Eco path mining Holzhausen Reinhardswald - Eco Pfad Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald

Signpost and logo of the Eco Path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald

The Eco path mining Holzhausen Reinhardswald leads around Holzhausen, a district of Immenhausen in the Reinhardswald, and looks for the former mining areas at Gahrenberg, Kleeberg and Osterberg and is intended to encourage people to familiarize themselves with the history of mining in the southern Reinhardswald to keep them busy and to keep them from being forgotten. The landscape of the Ahlberg-Mariendorf cultural history eco path is also very attractive, as it alternates between forest and open landscape and offers a wide view of the Fulda valley, especially from the edge of the forest to the northwest of Holzhausen.

Route profile

The Eco Path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald
The starting point of the eco path is at the community center in Holzhausen
  • Length: 17 km. The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald is divided into the three circular hiking trails Gahrenberg-Runde (8.4 km), Kleeberg circuit (4.0 km) and Osterberg-Runde (4.8 km).
  • Mark: The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald is marked with a cart and the typical symbol Mallets and irons marked by mining.
  • Signposting: The signposting of the hiking trail can be described as very good, the hiking sign can be found on trees and wooden pegs.
  • Suitable footwear: Since the hiking route runs over a mixture of paved and unpaved paths, sturdy footwear is recommended depending on the weather.
  • Family suitability: Yes, the Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald is also accessible with smaller children.
  • Mountain bike suitability: Yes, the Gahrenberg circuit can even be ridden with a normal touring bike without any problems.
  • Best season: The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald is accessible all year round.

background

Out and about on the eco path (1)
(Gahrenberg circuit 8.4 km)
Uphill on the coal road towards Gahrenberg

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.

The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald has been strengthening the extensive network of Eco paths since October 2013. In the meantime, the 17 kilometer long eco path has been taken from HWGHV awarded as a "certified hiking trail".

getting there

Out and about on the eco path (2)
(Kleeberg circuit 4.0 km)
Looking back at the long straight north of Holzhausen

By car

From direction kassel it is best to drive on the state road L 3232 Via Simmershausen and Rothwesten to Holzhausen, coming from Hann. Münden on the L 3233 via Wilhelmshausen and from the direction Grebenstein also on the L 3233, however over Immenhausen. The starting point of the Gahrenberg circuit is on 1 Wanderparkplatz Roter Stock, that of Kleeberg-Runde and Osterberg-Runde on 2 Parking lot south of the community center of Holzhausen.

With public transport

Holzhausen is served by the two bus routes 40 (kassel-Holzhausen) and 173 (Immenhausen-Holzhausen) approached. Both lines serve both the 3 Raiffeisen bus stopbus stopbus stopRaiffeisen in the center of Holzhausen, as well as the 4 Kleebergstrasse bus stopbus stopbus stopKleebergstrasse at the edge of the forest Reinhardswaldes. Until a few years ago, the bus stopbus stop Attacked the red stick, of which only the masts can be seen today.

Route description

Out and about on the eco path (3)
(Osterberg circuit 4.8 km)
You walk over meadow paths and gravel paths down to the Osterbach
Rest areas on the eco path
The refuge at the large forest crossing north of the Gahrenberg

The individual circular routes of the Eco Path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald are only marked in one direction, in which they are also described below.

Gahrenberg circuit 8.4 km

View from the Hühnerfeldberg in the Kaufunger Wald to the Gahrenberg (center)

From the Roter Stock hikers' car park, you first walk eastwards on the wide gravel coal road. Of the bus stopbus stopKleebergstrasse (Lines 40, 45 and 173), the Red Stock intersection can be reached via the Heidelbeerweg, which is marked with a white one among other things and runs along small forest paths east of the 3232 state road. Soon the ascent on the Kohlenstraße is mastered and you keep walking straight past the small junction to the Rudolf-Immel-Eiche to the Großer Stern junction. From this the coal road leads briefly downhill to a large clearing north of the Gahrenberg, where you will find a refuge and a memorial stone to Wilfried Mantel (Forstoberamtsrat 1963-1991) and the first station.

