Entdeckungstour durch künstliche Landschaft am Tagebau Frechen

Just outside Cologne, 250 km² of land has been completely created from scratch!

A very special piece of land was created at the site of the former Frechen open-pit mine and even received a papal blessing!

On this walk, we’ll explore the story behind it all—and why five villages first disappeared and 7,000 people lost their homes. We’ll also go in search of traces: What remains today of the vanished villages?

The meeting point for our tour is the parking lot at Marienfeld in Kerpen at 1:00 p.m.

Advance registration for the tour here on Rausgegangen is absolutely required! 

Our route takes us past the former site of the vanished village of Mödrath to Papsthügel and then on to the lost village of Bottenbroich. Here, we’ll discover the last remaining industrial relic of the abandoned Frechen open-pit coal mine. After a longer hike, we’ll reach the beautiful Baroque Türnich Castle around 4:00 p.m., where we’ll have time for coffee and cake at the courtyard café. Afterward, the trail takes us along the Erft River back to the starting point, where we can catch a glimpse of Haus Mödrath just before reaching the parking lot. Of course, you’ll also learn on this tour what this castle has to do with electronic music. 

We’ll be accompanied throughout by countless archival photos and aerial views from the past, which vividly illustrate how the landscape was dug up and reshaped.

The trail is a loop, so we’ll be back at our starting point (Marienfeld parking lot) around 6:30 p.m.

The total length of the loop is approximately 14 km.

Sturdy shoes are recommended, as well as rain gear if the weather forecast calls for it.

Coffee and cake at the courtyard café of Türnich Castle are not included in the price.