The best walks and hikes around Obersteinebach

"Peterslahr is located in a landscape ideal for hiking. It is an attractive local recreation area and destination. Conveniently located within commuting distance of the cities of Cologne-Bonn, Neuwied, Altenkirchen, and Limburg, you'll find many interesting options for settling here. Information about the community, church, and contact persons can be found under the Community and Culture sections..." FURTHER INFORMATION: https://www.peterslahr.de/

"Burglahr, located in the Rhine-Westerwald Nature Park, is a romantic village with approximately 500 residents. Nestled between rolling hills, the Wied River winds its way through the village..." FURTHER INFORMATION: https://www.vg-altenkirchen-flammersfeld.de/gemeinde-politik/uebersicht-ortsgemeinden/burglahr

"Winter is the time of fairy tales and legends. There are very few legends that relate to the Altenkirchen-Flammersfeld municipality. The most well-known and beautiful legend revolves around an oak tree that grows in the Obersteinebach/Peterslahr/Burglahr state forest. It has become part of the folklore and is widely known as the "Legend of the Educated Oak." At the end of the legend about the enchanted knight maiden, it says: "Now I will remain enchanted until a tree has grown from the soon-to-fall acorn, from whose boards a cradle will be built. "The child cradled therein, having grown into a youth, can redeem me with a kiss," cries the Virgin, who even today, as an ugly toad in the forest in Obersteinebach, awaits her redemption..." CONTINUED and MORE INFORMATION: https://www.horhausen.de/aktuelles/nachrichten-details?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=773&cHash=48623863b15119d7e788366edf7024d0

"In 2012 and 2013, the so-called Hufer Bachtal was renaturalized. This meant that the stream was optimized (preventing further deepening by reinforcing the bed and raising the streambed), culverts were repaired or renewed, and large stands of spruce trees were removed. Some root trunks were also removed. As a result, the valley has greatly improved its overall reputation and has also become significantly brighter and more open. Of course, this also incurred considerable costs, some of which also came from subsidies. Finally, the goal is to strive for sensible ecological use of the valley to ensure optimal preservation. It is particularly important that the Westerwaldsteig trail runs through a large part of the Hufer Bachtal in this part of the municipality." ``` https://www.spd-horhausen.de/renaturierung-hufer-bachtal/ https://www.ak-kurier.de/akkurier/www/artikel/64392-vierbeinige-landschaftspfleger-leisten-tolle-arbeit

"... 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 Catholic Church of St. Mary Magdalene is a late Romanesque neo-Romanesque quarry stone basilica. The church was built in its current form in 1902 according to plans by government architect Heinrich Krings of Cologne. The Romanesque flanking tower was raised by one story and incorporated into the new building. In the church park, there is a monument commemorating the great son of the Horhausen community, Cologne Cardinal Joseph Höffner, who died in 1987, and his diverse work." https://www.vg-altenkirchen-flammersfeld.de/kirchen/horhausen

From Peterslahr, uphill or downhill along the Wiedweg/Kölner Weg, you reach this beautiful vantage point overlooking Burglahr. Unfortunately, there are no benches or seating areas for quietly enjoying the view.