European long-distance hiking trail E11

Short Description

From Amsterdam through the Harz and the Mark Brandenburg to Masuria

(Area Saxony-Anhalt)

Description

As the E11 is a lowland path that touches the northern low mountain ranges but only rises above 500 meters once, it can be hiked in full length all year round. In the Netherlands, the trail currently starts in Deventer, the route to Haarlem still needs to be completed. From Deventer, the trail leads through Twente and in Germany via Rheine to Osnabrück.

Now it goes into the low mountain ranges: first over the narrow Wiehengebirge, then through the Weser- and Leinebergland. The Harz is reached near Seesen. On its northern flank, the trail runs through Goslar and Bad Harzburg before reaching the Ecker in Saxony-Anhalt. It continues through Ilsenburg, Wernigerode, Blankenburg, Thale to Ballenstedt. Here the trail turns south into the Harz mountains. At Wippra, it turns east, then reaches the Harz foreland at the Lutherstadt Eisleben. Passing by the Süßer See, through Höhnstedt, Halle/S. is the next destination. From here, it continues over the Petersberg towards the north, passing through Dessau-Roßlau, crossing the Elbe at Coswig, and then leaving Saxony-Anhalt at Senst in Fläming

The route continues through the High Fläming into the Mark. Potsdam and Berlin are crossed before heading through the eastern Mark to the Oder. In Poland, the trail leads from the Oder to the Warta and then further to the Vistula. Masuria is traversed in a wide arc towards the northeast before the E11 ends at the Augustów Heath on the Lithuanian border.

(Source: Hiking Association LSA)

Route Description

Crossing continents on foot

On European long-distance hiking trails across the continent!

Traveling in Europe

Guided by the European idea, the goal at the founding of the European Ramblers Association (EWV) in 1969 was to create a transnational European long-distance hiking network with a unifying character. Today, the EWV, as the umbrella organization of the major national hiking associations, represents 5 million hikers in 55 member organizations from 28 European countries.

Today, a network of 11 transnational long-distance hiking trails covers almost all of Europe with a total length of over 52,000 km. Nine of these trails (E1, E3, E4, E5, E6, E8, E9, E10, E11) cover a length of approximately 9700 km on German territory.

Existing national and transregional hiking routes were integrated into the concept. One of the most famous European long-distance hiking trails is the E1, which crosses the Federal Republic from Flensburg to Lake Constance in a north-south direction. The European long-distance hiking trails in Germany often run along well-known routes, such as the Eggeweg (E1), the Westweg (E1), or the Ruppiner Land circular hiking trail (E10).

Not all of the European long-distance hiking trails, which are exclusively managed by volunteers, have yet reached the desired quality standards regarding trail layout and marking. Therefore, thorough preparation and planning are recommended, with the numerous literature resources from trail descriptions to travel reports serving as a meaningful starting point.

The European long-distance hiking trails offer the opportunity to get to know the European regions directly and intensively while hiking.