The best walks and hikes around Horhausen (Westerwald)

A very nature-oriented route in the beautiful Westerwald region.

"... In 1945, he completed his habilitation in Freiburg im Breisgau. Höffner subsequently became Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Social Teaching in Trier. From 1951, he succeeded Franz Hitze and Heinrich Weber as Professor of Christian Social Sciences at the University of Münster. In the same year, he founded the Institute for Christian Social Sciences. Höffner's teaching and research were closely linked to his duties as a scientific policy advisor to the Federal Ministries for Family and Youth Affairs, for Housing, and for Labor and Social Order. In this capacity, he had a decisive influence on the further development of social policy and on the reorganization and expansion of social insurance during the Adenauer era. On September 14, 1962, Joseph Höffner was consecrated Bishop of Münster by the Bishop of Trier, Matthias Wehr. On January 6, 1969, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the almost blind Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph. Frings was appointed Archbishop of Cologne and simultaneously Titular Archbishop of Aquileia. On February 23, 1969, he succeeded Frings as Archbishop of Cologne; on April 28 of the same year, Pope Paul VI created him a cardinal priest with the titular church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in the College of Cardinals. From 1976 to 1987, like his predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Frings, he served as President of the German Bishops' Conference. He resigned from the office of Archbishop of Cologne on September 14, 1987, one month before his death, after Pope John Paul II had rejected his repeated offer of resignation on his eightieth birthday. He died in Cologne's St. Hildegardis Hospital from an incurable brain tumor discovered only a few months earlier. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger presided over the funeral mass. Cardinal Höffner found his final resting place in the archbishop's crypt in the Cologne Cathedral. Cardinal Joachim Meisner succeeded him in February 1989. (Wikipedia) https://www.domradio.de/person/joseph-kardinal-hoeffner

" Joseph Höffner was born on December 24, 1906, in the Westerwald region, the eldest of seven children. He attended high school in Montabaur, and from 1922, the humanistic Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Trier, where he graduated in 1926. From 1926 to 1934, Höffner studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his first doctorate (Dr. phil.) in 1929. He was ordained a priest on October 30, 1932. In 1934, Höffner earned his second doctorate (Dr. theol.) in Rome. His dissertation was entitled "Social Justice and Social Love." From 1935 to 1936, Höffner was a chaplain at the Saarbrücken parish church of St. John. After this brief period in pastoral work, Höffner studied in From 1937 to 1939, he studied in Freiburg im Breisgau. There, he received another doctorate in theology in 1938, as the Nazi regime did not recognize his Italian doctorate. In 1939, he received a diploma in economics. In 1940, he received his doctorate in political science. Until his death in 1987, he was one of the few Germans known to have received four doctorates. ... "

"The Grenzbach stream, originally called "Waldbach," forms the border between the districts of Altenkirchen and Neuwied. Extensive renaturation measures were carried out here a few years ago. Large-scale spruce clearing (13 hectares) was carried out to promote light and natural vegetation. New, animal-friendly stream crossings were created, stream piping and small weirs were removed, and new bridges were built. Galloway and Heck cattle graze the areas year-round, keeping them free from reforestation. The section between Willroth and Linkenbach is grazed by Galloways. Another section, between Pleckhausermühle and the Wied near Döttesfeld, is grazed by a backbred aurochs, the so-called Heck cattle. Valuable ecological structures and wetlands have since formed and provide a valuable refuge for fauna and flora..." FURTHER INFORMATION: https://www.hachenburger-westerwald.de/d/grenzbachtal-jr7k0ool/

Beautiful nature, fine paths

The tour is worthwhile from both below and above. The crater floor was muddy.

The old wooden steps have been largely replaced with alpine irons, making it easier to ascend and descend

A shelter with all kinds of useful information about the Grenzbach Valley.