The best traffic-free bike rides around Demerath

Quite nice, but not spectacular. The old diesel locomotive is sure to be a draw for children.

A very interesting place for kids.

1 million years of geology. Worth putting your bike aside for a moment.

The fairy-tale fountain at the Alten Postplatz tells a story. Here, on this spot, it is at its most beautiful.

The Ulmen Maar lies 420 meters above sea level today, covers an area of 5.5 hectares, and is 36 meters deep. The bubbles at the maar's edge demonstrate that volcanism is still active. They bear witness to a turbulent past—but rest assured, there's no eruption in sight! A wall of various rocks and ash, up to 20 meters thick, surrounds the cone. For those interested, these testimonies to this explosive past are beautifully displayed in St. Matthias Church. This unique wall, with its different colored layers and rounded inclusions, is worth seeing for more than just geologists. The slopes of the maar basin are covered with a beautiful forest, which can be explored on a circular walk. A detour to the medieval castle ruins, from which the Crusaders once launched their campaigns, is recommended. The view from the crater rim over the maar and the Eifel beyond will take your breath away. Whether after a sweaty hike or a long drive, the blue of the Ulmer Eifel lake is all too tempting in summer. However, bathing in the maar is prohibited because it is designated as a nature and water protection area.

The lower castle has completely disappeared. You can still see the beginning of the ring that connected the lower castle and the Ulmen city wall, a two-story outer wall of the palace, as well as a cistern and some foundation walls of other buildings. The old part of Ulmen Castle was built around 1074 AD and likely rests on the remains of a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages, Ulmen Castle was further expanded and divided into the upper castle, whose remains of the walls still exist, and the lower castle, which extended to the banks of the maar river. Two knightly families lived in the castle, which is believed to have never been attacked or destroyed until 1673 due to its size. Only the Sun King's troops succeeded. It was rebuilt, but fell again in 1689 during the War of the Succession. However, Ulmen Castle was also rebuilt this time, with only the city wall being abandoned. With the invasion of Napoleon's soldiers, Ulmen also became French and later Prussian. The empty castle, whose last descendant died in 1801, was auctioned to a merchant from Cochem, who sold it as a quarry. When a devastating fire burned Ulmen to the ground in the 19th century, the residents of Ulmen rebuilt their houses with stones from the castle. That's why you can still see a coat of arms on some of the stables today. It wasn't until the early twentieth century that Ulmen Castle was declared a listed building and became the property of the municipality of Ulmen. The castle is always freely accessible.

For information on the Demerather Mill, a former mill under the Eifel Treaty, see, for example, https://www.eifel.de/go/sehenswertes-detail/demerather_muehle.html. The Demerather Mill was first documented in 1499. The current structure dates back to the 17th century. It was renovated between 1999 and 2001 and expanded with a timber-frame structure.

"Old Station" Schalkenmehren Passenger service between Daun and Wittlich was discontinued on November 1, 1981. Schalkenmehren. Approaching the Old Station in Schalkenmehren on the former railway line, today's Maare-Mosel cycle path, and seeing the station building, it's hard to believe that it was opened as a fourth-class railway station exactly 100 years ago. But how did it all begin 100 years ago? Surveying for the Daun-Wittlich railway line began as early as 1897. General preparatory work for the single-track line began in 1907. But it would take some time before the Daun-Schalkenmehren-Gillenfeld section opened on December 1, 1909, with the line running over the 28-meter-high Daun viaduct and through the 560-meter-long Schalkenmehren railway tunnel, "Großes Schlitzohr" (Great Sly Fox). The extension from Gillenfeld to Manderscheid to Pantenburg was completed on May 1, 1910, and the extension from Manderscheid-Pantenburg to Wittlich, signifying the completion of the entire line, was completed on July 1, 1910. The completion of the Daun-Wittlich railway line brought rapid development to the village of Schalkenmehren. In the first year of the line's existence (1910), 18,968 tickets were sold in Schalkenmehren, followed by 25,057 in 1913, 27,969 in 1919, and even 30,279 in 1922. In addition, Schalkenmehren station was designed for general cargo traffic and the receipt and dispatch of wagonloads. Text / Source: www.volksfreund.de/ https://www.volksfreund.de/region/vulkaneifel/ein-schmuckstueck-fuer-nostalgiker_aid-5712448