  • 1 The Gahrenberg colliery (1842-1970) - Below the second highest elevation of the Reinhardswaldes, the Gahrenberg (472 m), a coal deposit extends approximately 1.8 kilometers in length and 300 to 500 meters in width. This area was first established in 1842 by the paint factory G. E. Habich’s Sons Veckerhagen tapped after already 1575 Johann Pfeffer out kassel had been looking for coal there. The lignite, which was mostly of high quality, was used for heating by the G. E. Habich's Sons company in the early years, while later the free sale of the coal predominated. From 1865 until the open-cast mine was closed, the paint factory also extracted carbon, which was processed into the well-known painters' paint "Kassel brown". In 1970 mining on the northern Gahrenberg finally had to be stopped due to competition from crude oil.

Past the larger refuge you enter the forest again and follow the now paved coal road to the next larger forest crossing. From this one follows a gravel forest path to the south, which initially climbs slightly up the eastern slope of the Gahrenberg. Soon you come to the junction of the "Hessische Blockhütte" refuge with a memorial to Karl Lotze. The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald continues along the forest path, which gently curves around the Gahrenberg to the alum pond.

  • 2 The alum pond - 1575 discovered Johann Pfeffer from kassel on the southwest side of the Gahrenberg good alum earth, also made by Johann Frölich kassel, was dismantled from 1595 to 1603. The sulphurous mineral alum was used, among other things, in medicine and for tanning and pickling. The mining of alum was resumed in 1695, but finally ended in 1720 due to the moderate success. The Holzhäuser chronicler Joh. Chr. Martin reported on the discontinuation in 1788 because "the product did not reimburse the costs".

From the information board at the station "Die Alaunteiche" you only walk a short distance on the gravel forest path downhill to a clearing where the next station can already be found.

  • 3 The Wilhelmshausen colliery (1898 - 1922) - The Wilhelmshausen colliery was established in 1898 when lignite mining was relocated from Osterberg to Gahrenberg. A year later, the coal cable car from Osterberg was extended by around 3.7 kilometers to the southern slope of the Gahrenberg to the Wilhelmshausen colliery. With their help, around 780,000 tons of coal could be mined from 1900 to 1922. The Wegmann company was bought out in 1917 kassel the mine before the area was completely exhausted in 1922 and the stocks were considered depleted.

Shortly after the station "Die Zeche Wilhelmshausen" the marking of the eco path points to the north again and you walk on a gravel forest path similar to an avenue, gently ascending along the western slope of the Gahrenberg. Again and again the forest opens up for a few meters in small forest clearings. If you don't want to go back to the Großer Stern junction, you can alternatively shorten the route back to the Roter Stock hiking car park via the local hiking trails Rundweg 3, H 10 and Rundweg 2 (see map). This also saves you a few meters in altitude. Finally, after 8.4 kilometers downhill, you reach the starting point of the Gahrenberg circuit on the Roten Stock via the Kohlenstraße.

Kleeberg circuit 4.0 km

From the community center in Holzhausen, first follow Kasseler Straße to the north, past the bus stopbus stopsettlement (Lines 40, 45 and 173) to bus stopbus stopKleebergstrasse (Lines 40, 45 and 173), at which you turn west into Kleebergstraße and the first gravel forest path to the right, which is also known as Fairyland cycle path is marked, follows. At the end of the long straight, you reach the Glück Auf leisure facility, which is made up of a large shelter and a water treading facility. Shortly behind the refuge there is the information board for the first station of the Kleeberg circuit at the level of the water treading facility.

  • 4 The Kleeberg colliery (1923-1955) - After the lignite reserves of the Wilhelmshausen colliery south of the Gahrenberg were running low, the first test drillings began in 1919 Kasseler Wegmann am Kleeberg company. Just three years later, a new mine site was set up, which finally went into operation in 1923. For this purpose, the coal cable car from Osterberg was extended to 7.5 kilometers, so that most of the coal transported with it from Kleeberg via Osterberg to Speele station (Lower Saxony) was transported and from there on with the Reichsbahn to kassel. Between 45 and 100 people worked in the Kleeberg colliery, whose work was often made more difficult by faults in the seams and water-bearing sands.

The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald now follows a small path that is also marked with the yellow markings of the local circular routes I3 (Schutzhüttenweg 8.0 km), H7 (Kleebergweg 5.0 km) and H8 (Pathfinder trail 8.5 km) is highlighted. Then follow the next gravel forest road to cross and head south again and finally reach the edge of the forest. The eco path leads over a small unpaved path to a lookout point with a labeled panorama at the Kleeberghütte.

