The Welfen Castle and the "Eyes of the Southern Harz".
This route connects the northern and southern branches of the Karst hiking trail. Start the circular hike in the morning; this way you can finish with a visit including coffee, cake, or more at the castle. The route is attractive in both directions, here it is described clockwise.
From the castle, the path leads above the steep slope of the Sieber, one of the few untamed Harz rivers, through light deciduous forest. Sinkholes and landslides repeatedly form on the slope, as the river water disappears into the gypsum karst beneath us. The Nüllberg consists of dolomite rock; at its foot, a side path leads to a high-water stream sinkhole. The Sieber valley is filled with gravel deposits from the last Ice Age, which are mined here near Hörden. Above the Sieber bridge is a stream sinkhole, and for several months a year, the riverbed is dry. From Hörden, the hiking trail follows along the district road under the local hill with a former castle site. Here, river water sinks beneath the road, which shows subsidence. Beyond the ramp to the B 243, the path leads into the Lüderholz. Hikers will find a species-rich deciduous forest on gravel deposits of the Große Steinau. Its water also disappears underground, dissolving the gypsum and leaving behind large and small, new and old, partly water-filled sinkholes, the "Eyes of the Southern Harz."
Between Mühlenberg and the Herzberg clinic, the path runs along the forest edge with beautiful views of Herzberg, the Sieber valley, and the Southern Harz through an area of former copper shale mining; sinkhole fields (side path!) testify to this poverty mining. The clinic offers a cafe (including an emergency room for foot patients). From the parking lot, it goes down into the Lona valley and to the Lonau waterfall, the only true waterfall of the Western Harz. From here, the last section romantically follows the mill race with information boards on the history of water power usage, over the market square and to the Juessee, the largest sinkhole lake in the entire Southern Harz with its summer outdoor pool. The further path leads through the beautifully paved pedestrian zone (ice cream parlor, cafes; water wheel) back up to the Welfen Castle, where the round ends. Here, refreshment and a visit to the castle museum await the hiker; in the evening, cultural events also take place in the knights' hall (lectures, concerts, readings…).
