The highlight of the tour is the most famous view in the Saarland. From the Cloef viewpoint, we have a clear view of the Saar Loop. The trail format of this tour is extremely varied. The narrow nature trails in the Neumühle area are a particular delight for trail runners, but the path through the former armoured barrier of the former Orscholz Riegel is also an extraordinary experience.
Wegbeschreibung
The road book indicates just over 25 kilometres for our trail tour around the Schwarzbruch. With an elevation gain of around 400 metres, the tour offers a balanced mix of exertion and nature experience. We start at the refuge in the small but very beautiful district of Keßlingen directly on the Leuk. We use the first somewhat boring kilometres on asphalt and gravel paths to run in. After crossing the Eichenlaubstraße (L177), we run straight into the Schwarzbruch, a large forest area owned by the state forestry.
Passing the outskirts of Oberleuken, we head straight for the Roman Villa Borg archaeological park. After more than 30 years of excavation and reconstruction, this has become one of the attractions in the region. The entire complex impressively illustrates the various aspects of Roman rural life to the many visitors. The complex is unique in its kind in Europe. In addition to the buildings, which were designed to be as close as possible to the ancient architecture, gardens were also created to complete the overall picture. The image of the complex is constantly changing as a result of the excavations that are still being carried out and the associated findings.
Over 100 years ago, the teacher Johann Schneider discovered traces of a Roman settlement between Borg and Oberleuken and carried out the first small excavations. Since 1 April 1987, the Roman villa in Borg has been scientifically excavated by the Cultural Foundation for the Merzig-Wadern district in cooperation with the State Conservation Office, the labour administration and the municipality of Perl. It turned out that the remains of one of the largest Roman villa complexes in the Saar-Moselle region are hidden here.
From the main gate of the Roman villa, our tour leads us along beautiful paths for a short distance into the Meeswald forest before we set our sights on the Retschmühle mill near Hellendorf. Along the edge of the forest, we follow the Saar-Hunsrück-Steig trail for a few kilometres, which offers us pleasant trails and very beautiful sections. Only at kilometre 10 do we leave the trail on the right and pass a beautiful nature reserve in the area of the Ölmühle and Neumühle mills. Old orchards and a beautiful little forest lake await us here. The narrow and stony paths before and after the Neumühle mill are particularly challenging for our running technique. We are now back on the Saar-Hunsrück-Steig trail and follow it along the Steinbach stream to Orscholz.
After a short stopover, with or without a selfie, at the Orscholz ostrich farm, the most famous view in Saarland awaits us. From the Cloef viewpoint, we look out over our Saar loop. We continue past the small Cloef, up to the Cloef-Atrium conference and visitor centre and then over more challenging trails to the Orkelsfelsen rock.
A little later, the next historically interesting section awaits us. Via a small path, we pass two old bunkers that were blown up many years ago. Information boards have recently been installed here to provide interesting facts about these installations. They are part of the Höckerlinienpfad trail. This leads us further on directly through the former armoured barrier of the so-called Orscholz Riegel. Here too, information boards provide interesting tips and information. Now we have almost made it. We cross Eichenlaubstraße once again and follow the course of the stream back to the starting point.
