Discover Welleringhausen

Welleringhausen combines a geologically distinctive landscape with short and medium-length hiking experiences, historic traces and a village church that is open to visitors. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Welleringhausen, the village offers opportunities for a wide variety of holiday activities: you can discover volcanic rocks and rare plants, follow a history trail or explore the local and mining history.

The landscape around Grotenberg and the Volcano Trail

On the southern slope of Grotenberg, ten hectares of nutrient-poor acidic grassland have been preserved. They are characteristic of impoverished diabase sites on the eastern edge of the Sauerland uplands and give the landscape a distinctive geological and botanical character. The volcanic rocks in the area are known as the “Welleringhausen volcaniclastic rocks”; they are particularly well exposed at Grotenberg and Kuthenberg.

One specific way to explore this landscape is the 6.76 km Welleringhausen Volcano Trail. The easy circular hiking trail is located in the Diemelsee Nature Park and runs along the foot of the long-extinct Grotenberg volcano. Along the way, you can get to know typical plants such as maiden pink, field thyme and stonecrop. The route length helps you plan a suitable part of the day without having to derive additional walking times from the route description.

Hiking with a historical focus

The 6.41 km Welleringhausen History Trail is a circular hiking trail of moderate difficulty. Information boards along the trail provide information about geological features and local history. This also includes the history of a former Jewish settlement that became a deserted settlement. Those who want to include not only the landscape but also the region’s past in their trip will find a different focus here than on the Volcano Trail.

Further historic traces can be found in the surrounding landscape. The deserted settlement of Wieferinghausen can still be identified by the reliefs of former paths and building sites. In the Ohl area on the northern slope of Hülsenberg, gold was mined between the 13th and 15th centuries. Today, numerous depressions in the terrain can be seen there as remnants of gold prospecting pits; there were also horizontal adits driven into the mountain. On Kuthenberg, collapsed adit entrances on the slopes and prospecting pits on the ridge are reminders of the former gold and ore mining. There is also a large diabase quarry there.

Church, apple avenue and choice of trails

The Abraham Church in Welleringhausen is open to visitors from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It can therefore be included in an itinerary that combines nature and cultural themes. The Uplandsteig trail passes Grotenberg. From Welleringhausen, you can reach the B 251 after 250 m on the district road and then take a right turn to the south-western corner of the nature reserve.

Another distinctive feature is the Welleringhausen apple avenue. There, old apple and pear trees preserve rare varieties that can still withstand the harsh climate of the Upland mountains today. This aspect complements the geological and historical themes with an observation of the regional landscape.

Welleringhausen as a starting point for planning your holiday

When choosing a holiday apartment or holiday home, you can tailor your accommodation search to the experiences that are most important for your trip. For nature-focused days, the Volcano Trail, the nutrient-poor grassland around Grotenberg and the volcaniclastic rocks are good options. Those who prefer historical connections can include the History Trail, the deserted settlements and traces of former mining in their plans. The opening hours of the Abraham Church provide a clear time frame for an additional cultural visit.

You can also compare the neighbouring villages as you continue your search: Schwalefeld, Rattlar, Bömighausen, Usseln, Eimelrod and Neerdar offer further regional points of reference. Welleringhausen itself is particularly interesting if you want to combine nature, geology, local history and historic traces in the landscape in a single trip.

For the overarching travel overview: Willingen.