Nat'Our Route 4 – Our Valley Bend

A magnificent landscape composition awaits you on this fascinating hiking tour in the NaturWanderPark delux! It is probably one of the most beautiful postcard motifs in the NaturWanderPark delux, which spreads out before you here: The Ourtalschleife a little north of Vianden. In the valley lies the village of Bivels with the striking blue bridge, above it the wooded hilltop with a light-green clay soil, surrounded by the deep blue-green of the broadly dammed Our, framed by steeply rising oak forests. And in the middle of it all, the ruins of Falkenstein, perched on a mighty slate spur. It is the first to peel out of the mist when the morning sun floods the Our valley. Even if you're eager to get going, head for the lookout point at the Waldhof-Falkenstein barbecue hut to get in the mood for the tour - gorgeous! Alternatively, you can reach and round the Nat'Our Route from here via a short access path, officially it starts in Bivels.

Castles, tunnels and lakes

Of what you see, much is man-made. Until the 1950s, the Our made its loop around Bivels as a small stream, which looked very different then. The St. Nicolas mountain opposite still had a real knoll and there was no reservoir yet. The landscape bears witness to one of the most imposing construction projects in Luxembourg in the middle of the last century. Almost invisible, one of the largest pumped storage power plants in Europe is located here. Deep in the rock, the floods rush in giant tubes between the reservoir and the upper basin on Mont St. Nicolas. Much older mining history is told by the copper mine in Stolzemburg. Much older still: the history of Falkenstein Castle, of which the residential building and castle ruins are still preserved today.

Now let's go! Like the other Nat'Our routes, this one is a German-Luxembourg circuit. You start in the Luxembourg village of Bivels, cross the reservoir - and thus the border - on the blue steel bridge and climb along forest paths to the Falkenstein ruin, which is privately owned. To the right of the entrance portal you can take a rest and immediately you are surrounded by a fairytale-like Sleeping Beauty romance, which invites you to linger, cuddle and dream.

The path now leads steeply downhill again to the dam, which you follow close to the shore until you reach Keppeshausen. There you will reach - again over a bridge - Stolzemburg on Luxembourg soil. Information about the town, its history and its castle can be found in the information center in the former customs house, which is open daily. Opposite the bridge you climb uphill in the village, turn left into the hillside forest and quickly gain altitude along forest paths. About 100 meters below the upper reservoir, the route follows the Our valley - with sensational views over the dam. You come down again in a side valley, where turbine 10 of the pumped storage power plant peeks out of the mountain. Close to the shore, you will then return to Bivels.