  • 5 Panorama Holzhausen - The board on which the labeled panorama of Holzhausen is shown was made by the Förderverein Holzhausen für Heimat und Nachbarschaft e. V. donated. The coal cable cars are also shown in the photo so that you can better imagine their course. Holzhausen, today a district of Immenhausen, was first mentioned in a document in 1020 as "oppidum Holthusen". The Protestant village church "St. Johannis", which was first mentioned in writing in 1428, was also built during this time. The brown coal deposits near Holzhausen, which gave work to the people living here, occur in two separate trenches.

From the Kleeberghütte you hike on coarser paths along the edge of the forest around a meadow, which theoretically could also be crossed directly (small path). Via another unpaved forest path just behind the edge of the forest Reinhardswaldes you reach the Krummbach, which you cross on stepping stones and follow the next gravel path to the south past the frog pond.

  • 5 The lignite and the mining - The lignite was formerly also called turf and was formed around 65 to 2 million years ago (Tertiary) under pressure and in the absence of air. The brownish-black, mostly loose sedimentary rock is a popular fossil fuel that is mainly used for energy supply. Unfavorable geological conditions meant that the lignite was not extracted in open-cast mining, as is usually the case, but in underground mining. Water and sludge ingress made mining work around Holzhausen very dangerous; the mining area of ​​the Kleeberg colliery was considered to be one of the most difficult civil engineering works in North Hesse.

You continue to follow the gravel path, which soon turns into the Rehwinkel street. Via Glück-Auf-Straße and Kasseler Straße, after four kilometers, you reach the community center of Holzhausen again, where the 4.8 kilometer long Osterberg circuit is directly connected to the Kleeberg circuit.

Osterberg circuit 4.8 km

From the community center in Holzhausen you walk past the voluntary fire brigade and turn into Osterbergstraße behind it. After you have turned right into the second street, which turns into a meadow path, you walk along the pasture fences and slightly downhill past a newer wooden bench.

  • 6 The coal cable cars (1893-1945) - The first coal cable car was built in 1893 for around 130,000 marks and ran as a cable car over a distance of four kilometers from the Osterberg colliery to the Speele station in the Fulda valley. Initially, tar-soaked spruce poles on masonry foundations were used as supports, but these were later replaced by steel supports. When the new Wilhelmshausen colliery south of the Gahrenberg went into operation, the coal cable car was extended by 3.7 kilometers for around 100,000 marks. When it went into operation, the Kleeberg colliery also received a connection, for which purpose the cable car from the Osterberg colliery site was extended by another three kilometers. In 1954/55 the coal cable cars were finally dismantled after they were no longer used after the Second World War and trucks were now taking over the transport of the coal.

Continuing leisurely downhill, the meadow path joins a gravel farm road, which you follow in a southerly direction past a riding stables into a small wood. The Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen now continues on gravel paths down to the Osterbach, which, however, is not yet crossed and instead hikes further south on a meadow path.

  • 7 The mines at Osterberg - Already in 1592 a coal mine in Holzhausen is mentioned in the Osterbachtal, the mining is documented from the year 1611. This colliery was operated from 1617 to 1666 by the Landgraves of Hesse, who used the extracted coal in the ironworks in Knickhagen. As this 1666 after Veckerhagen was relocated, mining on the Osterberg ceased for almost a century and was only resumed from 1756 until it was occupied by the French in 1806. Also the company G. E. Habich's sons from Veckerhagen Mining at Osterberg was only briefly from 1832/33 to 1842, so that from 1860 the miners started their work again for the fourth time. But the mighty Flötz, discovered in 1860, was exhausted again by 1900.

A little west of the edge of the forest Reinhardswaldes follow the meadow path before crossing a meadow and at the Osterbach next to the next station with an information board you will reach Bergmanns Rast.

  • 8 The Osterberg and New Hope collieries (1954 - 1964) - When the coal deposits on Kleeberg ran out in the mid-1950s, new search wells were carried out on Osterberg. The wells were successful north of the Holzhausen union (1860-1900) mining area. The 3.5-meter-thick surface seam that was found was mined from 1954 to 1955 at a depth of nine meters, until an older mine, probably from the years 1832 to 1842, was encountered and work in the Osterberg colliery had to be stopped. In 1954, a twelve-meter-thick seam was opened up as a replacement further south, which was mined from 1955 via the New Hope mine. But after a serious mine fire in 1963, mining on the Osterberg was finally ended a year later.

