Trail tour from the Schlossberg to the trenches

We set off from the car park at Schloss Berg in Nennig. Built on a hill overlooking the village of Nennig, Schloss Berg consists of two castles: the Lower and Upper Castles. These are two interconnected moated castles, whose history dates back to the 12th century. The Lower Castle is privately owned, whilst the Upper Castle – converted into a Renaissance palace in later centuries – now houses a luxury hotel, a gourmet restaurant and a modern casino.

Our tour begins at a leisurely pace on less demanding paths and takes us along Schlossstraße, past the restaurant ‘Die Scheune’, into the vineyards near Nennig. From here, the route passes the old market square and enters Felsstraße, leading to the first long climb. This climb follows the course of the ‘Nennigerbach’ stream, gaining altitude metre by metre. This section of the trail is particularly popular with local horse riders, so please don’t be surprised if you come across a horse grazing here.

Once at the top, we find ourselves in the middle of the Lateswald, a privately-owned forest belonging to the farming community of the same name. This forest, with its huge old trees, offers an incredible sense of peace and tranquillity in contrast to the usual stresses of everyday life. We take the opportunity to do a few more loops and detours through this forest before continuing on towards Tettingen. Not far from the Wingertshof, a fantastic section of trail awaits us. Numerous changes of direction, small hills, tree roots and a wide variety of woodland formations will delight any trail runner and nature lover. The final section of this trail takes us through old trenches dating from the war years. Even today, they stand as silent witnesses to a horrific period that also left a deep mark on our border triangle. Around the hamlet of Tettingen, there are numerous remnants of the former ‘Höckerlinie’ – a concrete anti-tank barrier several kilometres long, embedded in the landscape like scars.

From the trenches, we run past lush meadows and pastures to the first doline. A doline is neither a fruit nor any sort of long-haired animal. Nor are dolines ancient instruments or implements. The term ‘doline’ refers to funnel-, cauldron- or chimney-shaped hollows in karst rock with an underground water outlet. They are geological features formed by dissolution processes in karst-prone subsoil. The first doline along the route is a doline with a sinkhole. This is several metres deep and features a so-called sinkhole (ponor). This prevents rainwater from accumulating. On rainy days, you can hear the ‘swallowed’ water rushing underground.

After a short, steep climb along the trail at the edge of the forest, walkers reach the second doline. At the edge of the doline, there is a spot where you can take a break or have a picnic. This doline has no ponor, so rainwater occasionally collects to form a pond.

From here, you can either ease off for a leisurely finish or pick up the pace once more. The final few metres are a steady descent, offering magnificent views of the Moselle Valley, the neighbouring Luxembourgish border town of Remich and, at the end, of course, Schloss Berg rising above the vineyards.