City tour through Altenkirchen (Westerwald)

Description

We start at Altenkirchen train station, built in 1883, and set out on a trail to the old brickworks. Many older brick buildings in the town still show the mostly red bricks fired here.
We find the remains of the old town wall and stroll across Schlossplatz, whose castle we at least see depicted on an artistically painted utility box.

At today's Christuskirche (the fifth church on this site), we find an old gravestone from 1770, and at the market square, we can examine the two oldest yet rather inconspicuous houses (built in 1602 and 1663 respectively).
We encounter the old town wall in a courtyard but also at the "Privilegierte Apotheke" (built in 1699). The right sidewall of the building is still connected to the former town wall. A look at the pavement in the pedestrian zone reveals the exact course of the town wall, which was erected after the granting of town rights in 1314.

Public transport

Starting point accessible by bus and train (timetable information)

Parking

Free parking spaces at the forecourt of the train station

Konrad-Adenauer-Platz, 57610 Altenkirchen

Directions

From the train station, we go via Konrad-Adenauer-Platz and the “zig-zag path” up to Wiedstraße. Here, we turn right to the signal-controlled intersection, where we already recognize the “XOX House,” named after the distinctive brick pattern. In the valley behind this building was previously the old brickworks. The associated clay pit was located behind today's ALDI market. Via Ziegelweg, we go back to the “B8,” the Kölner Straße, or, in earlier times, the “Huh Stroß,” the Hohe Straße, an old military and trade route from Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and also to Leipzig which passes through Altenkirchen here.

We follow the view down Kölner Straße to the railway crossing and further into the town centre. Behind the first small square/playground in the pedestrian zone, we turn right into Mühlengasse. Where there is now a car park, there used to be a large mill operation, whose mill wheel was driven by the still existing mill ditch.

We pass the "Historical Quarter," a place for preserving the town's history, and find at the end of “Wallstraße” / “Im Hähnchen” on the ground an old street corner stone, formerly a buffer for horse-drawn carts. Further up, Saynstraße leads us left onto Schlossplatz.
On the left, we find a depiction of the former castle on a utility box. However, the buildings were destroyed by major fires and war events.
We cross the square towards the church and see on the left the flame memorial in remembrance of the synagogue and the Jewish fellow citizens who fell victim to the Holocaust.

On the left past the church stands an old gravestone in front of the Protestant library, found during excavations around the church. A wide passage now leads us back onto Wilhelmstraße, and we see the artistically designed facade of the former hardware store of the Kuss family.

The market square was redesigned a few years ago; at the rear, there is a slate-covered building, probably the oldest house in town (1602). We now turn into Kirchstraße, cross the lovingly designed church square, and reach the remains of the old medieval town wall via the pedestrian crossing, which must have experienced a lot as a house, stable, or garage wall.

Back on Wilhelmstraße, we reach the Privilegierte Apotheke, the oldest pharmacy in Altenkirchen in the apothecary building from 1730. The darkly protruding cobblestones on the ground show the former course of the town wall and the city gate that existed here.
At the end of the pedestrian zone, we cross the railway crossing again, go left a short way into Koblenzer Straße, and reach Bahnhofstraße again with the pleasantly wide footpath and the outdoor seating options in front of café and gastronomy.

What else there is in the Altenkirchen region can be found in the tourism display at the UNIKUM regional shop, which also offers regional specialties for us.

Tips

On Bahnhofstraße we find homemade delicacies at the traditional Café Schneider and handcrafted greetings from the region in the UNIKUM regional shop.

Literature

Fold-out map "Historical City Tour Altenkirchen"
available at the mayor's city office (in the Altenkirchen town hall), at Altenkirchen town hall, or in the UNIKUM regional shop

Destination

Altenkirchen train station

Starting Point

Altenkirchen train station