Eco path archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein - Eco Pfad Archäologie Altenburg und Falkenstein

Signpost and logo of the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein

The Eco path archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein connects the prehistoric Altenburg castle with the Romanesque Falkenstein castle. It should encourage you to deal with the history of the two hilltop castles and to save them from being forgotten. The eco path mostly leads together with the Habichtswaldsteig, an 85 km long premium hiking trail through the Habichtswald Nature Park, on paved and unpaved forest paths.

Altenburg hiking car park; Access road from Niedenstein

Route profile

The eco path archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein
Small information board of the eco path
  • Length: 5 km. If you don't want to hike back from the Falkenstein castle ruins via Altenburg, you can alternatively walk on various hiking trails to Elmshagen (2 km) or Breitenbach (4 km).
  • Mark: The eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein is marked with a representation of the Altenburg.
  • Signposting: The signposting of the hiking trail can be described as good, the hiking sign can be found on separate wooden signs. In addition, the markings of other hiking routes offer orientation.
  • Suitable footwear: Since the eco path also leads over unpaved and natural paths, you should use sturdy footwear in appropriate weather conditions.
  • Family suitability: Yes, the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein is also accessible with smaller children. You should allow more time for the steep climb up to Altenburg.
  • Mountain bike suitability: Yes, the hiking route is usually accessible with mountain bikes.
  • Best season: The eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein should preferably be used in dry weather conditions.

background

Out and about on the eco path (1)
Beginning of the ascent up to Altenburg, entry board at the parking lot

The eco paths in North Hesse should encourage you to deal with the varied and interesting history of the region. A total of 32 eco paths have been set up in the Kassel district and two in the Schwalm-Eder district.

In June 2007, the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein joined the extensive network of Eco paths North Hesse added. The hiking route was meanwhile from HWGHV awarded as a "certified hiking trail".

getting there

View from the Eco path and Habichtswaldsteig to Niedenstein and Chattengau
Out and about on the eco path (2)
The northern part of the circular route on the Altenburg plateau

By car

The town Niedenstein is across the state road L 3219 (kassel-Baunatal-Niedenstein) and the district roads K 25 and K 85 (Breitenbach-Elmshagen-Niedenstein) to reach. The next motorway junctions are the Symbol: AS 68 kassel-Bad Wilhelmshöhe the A44 (kassel-Dortmund), as well as the Symbol: AS 8 Baunatal-Nord and the Symbol: AS 13 Gudensberg the A49 (kassel-Schwalmstadt). The starting point is 1 Altenburg hiking car park, accessible via an access road from Niedenstein out.

With public transport

The next bus stop from the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein is in Niedenstein, a good 1.3 kilometers from the Altenburg hiking car park. At the 2 bus stopbus stopbridge The bus routes operate Monday through Friday 54 to Gudensberg and Baunatal (Connection to the tram after kassel) and 401 to Fritzlar.

Route description

Out and about on the eco path (3)
Unpaved forest path on the Falkensteiner saddle
Plan of the Altenburg (formerly to be found in the refuge)
Finds from the Altenburg (no longer existing display board)
Remnants of the wall of the Falkenstein castle ruins
North view from the Falkenstein castle ruins to Martinhagen

The eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein is marked in both directions. While the circular route around the Altenburg is 3.3 km long, the branch route to the Falkenstein castle ruins is 1.7 km long. For a detailed hiking map, please simply click on the POIs that will immediately direct you to the described position. The start of the eco path is at the Altenburg hiking car park.

Altenburg circular route: From the Altenburg hiking car park, you walk straight up the steep, graveled forest path up the southern slope of the Altenburg. Shortly after a prominent, larger dead tree, you reach the first station of the eco path.

  • The 1 Wall spring archaeological investigations were carried out on the inner edge of the outer wall in 1912/1913. Archaeological finds indicate that the source was enclosed in the Middle Ages or early modern times; there was no evidence of an Iron Age use. Since 1965, the spring water has been diverted to the forest garden in the south, which was operated until 1999 and was used to raise young trees. See also the information board of the there Habichtswald Nature Park (not part of the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein).

You continue to follow the gravel path with a steady gain in altitude; From the left comes the Herkulesweg (X7) from the Engels Ruh rest area up the slope, which from now on is identical to the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein and the Habichtswaldsteig to the Falkenstein castle ruins.

