Castle Reifferscheid and Castle Wildenburg

The trail visits two nearby castles: Wildenburg and Reifferscheid - both of them are absolutely worth visiting. A real pleasure.

Records of Castle Reifferscheid are dating back to 1106. Apparently, it was a real stronghold of their owners. Their castle withstood the combined armies of several powers.

Interestingly, Castle Wildenburg is much in view throughout most of the hike, while Reifferscheid remains hidden most of the time - the first view of it is to be had at waypoint 24.

The trail, while not particularly long, sees a lot of up and down (more than 500 meters according to our equipment), and should not be taken lightly. There are also one or two spots, where one needs to take care not to miss a turn. One of them is at waypoint 7, where recent logging activity has obliviated a small footpath. Just keep the indicated general direction, and ensure you arrive at waypoint 8. Also, at waypoint 13, keep the general directions (do NOT follow some recent logging roads not marked on the usual maps).

The trail also passes through some very remote hamlets, such as Winten and Bungenberg.

Both castle Wildenburg and Reifferscheid maintain life. Wildenburg is an event location for weddings or other festivities, but also has private residences. The old Reifferscheid castle is mainly a ruin, but the grounds contain many well maintained private and public houses, which make it a little village on its own. Note that the Cafe Eulenspiegel (marked on some maps) was closed at the time of our visit - a Saturday afternoon in September. We strongly recommend to climb the tower of Reifferscheid castle (no charge), with superb views of Reifferscheid and the area.

Note that, sadly, village Reifferscheid could apparently not sustain business in the same way that Castle Reifferscheid was able to.