Heilenbecke Reservoir is considered the oldest reservoir in South Westphalia; Kluterthöhle is the Ruhr region’s only National Natural Monument. These two special places show different sides of Ennepetal: its landscape and geological heritage, as well as its history of work and technology. When planning your visit, you can decide whether cave tours and views or historic production and craftsmanship should shape your stay.
Landscape, Cave and Views
At Kluterthöhle, guided tours are offered through some of its 380 passages. These include standard tours as well as crawling and crouching tours. The tours do not cover all the passages indiscriminately, but instead take you through selected parts of the cave. If you are planning a visit, check the current schedule in advance.
The Hohenstein viewing platform offers a different perspective on the landscape. Built on a rocky slope, it affords views of the Ennepe Valley and the Ahlhausen estate. Around Heilenbecke Reservoir, by contrast, the focus is on the water: its significance lies not only in its location, but also in its established distinction as the oldest reservoir in South Westphalia.
Industrial History and Blacksmithing
The brick building housing the Ennepetal Industrial Museum was originally built in 1890 for the production of wood screws. From 1951 to 2005, it was used as an iron foundry. Its history can also be seen in the collection, which includes castings related to the company’s history, models, tools and photographs from the foundry era. A striking architectural feature is the 60 cast-iron columns supporting the ceilings.
The museum aims to present technology through hands-on activities, particularly casting and forging. Other topics include the region’s mining history and machining processes. The focus is therefore on both individual manufacturing methods and the industrial past. These topics give your visit a different focus from the cave and landscape experiences.
At Krenzer Hammer, blacksmithing is not just a thing of the past: the historic tool factory in the Ennepe Valley is Ennepetal’s last remaining operating open-die forge. It makes specialist tools for a range of professions. Visits and guided tours about blacksmithing are available for schools and other interested visitors; under supervision, participants can make a small forged piece. As no current schedule is provided, it is advisable to check visit and tour times in advance.
Hiking Routes and Wildlife Watching
The “Sun, Forest and Water” hiking route starts at Klutertbad and passes through Hülsenbecker Valley, Dorn, Niederhülsenbecke, the Uhlenbart car park and Heilenbecke Reservoir before reaching Niederklütingen, Filde, Herminghausen, Rüggeberg and Willringhausen. It then runs back through Hülsenbecker Valley to Klutertbad. The stated walking time is approximately six hours.
The Craftsmen’s Trail is also described as taking approximately six hours to walk, but follows a different route: from Voerde, it passes the forest nature trail, Bilsteiner Kopf, the Ennepe Valley, Krenzer Hammer, Finkenberger Mill, Hasenkehrmühle country bakery and Hasper Reservoir before returning to Voerde. The similar estimated times make the two routes easy to compare; the places they pass and their points of interest differ considerably.
For another activity, head to Hülsenbecker Valley, where you can observe animals in wildlife enclosures, aviaries and the ponds. They include ducks, goats, donkeys, fallow deer, guinea pigs and raccoons; many other animals are represented as well. This lets you choose between caves, industrial heritage, longer hikes and wildlife watching according to the topics that interest you most in Ennepetal.
Discover more destinations: Witten, Gevelsberg, Schwelm, Wetter, Herdecke, Breckerfeld, Sprockhövel, Hattingen.
Back to the main travel overview: Ennepe-Ruhr District.
