Oberwinter Literary Hiking Trail L3 "Humboldtweg"

The world traveler and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769 – 1859) is the patron of this hiking trail. In March 1790, in connection with the then scientific dispute about the principles of rock formation, he visited the quarry at Unkelstein, which lies 3 km south of the Rolandsbogen. On the tour, besides views and perspectives, there are also some 19th-century buildings to discover, which make the lifestyle of that time comprehensible.

The route begins at the parking lot on the B9, directly at the Oberwinter marina. It climbs steeply, and after passing the hermitage "Alte Liebe," you reach the Friedrichsberg viewpoint. Here, there is a beautiful view of Oberwinter. The route continues uphill via a staircase and through a beautiful beech forest to the Rhine heights. Further on the heights, past the Dietrich Hut, to a fork in the road above Rolandseck. Here you have the choice to turn directly right to pass the Arp Museum to get to Rolandseck, or to go straight ahead at the signpost into the forest to make a detour to the Goethestein.

When descending to Rolandseck and passing the Arp Museum, you see on the left side the old forester's house. Then you proceed to the Rhine shore and follow it on the right bank of the Rhine back to Oberwinter and the starting point of the route. Shortly before the end of the route, you pass the Oberwinter shipyard, which was established in 1946 at the initiative of the French occupying forces on the site of the popular Rhine bathing area created by the VVOR.

The world traveler and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769 – 1859) is the patron of this hiking trail. He traveled the Middle Rhine in 1790, with a particular interest in the ubiquitous basalt deposits here, especially those in the quarry at Unkelstein below the Birgelerkopf. The background was the scientific dispute between Neptunists and Vulcanists. One side held the view that all rock formations were formed by deposits in the sea, while the other attributed the origin of many rocks, including basalt, to volcanic molten flow.

Above the house Humboldtstein, Humboldt is said to have said: "This is one of the seven most beautiful views in the world!" However, this saying is claimed by several German cities, as is Rolandseck being called the Rhine Nice. The extent to which Humboldt was really concerned with the beauty of the landscape is not documented, but his interest was probably of a more scientific nature, as can be read in his 1790 publication "Mineralogical Observations on Some Basalts on the Rhine".