On a cycle tour through the often fairytale-like, wooded stream valleys of the Eifel, it is hard to imagine that just a few centuries ago, the valleys were filled with the acrid smoke of charcoal piles and the unbearable noise of blast furnaces and hammer mills. This tour takes you along the 26 km long Kall river from Lammersdorf past the Kall dam through the idyllic Kall valley to Nideggen Brück, where the Kall flows into the Rur. If you would like to find out more about the way of life of your Eifel ancestors before the tour, you can do so at the farm museum in Lammersdorf, which is close to the starting point.

Within the Kalltal valley, the route leads mainly through densely wooded terrain. However, this was not always the case. Due to the burgeoning iron industry along the Kall, there was extensive deforestation in the past, so that the history of the Eifel iron industry is closely linked to the history of the forest. Almost all of the Eifel's natural beech forests perished in the course of charcoal production for the iron industry's blast furnaces and bare mountain ridges characterized the valley at that time. It was not until the 19th century that the resulting wasteland was mainly reforested with fast-growing spruce trees, which still characterize the forest landscape.

The Kremer Mill, located directly on the route in the historic center of Simonskall, and the Mestrenger Mill between Vossenack and Kommerscheid still bear witness to the old industrial culture in the Kalltal, where up to 13 water wheels clattered and rattled millstones and machines at the height of the era. At the end of the tour, it is also worth visiting Nideggen Castle before taking the train home.
The tour ends in Nideggen Brück. For the return journey, we recommend a trip on the Rurtalbahn with a change of trains in Düren towards Aachen.

Highlights along the route

• Lammersdorf Farm Museum
• Kalltal dam
• Kall Valley
• Historic village buildings in Simonskall
• Kremermühle mill
• Mestrenger Mill