  • 2 Mass find on the "Goldpfad" - Between 1987 and 1990 over 220 iron objects were discovered on the southern slope of the Altenburg, some of which were intentionally destroyed weapons. The mass find, which was made during the entire settlement period (2nd - 1st century BC), is likely to be sacrifices or offerings to one or more deities. Another mass find from the 16th century with weapon parts and golden coins gave the "Goldpfad" its name.

A few meters behind the Massenfund station on the "Goldpfad", the ascent is done for now and the Altenburg plateau is reached. On the edge of this one can now walk around the Altenburg on narrow, mostly graveled forest roads without any further major ascents or descents. Several markings on the hiking routes here show the way.

  • 3 The Neolithic settlement of Altenburg - Through new research from 1990 it was found out that the Altenburg was settled at the time of the Michelsberg culture (4200 - 3500 BC). Archaeological finds from the years 1905 to 1913, such as typical ceramics and stone utensils, have not been assigned to the Neolithic for a long time. To this day it is also unclear whether part of the existing fortification can be dated Neolithic or whether the walls of the Latène period are partly based on older ones. Remnants of plants and bones further indicate the types of grain cultivated at the time and increased wild horse hunting. Further hill settlements of the Michelsberg culture in North Hesse are for example the Hohe Dörnberg at Zierenberg (Eco path archeology Dörnberg) and the Büraberg Fritzlar, in addition there are earthworks as in Calden (Eco path archeology Calden) and other lowland settlements about which little is known until now.

In the meantime, the forest path used has alley-like sections and becomes narrower, but is mostly in good condition.

  • 4 The Iron Age settlement - On the plateau of the Altenburg, also known as the "Green Plate", and the Falkensteiner Saddle, remains of residential buildings could be detected, the posts of which showed up as dark discoloration in the ground. Pits for disposal of waste, fireplaces and stoves as well as paths between the houses could also be reconstructed. It has not yet been possible to find out how many houses there were on the Altenburg and how many people lived in them. However, finds suggest craft activities, leather processing and agriculture. The residents ate their food, for example, on grain, nuts and meat from pork or beef.

Between the stations of the Iron Age settlement and the water basin, you walk past a viewpoint with a bench that is partly overgrown. The view goes over Niedenstein and Ermetheis to the bottom of the horizon.

  • 5 Water basin - During the excavations between 1905 and 1913, an artificially created water basin was uncovered here. A 5 x 3 m wooden box was found at a depth of 1.75 m, which was well preserved due to the high level of moisture in the soil. The floor of the water basin was laid out with oak planks, which were also used to trim the strong corner posts.

At the water basin station, the forest path, which is usually easy to walk, can be a bit muddy even in dry weather. But it is only a short stretch of a few meters that happened quickly.

  • 6 Iron ore - A blacksmith's workshop, from which an anvil, a file and iron bars were found, also belonged to the settlement on the Altenburg. The iron for making rings, knives and kettle hooks, for example, was probably obtained by the blacksmith from an ore deposit in the vicinity Bad Emstal-Sand, about 1.5 km from the Altenburg. It is assumed that the ores were not smelted on the Altenburg plateau due to the high risk of fire. Your exact location is currently unknown.

It is only a stone's throw from the Eisenerz station to the wooden refuge on the Altenburg, where selected finds are displayed on boards. There is also a signpost in the refuge of the Habichtswald Nature Park integrated. Another uncovered group of tables can be found behind the refuge.

  • 7 Selected finds - On two display boards, including one of the Eco Path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein, several images of selected finds from the Altenburg are shown, including gold coins, jewelry, horse harness, bowls, mugs and decorated shards.

From the Altenburg refuge, the forest path used is wider and better paved again, as it appears to be used more often. Downhill it now goes down to the Falkensteiner saddle.

  • 8 Ramparts and gates - Several fortifications, so-called walls of the Altenburg, can be seen at the ramparts and gates station. There was probably a gate at this point in the late Iron Age (2nd - 1st century BC). A few meters further there is another passage; it is assumed that both were used consecutively and not at the same time. The walls, consisting of inner wall, Vorwall I and Vorwall II, as well as outer wall (the latter preserved over a length of 2.5 km south-east below the Altenburg), are now only available as an embankment, but were formerly walls made of basalt stones or wood-earth -Constructions. Due to the discovery of Neolithic ceramics in one of the ramparts, it is assumed that these were already built in the Michelsberg culture (4200-3500 BC).

