Schiffweiler offers opportunities to experience nature and explore mining history. Options range from the educational trail on Strietberg to the Itzenplitz cultural landscape and the historical and digital insights at the Reden visitor site. When choosing your excursions, factors to consider include different trail lengths, activities and ways of presenting history.
Nature Stops on Strietberg
The nature trail on Strietberg is a 2.3-kilometre educational trail with around 30 stops focusing on the environment and nature. Information boards explain the topics along the route, and seating provides places to take a break. The trail runs on asphalt and is suitable for walking year-round. Both the start and finish are at the lower end of Bauernstraße. This clearly defines the trail’s length as well as its starting and finishing area. Those who want to explore nature topics at individual stops will find a different focus here from that of trails centred on mining history.
Itzenplitz: Cultural Landscape and Outdoor Activities
The Itzenplitz recreation area covers 667 hectares of cultural landscape created and shaped by coal mining. The Itzenplitzer Weiher, with its historic pump house, is the main landmark. The pump house is considered a notable part of Saarland’s heritage. The size of the area and this specific landmark offer two distinct ways to experience the landscape: the wider cultural landscape and a single historic site.
Activities in the recreation area include hiking, Nordic walking, cycling, horse riding and fishing. There are four Nordic walking routes, ranging from 5.5 to 11 kilometres. This range lets you choose a route according to its stated distance. Alongside the other activities listed, Itzenplitz offers a variety of ways to spend time outdoors, so not every excursion has to be the same kind of experience.
Mining History on the Trails and at the Site
The Itzenplitzer Pingen-Pfad is the longest of the three Reden mining trails. It passes historic mining hollows. These funnel-shaped depressions bear witness to early mining and make visible landforms a starting point for exploring the area’s history. QR codes along the trail provide background information, historic photographs and mining anecdotes. The accompanying audio content is available in standard German or the Saarland dialect.
Other surviving traces can be found in Schiffweiler: the former Marcel Bertrand shafts are represented by a retaining wall and a spoil heap.
Exhibitions and Digital Insights at the Reden Visitor Site
The colliery building at the Reden visitor site hosts exhibitions by the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments on the history of settlement in Saarland. Check the exhibition programme before your trip if you plan to focus on this. A digital tour offers audio insights into the past and the historical significance of the site at ten selected locations via QR code. It runs from the Große Werkstatt through the former mine site to GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium; you can join at any stop. As digital offerings and guided tours of the site may change, it is advisable to check the latest information before your visit.
The Reden visitor site also has a four-kilometre leisure and skating trail. Check the trail conditions before setting out. Redener Tafelberg can be climbed by e-bike or mountain bike. Reden therefore offers different kinds of activities side by side: a digital history tour, a leisure and skating trail, and a cycling climb.
Comparing Trail Lengths
For planning purposes, some of the stated distances can be compared directly: 2.3 kilometres on the nature trail on Strietberg, four kilometres on the leisure and skating trail at the Reden visitor site, and 5.5 to 11 kilometres on the Nordic walking routes in Itzenplitz. These are different trails and activities. First choose the kind of experience you want, then use the relevant distance as a guide when planning your excursion.
Discover more destinations: Eppelborn, Illingen, Neunkirchen, Ottweiler, Merchweiler.
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