Raiffeisen Round

Brief description

The Raiffeisen tour takes you along idyllic paths through small towns where the cooperative founder F.W. Raiffeisen was able to implement many of his ideas as mayor around 1850. You will have the opportunity to explore these historic places and experience the traces of Raiffeisen's work up close.

Description

We start in Flammersfeld, where the home and office building of the former mayor F.W. Raiffeisen (Raiffeisenstraße 11) still stands today. From here, the route leads through the beautiful landscape of the Rhine-Westerwald Nature Park and many small villages where F.W. Raiffeisen (1818-1888) campaigned for the poor rural population and came up with the idea of cooperatives.

An old mill on the Mehrbach, Ehrenstein Monastery and Lahr Castle line our cycle route, which mainly takes us along asphalt roads. In the Wiedtal valley, we are allowed to use a former railroad line and even cycle through the narrow tunnel in Peterslahr. Otherwise, we have to put up with climbs here and there, but the beautiful views make it worthwhile.

The "Lahrer Herrlichkeit" is definitely worth its name and maybe the farm cheese dairy is open and you can take a piece of Westerwald delicacy home with you.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Approach

From 57610 Altenkirchen or from the west via the A3 (Neuwied exit) via the B 256 to Flammersfeld.

Parking

free parking lot "Am Kirmesplatz" in 57632 Flammersfeld, or also at the community center Flammersfeld, Rheinstraße 44

Directions

We start in Flammersfeld, where the residential and official building of the former mayor F.W. Raiffeisen (Raiffeisenstraße 11) still stands today. It has been converted into a small museum and can be visited. From the town hall, however, the tour first takes us north through the district of Ahlbach (mentioned in documents as early as 1432, with a mill building on the Ahlbach). Kescheid is similarly old, where we can also still find a listed farmstead with a half-timbered house. We now descend into the Mehrbach valley, past the Kapaunsmühle mill. This mill was in operation from around 1700 to 1964.

Schöneberg also has a long history. Around 1660, it was the largest village in the parish of Ehrenstein. The districts called "neighborhoods", in which the inhabitants were obliged to help each other, played a special role. After the road from Flammersfeld to Asbach was built in 1854 on the initiative of Raiffeisen, Schöneberg developed into a road village.

Right at the start of the village, we turn left towards Heide and on to Altenburg. The name Altenburg is derived from a prehistoric fortress to the south-east of the village, also known as "Boddems Nück", the remains of which are still visible today.

At the Kaltehöhe farm, the route now descends into the Wiedtal valley and past the Ehrenstein monastery, whose history dates back to the 15th century. Franciscan nuns have been living here again since 2008 and have converted the monastery building into a conference center with accommodation.

We cross the Wied and head towards Oberlahr. Most of our route now runs along a former railroad line (Altenkirchen - Linz) whose bridges were destroyed in the Second World War, so the line was abandoned. At the railroad tunnel in Peterslahr, we are reminded particularly well of this former railway line.

We pass through the "Lahrer Herrlichkeit" area (Peterslahr - Burglahr - Oberlahr) and pass the Alvenslebenstollen. A 1.5 km long water drainage tunnel for the former ore mine "Grube Louise". It took almost 30 years to build this dead-straight tunnel, which was constructed during the creative period of F.W. Raiffeisen to improve the utilization of the adjacent ore mines.

F.W. Raiffeisen promoted ore mining wherever possible, but also ensured that compensation was paid for any damage to the forest.

Almost opposite the Alvenslebenstollen we see Lahr Castle. It is well worth a short detour, as the village also has historic buildings and the small cheese dairy in Heinrichshof.

In Oberlahr, the route leads us out of the village through a wonderful hollow path and back up to Flammersfeld. At the entrance to Flammersfeld, there is an idyllic little rest area between the trees with a water treading facility to the right of the cycle path. Here we can reflect on the tour in peace before setting off on our way home from Flammersfeld.

Equipment

You should take a snack and a drink with you. There are nice rest stops along the route where you can enjoy a picnic.

Tips

Be sure to stop by the authentic Raiffeisenhaus. It is open every first Sunday of the month from 3 to 4 pm. You can make an appointment for group tours on request.

Information about the "Raiffeisenhaus" museum at www.vg-ak-ff.de

Destination

57632 Flammersfeld

Starting Point

57632 Flammersfeld