Hürth

Hiking the Otto-Maigler Loop

The Otto-Maigler Loop is an option for hiking and walking at any time of year. Its length of 10.8 km gives you a concrete reference point if you want to include a longer route in your day’s plans. The name of the loop also leads to a historical destination: it passes the remains of Kloster Burbach, a Cistercian convent founded in 1233. The route thus combines exercise with a stop at a place whose history dates back to the Middle Ages.

One starting point for the Otto-Maigler Loop is at Lake Otto Maigler in Hürth-Gleuel, on line 711. If you are planning to take this loop, you can use this starting point as a specific reference.

Roman water pipelines and a viewpoint

In Hürth-Hermülheim, the Roman Canal hiking trail leads to the spur of the spoil heap from the Hürtherberg lignite mine. This mine was abandoned in the 1920s. Along the trail is a viewpoint overlooking the Bay of Cologne as far as the Siebengebirge hills. The route here makes both the history of the former mine and the views part of the hike.

The Roman Canal hiking trail in Hermülheim also includes a section of the Roman canal from the Hürth pipeline, which was built around 30 AD. At the Hürth-Hermülheim station, Roman water pipelines from Berrenrath, Aldenrath, Frechen and Bachem flowed into this pipeline. If you are interested in Roman history, you will find not only a section of the canal here, but also a specific connection to the pipelines that came together at this station.

Water sports on Lake Otto Maigler

Lake Otto Maigler is known for its wide range of water sports. Clubs based at the lake offer rowing, fishing or windsurfing by prior arrangement. If you would like to include these activities in your trip, prior arrangements are explicitly required. The clubs’ offerings therefore differ from the year-round option of hiking or walking the Otto-Maigler Loop: at the lake, the specific activity and the arrangement determine what is possible.

To decide whether a holiday apartment in Hürth suits your vacation plans, you can consider the experiences that interest you most: a longer hiking route, Roman hydraulic engineering history, or water sports by prior arrangement. The activities described offer different reasons to visit, without requiring you to stay in a particular part of town.

A detail at St. Katharina

The Catholic parish church of St. Katharina in Hürth-Hermülheim also has a connection to the history of the water pipelines. The church was built in 1894–1895; aqueduct marble sourced from the Eifel Aqueduct was used for the base of the baptismal font. This specific architectural feature links the church to the subject you will also encounter on the Roman Canal hiking trail. It offers a separate reason to appreciate Hürth-Hermülheim not only as a starting point for a hike, but also for its historical details.

Find more local pages for Buir, Brühl, Erftstadt, Frechen, Pulheim, Kerpen, Elsdorf and Wesseling.

For the broader travel overview: Rhein-Erft district.