Discover Strohn: Volcano House, Lava Bomb and Hiking Trails

Strohn brings volcanism to life on very different scales: at the interactive Volcano House, at the Strohn Lava Bomb and along trails through the Alfbach Valley. Half-timbered houses, the church’s architectural history and historic stone monuments add to the village’s character. For planning your trip, it helps to decide whether volcanism, hiking or local history will be your main focus. If you are looking for accommodation, you can compare Strohn with other destinations based on these interests.

Volcanism at the museum and outdoors

The Strohn Volcano House is an interactive volcano museum with small experiments and walk-through experience rooms. One highlight is the lava fissure wall, around 30,000 years old: it is six metres long and four metres high. Together, the experiments, walk-through rooms and the wall bring the subject to life in different ways.

The Strohn Lava Bomb offers a different way to explore the subject. The basalt sphere weighs 120 tonnes and measures almost five metres in diameter; it is geological evidence of earlier volcanic activity in the Eifel. During successive eruptions, lava repeatedly accumulated on a fragment of a crater rim. Blasting work at the Wartgesberg lava basalt quarry dislodged the lava bomb in 1969. Villagers from Strohn brought it to its present location. Depending on local access conditions, visitors can explore how it formed and experience the impact of volcanism in the Eifel there.

The lava bomb stands next to a hiking trail that follows the Alfbach towards the Strohn Switzerland area. This creates a close thematic link between a striking geological feature and an experience of the landscape itself.

Hiking: circular trail or Lava Trail

The Strohn Switzerland circular trail leads into the deeply cut Alfbach Valley, past large boulders and along narrow paths. Because there are few changes in elevation and the route is relatively short, it is considered suitable for walks with children. Free parking is available at the church and at the lava bomb; check the parking information again before setting out.

The HeimatSpuren Lava Trail Strohn offers different details for planning a tour: it is rated moderate, is 20.5 kilometres long and is described as taking around 5.5 hours, with 293 metres of ascent and descent. The route passes the Trautzberg Maar and the Strohn Switzerland area. This makes it possible to assess the Lava Trail by its distance, duration and elevation gain, while the circular trail is described mainly in terms of its path features and suitability for walks with children.

Cycling through the Strohn Switzerland area

The Vulkaneifel Challenge also passes through Strohn: from here, the road cycling route goes past the lava bomb and into the Strohn Switzerland area. It then runs from Strohn via Mückeln and Oberscheidweiler to the Maare-Moselle Cycle Route in the direction of Eckfeld. Cycling therefore adds a route option to the hiking trails, with a course described across several villages. Since route information can change, check the latest details before setting off.

Church, half-timbered houses and historic details

The Catholic parish church of St John the Baptist reflects several building phases: its west tower dates from 1760, the chancel from 1867 and the two-aisled hall from 1909. The many half-timbered houses and the church together shape the village’s character. Other historic features include a sandstone shaft cross dating from 1716 and a wayside shrine made of red sandstone, dated to 1791.

At Hauptstraße 45, there is a farmstead with a half-timbered house built using the Bockbau construction method in the early 19th century and an agricultural building from the late 19th century. Together with the church’s different construction dates, these buildings show the range of dates preserved in Strohn’s architectural heritage. For visitors who want to include architecture in their trip alongside volcanic attractions, the village offers several specific points of historical interest.

The Vulkaneifel on a larger scale

A total of 77 maars have been identified in the Vulkaneifel to date. In addition, 350 eruption centres have been counted there, around 270 of them from the more recent phase. The Ulmen Maar marks the most recent volcanic eruption in the Vulkaneifel, which took place around 10,900 years ago.

For another perspective on Eifel volcanism, the signposted German Volcano Route connects geological, cultural-historical and industrial-history attractions. It offers a thematic framework for the Eifel, while the Volcano House, lava bomb, hiking trails and architectural history provide specific points of interest in Strohn.

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