Donnersbergkreis: Discover forests, Celts and mining

Hiking trails and views on the Donnersberg

The Ludwigsturm circular hiking trail is 6.7 kilometres long. It starts at Haus Linn in Dannenfels and leads to the Ludwigsturm. The stone tower is 26.9 metres high and has 142 steps; from the top, there are views of the North Palatine Uplands, the Palatinate Forest, the Black Forest and the Vosges. The Ludwigsturm is currently closed for renovation work. If you are planning this hike, bear the tower’s closure in mind when considering the viewpoint.

Another circular hiking trail leads to the ruins of Wildenstein and is 7.9 kilometres long. The two stated distances provide a concrete guide when choosing a hiking route, without implying anything about walking time or difficulty. You can also experience the landscape of the Palatinate uplands on the Palatinate Höhenweg: the trail starts in Winnweiler on the Donnersberg and runs in seven stages to Wolfstein. There is a singletrack for mountain biking in the forest near Sippersfeld. It features root sections and blocks of Buntsandstein; riders can take either a more challenging or an easier line over the obstacles.

Celtic traces and mining history

The past is present in different ways at several places. The Celtic rampart consists of the buried remains of a Celtic wall about 8.5 kilometres long. From around 130 to 60/50 BC, it enclosed a Celtic oppidum on the Donnersberg. At the Celtic village on the Donnersberg in Steinbach, a traditionally built farmstead gives visitors an impression of Celtic craft techniques used in housebuilding. Expert-guided tours and changing hands-on activities invite you to try your creativity and skill.

The ruins of Falkenstein Castle also tell the story of the region: they stand on a former volcanic vent and were first mentioned in historical records in 1135. The ruins and their surroundings provide the setting for the annual Christmas market and the Falkenstein summer tours. The Weiße Grube visitor mine offers a different historical focus. Its extensive network of tunnels reveals traces of 600 years of mining, including medieval mining areas and later workings excavated using explosives. The Palatinate Mining Museum in Imsbach explores the region’s ores, rocks and fossil fuels, as well as the extraction and processing of various raw materials: iron, manganese, copper, cobalt, gold, silver and mercury. The permanent exhibition Terra Crystallum displays around 400 minerals from around the world.

The Eiswoog, train rides and regional wines

Water and nature experiences take centre stage at the Eiswoog: activities include boat trips, water treading, swimming and hikes around the lake with a nature trail. A paved, accessible path passes a viewing platform overlooking the lake. The Eiswoog is located in the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. You can reach it from Eisenberg by train, by cycling through the forest or by car. It is also a stop on the Barbarossa Cycle Route, which runs through the Palatinate from the Rhine near Worms via Kaiserslautern to Glan-Münchweiler near Kusel.

A ride on the Stumpfwaldbahn offers another way to experience the area. The railway runs along a narrow-gauge track about 4 kilometres long; you can board at the Eiswoog, at Bockbachtal station near Kleehof or at Ramsen West. Converted former mining locomotives are used for the journeys between Kleehof and the Eiswoog. The Zellertal, one of the northernmost wine-growing areas in the Palatinate, adds a culinary touch: there are opportunities to enjoy regional wines and discover wine estates. Bremer Winery offers wine tastings, a restaurant and an event venue in a historic winery.

When choosing your holiday apartment, you can consider which of these interests you want to shape your trip: hiking trails and views from the heights, Celtic and mining history, waterside experiences or wine. This lets you choose a location based on the experiences that interest you most. Find the town pages for Donnersbergkreis here: Lohnsfeld, Schweisweiler, Oberndorf, Wartenberg, Rockenhausen, Göllheim, Sippersfeld, Gauersheim, Mannweiler-Cölln, Lautersheim, Eisenberg (Pfalz), Alsenz-Obermoschel, Börrstadt, Zellertal, Obermoschel, Kirchheimbolanden, Kerzenheim, Dannenfels, Kalkofen and Münchweiler An Der Alsenz.

For the higher-level travel overview: Rhineland-Palatinate.