Medebach
Bollerberg, Kahler Asten, Schlossberg and Langenberg - the highest peaks in Westfalen stand in the west as a bulwark against the approaching clouds. Protected by them, the Medebach Bay is the warmest and driest corner of the Sauerland with many special biological and geological features.
Medebach - The sun garden of the Sauerland
Meadow hills, groups of trees, mountain silhouettes on the horizon - Medebach Bay lies at our feet like a light green island of meadows in a dark green sea of forest.
We climb up a meadow path to the Aussichtspunkt Opolt, the lookout point with a large cross and a beautiful view over Dreislar. We are on the lookout for the most beautiful views of Medebach Bay, that wide basin in the far east of Sauerland on the border with Hessen. The highest mountains in Westfalen hold back the clouds in the west. The sun breaks through them again and again. Sometimes the light is dramatic Nordic and a few moments later it is soft Italian. For me as a photographer, this is what makes the Sauerland's Tuscany so appealing.
Alfred Isken, my hiking guide on the Orketal circular trail, and I act as trackers. Trails are the new circular hiking trails in the Sauerland. There are Rothaarsteig trails - circular hiking trails on the Rothaarsteig - Sauerland trails and Höhenflug trails. Our Orketal circular trail is a 16 km loop on the Sauerland-Höhenflug through the Medebach villages of Medelon, Berge and Dreislar. Every now and then Alfred Isken sticks a blue H on a tree. He is one of hundreds of volunteer trail markers from the Sauerland Mountain Association (SGV). Shortly before the viewpoint, our narrow hiking trail leads through dense Unterholz. Alfred Isken has a pair of pruning shears with him to trim the blackberry vines growing cheekily in the path. That's also part of his job. I, on the other hand, am happy to find blackberries, raspberries and blueberries along the way to supplement my snacks.
Speaking of refreshments: In Berge in front of the church, a tempting aroma wafts into our nostrils: fresh waffles and not a pub in sight. Between the barn and the stable, Judith Sauerwald has set up an old wood-fired oven on which she pans a waffle iron that is over a hundred years old. If a hiker comes by, they are very welcome. She is especially happy to welcome children as guests.
Together with her husband Stefan, Judith Sauerwald is converting an old Sauerland farmhouse from the 18th century into an adventure barn. "Moving hands are a sign of a moving spirit. What you've made yourself is better remembered than if you've just read about it," says Stefan Sauerwald, the village carpenter, explaining the couple's motto. Carving green wood, felting by the river, cooking over a campfire, spending the night in straw, sawing out animal plaques, pouring candles - these are just a small selection of the topics on offer here. But the most important thing - especially for children from the city - is the encounter with normal farm animals - not from a distance over a fence, but to actually touch them. "Everything to do with growing, nature and animals is our theme. When a child stands right in front of a cow, smells it and then maybe the tongue comes out and licks the child's hand, how big the eyes get, that's just great to see," says Judith Sauerwald.
My search for the special features of Medebach Bay takes me on to Düdinghausen. I had already expected to find plant species in a particularly warm part of the Sauerland that are usually found in more southerly climes. But the geology also has surprising things to offer. The Düdinghausen Geological Circular Trail leads me along the stream out of the village towards Kreuzweg. I enjoy the rippling of the water. My new companion Horst Frese is delighted with my attention to the stream: "Are you looking for gold? If you have lots and lots of time, you can really find something here. Germany's richest gold deposit is less than 15 km away: the Eisenberg near Korbach. And there is gold here in many places in special layers of rock."
A little later, we are standing in a quarry. Above us in the rock face, the upturned layers form an arch, as if we were standing in front of a walled-up tunnel mouth. "Here you can look directly into the early creation - an awe-inspiring place. You can also trace the migration of gold from the seabed 400 million years ago to the Sauerland of today. Incidentally, there was once a 4000-metre-high mountain range here." Marine sediments, fossils, volcanic ash - you can leaf through the layers of the quarry like the pages of a book and immerse yourself in the early phases of creation.
Klaus-Peter Kappe