Shortly before the Falkensteiner Sattel, the branch path of the Eco path branches off to the Falkenstein castle ruins. See the description three paragraphs below. The circular route around the Altenburg now leads along somewhat poorly paved forest paths on the north and west side of the plateau until the junction to the Tonlager und Becken station is reached. This is a bit in the "nowhere" off the beaten path and can only be reached if you meander through the undergrowth on your own.

  • 9 Tonlager and Cymbals - At the current location of the clay storage and basin station on the Altenburg plateau, excavations at the beginning of the 20th century found several wooden structures and the so-called clay storage. However, it is not certain whether sound was actually degraded here. Furthermore, rectangular and trapezoidal wood-paneled pits with an average size of 5 x 7 m and a depth of about 1.70 m, so-called basins, as well as wooden devices and boards, a wooden bowl and a door wing were found. While one of the basins dates back to 193 BC. BC, the beginning of the Iron Age settlement, the oak wood of the door leaf was in 101 BC. Processed.

From the junction to the Tonlager und Becken station, it is not far via a gravel forest path to the junction from the Altenburg plateau down to the Altenburg hiking car park, which you already know from the way there.

Falkenstein branch route: On unpaved and paved forest paths, you follow the countless markings of the various hiking trails across the Falkensteiner Sattel. Finally, you hike over a narrow forest path, alternatively an old forest path - both variants are marked - up the mountain to a few meters below the Falkenstein castle ruins, where there is already an information board of the Habichtswaldsteiges is located. A somewhat steeper cul-de-sac takes you to the summit of the Falkenstein, from which you also have a beautiful view in different directions.

  • 10 Falkenstein Castle - From the castle only a piece of the wall from the multi-storey hall including the remains of a chimney and a column as well as part of the fortification wall and a barely visible ditch system are preserved. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1346. At that time, however, it was probably already destroyed because the knights Hundt v. Kirchberg and v. Holzhausen in the document of Landgrave Heinrich II. Von Hesse were commissioned to rebuild the castle. In 1387 besieged and destroyed troops of the Bishop of Mainz the castle, which changed hands several times in the following centuries and was probably finally destroyed by Tilly's troops in the Thirty Years' War. The ruin is in a stitch Niedenstein recognizable by Wilhelm Dillich from 1605; In a description from 1778, upright remains of the wall with the coat of arms of the Knights Hundt are mentioned. The coats of arms and a draw well that was also mentioned are no longer available today.

trips

View from the Hessenturm to Niedenstein

Hessenturm

After a hike on the eco path Archeology Altenburg and Falkenstein, a detour to the Hessenturm is recommended. The observation tower on the Niedensteiner Kopf, inaugurated in 1931, is accessible from Easter to October and is hosted on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. by the Hessisch Waldeckischer Gebirgs- und Heimatverein Niedenstein. From the foot of the mountain on the Kasseler path or Rehwiesenweg it is about 600 meters easy to the observation tower, from the town hall Niedenstein am Obertor about 1.2 kilometers. From the Hessenturm the view falls over the in good weather Habichtswald Nature Park away to the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park.

Eco path cultural history Kirchberg

The Eco Path Cultural History Kirchberg deals with some of the more than 400 field names around Kirchberg that once served the population for everyday orientation. It is divided into the circular hiking trails A Weißenthalsmühle (7 km) and B Wartberg and Dorf (4 km), both of which start in Kirchberg and are eleven kilometers long. By public transport, the Eco path Kulturgeschichte Kirchberg is via the bus routes 54 and 401 to reach, as well as by car on the country roads L 3219 and L 3220 and the county road K 79.

Eco path peace education Bad Emstal

The Eco path peace education Bad Emstal connects the southern districts of the municipality over a length of seven or ten kilometers Bad Emstal. Stations are the war cemetery Bad Emstal, the former synagogue and Jewish community of Riede, the UNRRA / IRO cemetery / Korrigenden and the state hospital Merxhausen during National Socialism. The Eco Path Peace Education Bad Emstal is from Niedenstein from by car on the country roads L 3219 and L 3220 reachable.

Eco path for the cultural history of the Großenritte

The Eco path for the cultural history of the Großenritte provides information on a route length of six kilometers about the settlement history of Großenritte, a district of Baunatal. Stops along the route are the train station, the Hünstein, the Kreuzkirche, the Langenbergkampfbahn, the Burgberg with quarry, as well as the Heiligenborn and the Pfaffeiche. Accessible from Niedenstein across the state road L 3219 or with the Bus route 54.

Web links

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