The best walks and hikes around Rotter Lake

Great for relaxing

It is reminiscent of a murder case from 1748.

A beautiful, long avenue leading from Sieglar to the Siegdamm in the nature reserve.

Memorial site with St. Anthony's memorial stone and plenty of seating.

You have to drive through the countryside with your eyes open, then you'll see things like this much more often.

Here, at the corner of Amselweg and Habichtweg, a popular meeting place for amateur basketball players has developed. It is enjoyed by all age groups. A small, semi-open shelter invites you to linger in the shade or shelter from the rain. The entrance to the publicly accessible mini-pitch ("the cage") with artificial turf and goalposts is also just a few meters away. Unfortunately, this beautiful and frequently used space is often heavily polluted due to inconsiderate behavior and is also not immune to vandalism.

A cross probably stood on this spot as early as the Middle Ages, intended to protect the Kriegsdorf residents from crop failure, protect them from evil, and, above all, keep unbelievers away. Since 1821, the willow cross served as a boundary stone, marking an important trigonometric point for the old municipal boundary between Kriegsdorf and the municipality of Sieglar. It is also the intersection point of the old field names at this location: The names of the parcels are "Am Weidenkreuz" in the west, "Klein Kriegsdorf" in the north, "Am Kriegsdorfer Mühlenweg" in the east, and "Hohner Weg" in the south. The current cross dates from around 1920/30. After repeated acts of vandalism, it was renovated in 2011. Master blacksmith Hans Walter Brungs from Niederkassel-Mondorf undertook the forging work. The name "Am Weidenkreuz" (At the Willow Cross) probably originates from the fact that pollard willows grew in this area, providing the local basket makers with willow rods for making baskets, brooms, etc. The willow cross was also a blessing cross. Kriegsdorf processions would stop in front of the cross so the priest could offer the blessing. Beforehand, the local residents would decorate the cross.

The first documented mention of today's Kerpehof can be found in a document dated August 15, 1165. In it, the Archbishop of Cologne, Reinold, confirms that Abbot Nykolaus of the Siegburg Abbey had purchased the Kriegsdorf fiefdom (Criechestorp beneficium) from a certain Hermann (Heimanni) for five and a half solidi and one malter of oats, thus transferring it to the Siegburg Abbey. This led to the first name for the farm, the "Abtshof" (Abbot's Court). In another document from 1181, Pope Lucius III placed Siegburg Abbey and its holdings under his protection, confirming that various churches, holdings, and estates, including the Abbot's fiefdom (Criechestorp beneficium = Abbot's shot) in Kriegsdorf, belonged to it. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the Abbot's farm was also devastated and had to be rebuilt. As was often the case at the time, the farm was soon leased to tenants. From 1694 onward, the couple Mattheiß Kerpener and Irmgard Krift managed the Abbot's farm as tenants. Mattheiß Kerpener later changed his surname to Kerp. His descendant, Wilhelm Kerp, bought the farm in 1832 for 10,000 thalers. Thus, the Abbot's farm became the Kerpe(n)hof. His daughter Elisabeth, who married Christian Hubert Engels of Wiesdorf on October 27, 1843, became the heir to the farm. Later, the two had the farm demolished and completely rebuilt. The date above the archway indicates the completion date (1849), along with the letters C.E. and E.K., representing the builders, Christian Engels and Elisabeth Kerp. In 1912, the farm passed into the possession of the Frenger family and finally into the Esser family in 1975. The farm was managed by Max Theodor Esser until 2000, before he sold most of the property to the city of Troisdorf. Between 2018 and 2020, all buildings on the site were completely renovated, and 27 modern condominiums were built in close coordination with the monument preservation authorities.