Steineberg: Celtic Circular Trail and Vulcano Information Platform

Steineberg offers three distinct points of interest for planning a trip: the Vulcano Information Platform on the Steineberger Ley, the Catholic branch church of St. Francis and the HeimatSpur Celtic Circular Trail. If you are looking for a hotel in Steineberg, these themes can shape the focus of your stay: geology and panoramic views, a 19th-century building or a hike lasting several hours. The time required for the hike can be estimated particularly precisely; the viewpoint and church offer a different focus.

Volcanic origins and panoramic views

The Vulcano Information Platform stands on the basalt of the Steineberger Ley. The Ley is the remnant of a volcanic vent; the platform offers panoramic views. This brings together two aspects that can be considered separately when exploring the area: the Ley points to volcanic origins, while the platform opens up views of the surrounding area as a viewpoint. If you choose your stay based on particular themes, you will find a geological point of interest and a viewpoint in the same place.

St. Francis Church and its architectural history

The Catholic branch church of St. Francis in Steineberg is a Neo-Gothic hall church dating from 1884 to 1886. The dates place the building in the late 19th century; “hall church” refers to a type of building, while “Neo-Gothic” describes its style. For visitors interested in regional architectural and cultural history, the church offers a different perspective from the geological information platform. The two themes provide different points of focus if you are choosing between church architecture and the history of the Earth.

Planning the circular hike

The HeimatSpur Celtic Circular Trail is an easy 15.9-kilometre circular hike that takes about four hours. The start and finish are at the sports ground in Steineberg; the route loops around Steineberg and Demerath. The approximate duration makes it possible to plan the hike as an outing lasting several hours, while the distance gives you a clear idea of the route’s length. Highlights include the ring wall on the Steineberger Ley and relics of a Celtic settlement. The route also offers sweeping views across the Hunsrück and Eifel, the Üssbach Valley, the Geisert juniper heath and the Demerather Drees. Its themes therefore range from Celtic traces to a variety of landscapes.

Geology in the Volcanic Eifel

Volcanism takes on a regional dimension in the Volcanic Eifel. To date, 77 maars have been identified there; 350 eruption centres have also been counted so far, around 270 of them from the more recent period. The Ulmen Maar marks the most recent volcanic eruption in the Volcanic Eifel, which took place about 10,900 years ago. These figures offer a broader perspective alongside the specific view of the Steineberger Ley and its volcanic origins.

The hiking opportunities in the Volcanic Eifel also span different time frames: the marked and signposted Vulkaneifel paths offer half-day hikes, full-day hikes and multi-day hikes. The Vulcano Trail is a 26.2-kilometre circular route east of Schalkenmehren. The eleventh stage of the Eifelsteig runs from Daun to Manderscheid and is 23.4 kilometres long. This makes it possible to compare the 15.9 kilometres of the Celtic Circular Trail with the lengths of two other regional routes.

The Volcanic Eifel also has museums where you can explore the subject of volcanism in greater depth: the Eifel Volcano Museum in Daun displays three-dimensional landscape models of cinder cones, maars and mineral springs, as well as exhibits on volcanism in the western Eifel. The Volcano House in Strohn is an interactive museum featuring a lava fissure wall about 30,000 years old, around six metres long and four metres high. Models, exhibits and a specific geological feature each offer a different focus.

Discover more destinations: Schönbach, Strohn, Dockweiler, Saxler, Betteldorf, Immerath, Steiningen, Utzerath.

Go to the overview of destinations: Daun.