Merzhausen: Hiking through forest and cultural landscape

Discover Merzhausen through a distinctive landscape experience: the Merzhausen Nature Trail is a 10.28-kilometre circular route through forest and open countryside. The Wippersteine rock formations and a former basalt quarry are among the route’s features, along with information panels that connect nature topics with the history of the cultural landscape. Along the way, striking landscape features meet themes that draw your attention beyond the route itself.

The Nature Trail between Forest and Open Countryside

The route connects stretches of forest with open countryside. Its maximum elevation difference is 172 metres; together with the route length, these figures provide a clear guide for planning your day. Points of interest along the way include the Wippersteine and an old basalt quarry. The information panels cover quarry habitats, birds of prey, red wood ants, still and flowing waters, and native trees. They also explore the historic cultural landscape.

The topics range from individual animals and plants to bodies of water and landscape history. They offer conversation starters for those travelling together: you could pause to look at the native trees, talk about the habitats at the quarry, or turn your attention to still and flowing water. Nature observation and the history of the cultural landscape thus become part of the same hike.

Starting Point and Guided Hikes

The Nature Trail begins and ends at the car park of the former primary school in Merzhausen. Guided hikes can be arranged on request. If you would like to include a guided hike in your plans, enquire in advance.

More Routes in the Wider Destination of Willingshausen

In the wider destination of Willingshausen, the KuKuKs trails—the Willingshausen Art and Culture Routes—offer another hiking option. These are easy, relatively short circular routes through the artists’ village of Willingshausen and the surrounding area. The purple KuKuKs trail passes through the artists’ village and continues into the Antreff Valley; the KuKuKs trail IN THE VILLAGE runs through the artists’ village. If you are choosing between a route heading to the Antreff Valley and one through the village, you will find different route options in the wider destination.

Art History in the Wider Destination of Willingshausen

Willingshausen complements its nature themes with its own art history. The Willingshausen artists’ colony was founded in 1824. The Malerstübchen Willingshausen e. V. owns a collection of prints and paintings from every period of the artists’ colony.

The history of the Willingshausen art scholarship dates back to 1996. As part of the programme, two students or recent graduates of art colleges and academies came to the artists’ colony each year. Each stay lasted three months: either from February to April or from September to November. During their stay, the scholarship recipients lived in the listed Hirtenhaus and worked in the studios of the Gerhardt-von-Reutern-Haus. The programme concluded with an exhibition at the Willingshausen Art Gallery and a catalogue.

The art gallery next to the Gerhardt-von-Reutern-Haus hosts several art exhibitions each year. Since 2019, the International Painters’ Symposium has been held in Willingshausen every July. The Weltkulturhaus (Gerhardt-von-Reutern-Haus) regularly hosts arts and cultural events, as well as courses and workshops. If you would like to plan your trip around an exhibition or event, check the relevant dates in advance.

Choose Your Focus for Finding Accommodation

If the Nature Trail is your main focus, base your search in Merzhausen. If you are mainly interested in the artists’ colony, art exhibitions or the KuKuKs trails, include the wider destination of Willingshausen. If you have a particular event in mind, you can also take its dates into account when planning your trip.

For the wider travel overview: Willingshausen.