Discover Zilsdorf: Volcanic Trails, Arensberg and Regional History

Zilsdorf combines a volcanic landscape with distinctive traces of regional history. The village is particularly suitable as a destination if you would like to combine hiking trails, geological discoveries and small structures with historic character. The range extends from a moderately difficult circular trail to information panels about the mineral springs and thermal waters of the Eifel.

Volcanic Trails Around Zilsdorf

The Volcanic Trail is a moderately difficult circular route covering 13.3 kilometres. It leads from Hillesheim via Walsdorf and Zilsdorf to the Arensberg volcano. For planning your trip, this route provides a clearly defined connection between several villages and a geologically distinctive destination. If you would like to combine a longer hike with a fixed circular route, this trail is one of the defining experiences in the surrounding area.

The Volcanic Panorama Hiking Trail offers a different point of orientation. It starts and ends at the community centre in Zilsdorf and leads directly past the XXL bench. Starting point C of the GEO Trail is also located at the same starting point. Two information panels there provide information about the region’s mineral springs as well as the mineral and thermal waters of the Eifel. This allows you to combine a hike with an accessible introduction to the area’s geological characteristics.

Arensberg, Beuel and Volcanic Traces

Arensberg is one of the largest geological attractions in the Gerolstein region and is considered the only significant volcanic cone from the Tertiary period. At the same time, it is a hotspot of the Vulkaneifel Bird Protection Area and the Gerolsteiner Kalkeifel FFH area. A wide forest path leads from Zilsdorf via a small car park on the edge of the Arensberg forest to the tunnel and into the volcano.

Beuel also makes the volcanic character of the landscape tangible. It lies about half a kilometre from Zilsdorf, is a remnant of a volcanic stratovolcano and has been dated to approximately 970,000 years old. Zilsdorf also has a Kneipp wading pool. The spring streams that feed the pool receive their water from the volcanic deposits of Beuel. This creates a tangible connection between the landscape, water and local history, without requiring you to commit to just one excursion destination.

Structures and History in the Village

The Catholic subsidiary church of St Anthony is part of Zilsdorf’s cultural heritage. It is a two-bay hall church built in 1815. North of Zilsdorf is the Unter dem Heiligenhäuschen wayside shrine, a small rendered structure with a profiled round-arched portal dating from 1664. Both structures provide a different focus from the volcanic trails and appeal to visitors who would like to include regional architecture and historic details in their trip.

The history of the neighbouring villages also includes the Arnulfus Chapel. For centuries, it was the parish church for Walsdorf and Zilsdorf and was demolished in 1825 because it had fallen into disrepair. Those interested in ecclesiastical history can therefore discover Zilsdorf not only through preserved structures, but also through the former functions and changes of the local sacred landscape.

Which Accommodation Suits Your Travel Plans?

If you are looking for a holiday apartment or holiday house in Zilsdorf, you can use your preferred travel focus as a starting point: the volcanic trails and Arensberg for nature-focused excursions, the GEO Trail and the history of the springs for geological topics, or the church and the wayside shrine for discoveries relating to cultural history.

For further orientation, you can also find pages about Loogh, Wiesbaum, Walsdorf, Basberg, Üxheim, Oberbettingen, Berndorf and Dohm-Lammersdorf.

For the overall travel overview: Hillesheim.