Saxler: Antoniusweg and Historic Chapel
Accommodation in Saxler
Saxler can be discovered through its historic traces and the Antoniusweg. The village’s history is closely connected with a former Electoral mill and three fishponds; the chapel and devotional shrines add a sacred touch. For planning a hike, the Antoniusweg network offers everything from shorter circular routes to day hikes and multi-day tours.
Local History and Sacred Heritage
The Mühlenweiher is one of the three fishponds and is where the former mill stood. In this way, Saxler’s history brings together a specific location and the memory of the Electoral mill.
The St. Wendelinus Chapel in Saxler dates from 1716. The chapel contains hand-carved wooden benches. Two devotional shrines add to this heritage: they are designed as plastered masonry blocks with sandstone reliefs and probably date from the 18th century. While the chapel is dated to a specific year, the shrines’ time of origin is only estimated.
Hiking on the Antoniusweg
The Antoniusweg routes connect to Gillenfeld, Winkel, Udler, Brockscheid, Demerath and Steineberg. The network caters for shorter circular routes as well as extended day hikes and multi-day tours. This allows you to plan hikes of varying durations, rather than having all the options amount to the same length of tour.
A route description from 2011 describes the Antoniusweg as suitable for relaxed day hikes focused on nature and regional character. The HeimatSpur Antoniusweg starts and ends in Ellscheid, reaches the MĂĽrmes wetland west of Ellscheid, and passes through Saxler on the return to Ellscheid. Check the current route and connections before setting out on a hike.
MĂĽrmes is a nature reserve with a peat layer about four metres thick. Marsh clover, spotted orchid and round-leaved sundew grow there. MĂĽrmes is also an important breeding ground for grasshopper warblers, garganeys and corncrakes. The route thus combines a hike between Ellscheid and Saxler with a destination whose natural environment is shaped by peat, plants and breeding birds.
The Vulkaneifel as a Broader Destination
The broader travel destination of the Vulkaneifel features maar volcanoes, volcanic cones, lava flows and mineral springs. The Vulkaneifel is designated as both a nature park and a UNESCO Global Geopark. A total of 77 maars have been identified there to date; 350 eruption centres have also been counted, around 270 of them from the more recent period. The Ulmen Maar marks the most recent volcanic eruption in the Vulkaneifel, which took place about 10,900 years ago.
For an introduction to the geological history through exhibitions, the Eifel Volcano Museum in Daun features three-dimensional landscape models of cinder cones, maars and mineral springs, as well as exhibits on West Eifel volcanism. The Strohn Volcano House is an interactive museum featuring a lava fissure wall about 30,000 years old, around six metres long and four metres high.
The hiking options in the broader travel destination also extend beyond the routes in Saxler: the Vulkaneifel Trails lead to scenic highlights on both sides of the Eifelsteig, are marked and signposted, and include half-day hikes, day hikes and multi-day hikes. One specific stage is the eleventh section of the Eifelsteig from Daun to Manderscheid; it is 23.4 kilometres long.
Choose Accommodation to Match Your Plans
If you are looking for accommodation in Saxler, you can base your priorities on local themes: the history of the mill and chapel, or the hiking options on the Antoniusweg. If you also plan to visit places in the wider Vulkaneifel destination, compare the actual location of your accommodation with the places and routes on your itinerary. This way, local history, hike duration and regional excursions remain distinct criteria when choosing your base.
Discover more destinations: Brockscheid, Dockweiler, Schutz, Tettscheid, Winkel, Darscheid, Ăśdersdorf, Immerath.
For the broader travel overview: Daun.
