates from 1934; it was built in Aue, Saxony. The exhibition includes historic tools for harvesting timber, as well as equipment for measuring and marking wood. Pictures show how timber transport developed from using horses to using trucks. A media station brings together eight short films, including ones about saw-frame technology, forestry work in the past and today, forest functions and charcoal burning.
Other features of the town include a forest educational trail and a 34 m-long bench described as the longest bench in the world. It was made from a single Douglas fir trunk. Visitors interested in the connection between forests, woodworking and regional history will find several topics to explore in Zweifall alongside the hiking routes.
Discover more destinations: Venwegen.
Return to the main travel overview: Stolberg.
