Naturpark Südeifel hiking trail no. 21 - Plutscheid
Plütscheid
If the hiking trails 19 and 20 (both easy) are not enough or if they have whetted your appetite for "more", then the 21er is recommended. The circular route is designed as a tight half-day tour. Inexperienced users should plan a day with numerous worthwhile breaks. The tour is very varied and offers a close-to-nature experience, especially along the Prümtal.
It leads through the Ehlenz Valley up into the mighty Tissue Forest with a rich stock of beech, oak and spruce trees.
After crossing the L 12, the path leads down the valley to the Staudenhof. The "abandoned village" - in the 19th century with 18 hectares the smallest community in Germany - had around 1821 a proud 128 inhabitants. In the non-working time, the residents earned their bread as ore suppliers for what was then the largest ironworks in the southern Eifel in Merkeshausen. Until 1981, only one family lived in the hamlet of Staudenhof, which, before the car took over, flourished and prospered, and even had its own school and teacher. Today the old school is the only habitable house in this secluded place. From the Staudenhof, it then goes on narrow hiking trails along the Prüm through the "jungle" in the direction of Mauelermühle and then steadily uphill to Atzseifen and finally to the starting point in Plütscheid.
Highlights along the way:
- Beautiful forest passages
- Wildly romantic Prümtal