Top 13 Huts and Cabins around Weilerswist

Beautiful, large shelter that offers us welcome shelter during an unexpected rain shower. The wooden man who "guards" the shelter is a worthwhile photo opportunity.

The Iron Man is an iron stele that protrudes approximately 1.20 m from the ground and measures 15 x 15 cm. It is 2.18 m long in total, with the buried end being T-shaped to ensure better anchoring in the ground. It is believed to be a surveying point, a boundary marker, or a memorial. The stele was first mentioned in documents in 1625 and for a long time served as a landmark for the border between the communities of Heimerzheim and Alfter. A 1978 investigation indicates that it is made of charcoal pig iron that was poured into an open earth trough in the form of an ingot. This is a technique that was used in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, but not yet in Roman times. The precise alignment of the line of sight from Augustusburg Palace in Brühl and its baroque garden to the Iron Man is remarkable. The Iron Man may have been relocated in 1727, when a new trail system for par force hunting was also being created in the Kottenforst forest. Several forest and hiking trails intersect at the Iron Man. The Roman Eifel aqueduct to Cologne also runs nearby. It is a popular meeting and resting place. Seating and a shelter are located in its immediate vicinity. Source: Wikipedia

The facility still needs to be secured before you can enter it. The official plaques describe it like this: While the east side is protected by a wide moat, the west side is only surrounded by a narrow moat. In order to remedy this disadvantage in the case of defense, the 0.65 m to 0.80 m thick curtain wall on the inside of the outer bailey was reinforced with stone arcades. A wooden one was built on top of them Battlement. The circular wall is provided with shaft-shaped slots that become narrower towards the outside. Such embrasures are part of the expansion of the facility in the age of firearms. Protected by the narrow slits, the castle residents were able to defend themselves against attackers. The number of embrasures in the western curtain wall is significantly higher than on the eastern side. While the east side is protected by a wide moat, the west side is only surrounded by a narrow moat. In order to remedy this disadvantage in the case of defense, the 0.65 m to 0.80 m thick curtain wall on the inside of the outer bailey was reinforced with stone arcades. A wooden battlement was built on them. The circular wall is provided with shaft-shaped slots that become narrower towards the outside. Such embrasures are part of the expansion of the facility in the age of firearms. Protected by the narrow slits, the castle residents were able to defend themselves against attackers. Gothic gatehouse The Gothic gate with an ogival passage and portcullis slot can be reached via the "modern" access causeway. In the Middle Ages the gate must have had a gatehouse. Based on the material (sandstone) and shape, the gate was probably only built in the 15th century. In the past, a free-standing wooden drawbridge structure would have provided access to the castle complex. Historical review: Documents from the years 1105 to 1182 testify to the existence of a noble family "von Hart" in the Euskirchen area. Rudolfus de Hart appears most frequently in the sources between 1118 and 1138. After the family died out, the castle fell to the Counts of Are around 1200 In 1246, the Hardtburg came into the possession of the Archbishop of Cologne with the Are-Hochstaden inheritance, where it remained until 1794. The. The Archbishops of Cologne expanded the complex into a powerful state castle, with the help of which the Electorate of Cologne's possessions and the transport routes on the northern edge of the Eifel were secured.

The sculpture of the "Wooden Man" in the forest above Rösberg was created in the mid-1980s by a local carver named Cader, who also made nativity figures, for example. With this work on the Villewald on the foothills, he also wanted (according to tradition) to create a figurative counterpart to the - much more famous - "Iron Man" in the Kottenforst. The year 1996, which can be seen at the foot of the sculpture, probably refers to a general overhaul/renovation of the "Wooden Man".

The iron pole, over two meters high, is an impressive relic from the late Middle Ages. The iron was probably heated with coal and poured into a trough. Its shape was probably used for transport for further processing. But it never came to that. The iron post served as a border post for a long time. An information board explains the details. The Iron Man is history you can touch. At the crossroads there is also a seating area and a weather shelter.

You can have a nice rest here with a view of the twin lakes.

Nice, open place at a crossroads of forest paths. In addition, weather protection if the worst comes to the worst.

Ideal for a rest or as a shelter if you are surprised by the weather