Passing Bergmanns Rast, cross the Osterbach and step deeper into it via smaller gravel footpaths Reinhardswald where you follow the markings of the eco path over the former route of the chain railway uphill.

  • 9 The way the coal out of the mountain - The coal was extracted from the mountain using the chain railway that used to run in front of this station. For this purpose, the loaded hunts were pulled out of the pit, here the New Hope colliery, with chains, before they were emptied in the coal bunker and ran back again. The miners pushed the Hunten, either loaded or emptied, underground, as no electric drive was available here. Within eight hours, i.e. a normal shift, two miners had to load around twenty hunts, each weighing around 400 kilograms, so that they were paid with sufficient wages.

The Osterberg round of the Eco path Bergbau Holzhausen Reinhardswald climbs steadily on the former chain railway line up the mountain.

  • 10 The pinging - The depressions that can be seen in the entire mining area are known as pinging and were created during the so-called broken pier construction. With this special mining technique, old pits operated at shallow depths were deliberately collapsed after the coal was extracted, which were then referred to as the "old man". Cavities created by the dismantling were automatically filled again and could no longer collapse in an uncontrolled manner. In addition to the pings, some depressions are also clay pits in which the clay was mined above ground. Already in the 12./13. In the 19th century there was already a known pottery workshop in Holzhausen; the heyday of clay handicrafts in the village dates back to the 18th century.

Shortly after the Pingen station, the ascent is done. From the hill, a path leads down to the former entrance of the Neue Hope colliery, where there is now a photo of several miners and a bench (see photos). You walk down a gravel forest path back into the Osterbachtal, in which the Eco path crosses the Osterbach together with the 3223 state road. A little later there is a steep ascent over a meadow path in a westerly direction up to the Gerhard Holten hut. Once this has been reached, you continue on the asphalted old Wilhelmshäuser Straße past the stone cross (atonement cross) and a small memorial stone with a plaque commemorating the English jet fighter who crashed here on October 19, 1954, whose pilot died to save Holzhausen. Shortly afterwards Holzhausen is reached again; at the restaurant and hotel "To the old forester's house"turn into Kasseler Straße and walk past the bus stopbus stopcenter and Raiffeisen (Lines 40, 45 and 173) back to the community center Holzhausen, at which you arrive again after 4.8 kilometers. If you want, you can make a detour to the nearby Evangelical Church of St. Johannis at the end of the hike.

trips

Soap box race in Holzhausen

For more than 20 years, one of the most popular soapbox races took place in Holzhausen every year on Ascension Day Germany instead of. It was organized by the Rasender Deer until 2012, who wanted to give up the organization. But since there was unfortunately no new organizer, the soap box race had to be stopped. It is unclear whether there will be soap box races in Holzhausen again in the future. More information can be found in the HNA article "That was the last soap box race in Holzhausen" dated May 18, 2012.

Ahlberg-Mariendorf cultural history eco path

The Ahlberg-Mariendorf cultural history eco path explores the 2000-year history of settlement around the Ahlberg over a length of 4.5 kilometers. Stations are the Steigerhaus, the mining on the Ahlberg, the clay pits and the brickworks, ring wall and waiting, the deserted Reinersen, the Hutestein, as well as the Landwehr and Wildgraben. The Ahlberg-Mariendorf cultural history eco path can be reached via the state roads L 3233 and L 3386, as well as with the bus routes 173 and 171 with switch to Immenhausen.

Eco path cultural history Knickhagen-Wilhelmshausen

The Knickhagen-Wilhelmshausen cultural history eco path covers a period of more than 3,000 years of cultural and regional history. Stops on the 7.5 kilometer long circular route are, for example, several mills, the Marienbasilika, Knickhagen Castle and the battle of Lutterberg. The eco path Kulturgeschichte Knickhagen-Wilhelmshausen can be reached from Holzhausen by public transport via Fuldatal (lines 40 and 42), by car across the L 3233 and K 40 and on foot or by bike via the Fairyland cycle path.

Eco path Simmershausen settlement history

The Simmershausen settlement history eco path enables you to travel back in time from the Neolithic to the 20th century. Stops on the 6.5 km long route are the Protestant church, the historic smithy, the Helleweg, the Stone Age camp, the Kreuzstein, the Neolithic settlement and the waterworks. The circular hiking trail can be reached via the L 3232 and with the bus routes 40 and 45.

Web links

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