Several travel themes define Sassen: a lookout tower with climbing features, the history of St. Anthony’s Chapel and themed trails between Sassen and the neighboring villages. This lets you get to know the place through its landscape, settlement pattern or stories about local history.
Views and climbing features at Eifel-Guck
The Eifel-Guck observation tower offers a 360-degree view across the Vulkaneifel and toward Hochkelberg. Climbing features, a climbing ship, suspension bridges and low rope elements are located at or beside the tower. A path also leads toward the Holzberg treehouse. Panoramic views and activity-based features offer different focal points here. Check local access options before setting out.
Themed trails between Sassen and the neighboring villages
The “Spuren der Kamillen-Traud” (Traud’s Chamomile Trail) adventure loop runs between the neighboring villages of Kolverath and Sassen and through their respective districts. Seven analog stations present Traud’s life story. The route is one of the themed circular hikes on the Geschichtsstraße (History Trail). The route and its stations thus connect both villages with a story that unfolds across several stops.
“Grenze, Galgen und Geschichte” (Border, Gallows and History) also includes Sassen as a route location; in Sassen, this route meets “Geheimnis Natur und Leben” (The Mystery of Nature and Life). The Old Quarry is one of the points of interest in the wider route area. On the way from Sassen toward Gunderath, orchards are also a point of interest; their appearance can vary depending on the season. As trail conditions can change, check them before setting out.
Chapel and settlement pattern
St. Anthony’s Chapel dates from 1750 and continues to be used as a filial chapel of the parish of Uess. Visiting opportunities may vary. Sassen has a distinctive linear-village character, while a group-style settlement pattern also exists around the chapel. The chapel’s age and continued use thus add its religious history to the picture of the village’s layout.
The Vulkaneifel as a broader setting
Beyond Sassen, the Vulkaneifel offers a regional perspective on the volcanic landscape. To date, 77 maars have been identified in the Vulkaneifel. In addition, 350 eruption centers have been counted, about 270 of them from the more recent phase. The Ulmen Maar marks the most recent volcanic eruption in the Vulkaneifel, which took place about 10,900 years ago. Maars, eruption centers and this point in time offer different perspectives on the region’s geology.
The Eifel Volcano Museum in Daun features three-dimensional landscape models of cinder cones, maars and mineral springs, as well as exhibits on West Eifel volcanism. The Strohn Volcano House is an interactive museum; its geological exhibits include a lava fissure wall about 30,000 years old, around six meters long and four meters high. The Natural History Museum in Gerolstein is considered the largest and oldest geo-museum in the Eifel. Across three floors, it displays stone evidence from the region’s geological history. The exhibitions focus on different subjects, from landscape models to a large-scale lava formation and stone evidence of geological history.
The Vulkaneifel’s hiking options also vary in length and format. The Vulkaneifel Trails lead to scenic highlights on both sides of the Eifelsteig; they are marked and signposted and offer half-day hikes, day hikes and multi-day hikes. The eleventh stage of the Eifelsteig runs from Daun to Manderscheid and is 23.4 kilometers long. The Vulcano Trail is a 26.2-kilometer circular route east of Schalkenmehren. These offer different route formats: a stage between two places and a circular route with a stated total distance.
Discover more destinations: Berenbach, Lirstal, Retterath, Uersfeld, Oberelz, Drees, Nitz, Borler.
Return to the main travel overview: Kelberg.
