Nerdlen: Local History and Trails

Local History and St. Anthony's Chapel

Nerdlen's settlement history dates back to around 1400. At that time, farmers settled at the confluence of the Sarmersbach and the Lieser. The place name developed from “Zu den Erlen” (“At the Alders”) through “Nerlen” to “Nerdlen”. The medieval traces of settlement and the change in the name offer two different ways of exploring local history.

St. Anthony's Chapel stands in the village center. After the village fire of 1893, it was rebuilt and consecrated in 1898.

Hiking Trails around Nerdlen

The shorter Struth Circular Trail is about 16 kilometers long. It passes through forest and across fields, runs mostly on well-maintained paths, and offers panoramic views. The route passes through Neichen, Beinhausen, Afelskreuz, Sarmersbach, Nerdlen and Kradenbach. From a rest stop, the view reaches as far as Hilgerath Parish Church. The route can also be explored by mountain or trekking bike. Nerdlen is close to the start of the Lieser Trail. This gives you two different reference points for planning your routes: the length of the Struth Circular Trail and the nearby access point to the Lieser Trail.

The Kleeland Circular Trail offers a different focus: it leads through forest near the Hörscheid Chapel, returns to Nerdlen and then runs over the Eulen Bridge outside the municipality. The HeimatSpur Kleeland Circular Trail starts and ends at the municipal building at Bergstraße 1 in Sarmersbach. Check access details for the starting point before travelling and local trail conditions before setting out.

The maars around Nerdlen are considered water-filled volcanic craters; natural bathing areas and boat trips are among the nature experiences available there.

Vulkaneifel: Landscape, Trails and Museums

To date, 77 maars have been identified in the Vulkaneifel; 350 eruption centers have also been counted, around 270 of them from the more recent period. The most recent volcanic eruption in the Vulkaneifel occurred at Ulmen Maar about 10,900 years ago. The region is also considered a landscape where forests, moors, dry habitats, bodies of water and distinctive volcanic habitats lie close together.

The Vulkaneifel trails lead to scenic highlights on both sides of the Eifelsteig. They are marked and signposted and include half-day hikes, full-day hikes and multi-day hikes. The eleventh stage of the Eifelsteig runs from Daun to Manderscheid and is 23.4 kilometers long. For mountain bikers, the Trailpark Vulkaneifel offers a network of trails about 750 kilometers long, with more than 17,500 meters of elevation gain.

The Eifel Volcano Museum in Daun displays three-dimensional landscape models of cinder cones, maars and mineral springs, as well as exhibits on West Eifel volcanism. The Strohn Volcano House is an interactive museum featuring a lava fissure wall about 30,000 years old, around six meters long and four meters high. The Gerolstein Natural History Museum is considered the largest and oldest geomuseum in the Eifel and displays stone records of the region's geological history across three floors.

Discover more destinations: Tettscheid, Üdersdorf, Strotzbüsch, Mückeln, Saxler, Schönbach, Steiningen, Utzerath.

For the main travel overview: Daun.