Chapels Loop - Mining, Streams & Trade Routes

The third chapel loop leads through light forests, stream valleys, and over the scenic slopes of the Hühnerberg, where basalt is still mined today.

Mountain folding, volcanism, and erosion shaped the landscape in the region; numerous mineral resources were formed in the process. Thus, we always have the Hühnerberg in sight as an active basalt quarry. Once the Hühnerberg was 362 meters high, today it is 289 meters at the upper edge of the quarry and the bottom is 90 meters lower. The area has been under nature protection for years, but there are restrictions in place for quarrying. Besides this landscape-shaping element, it is the streams along which we hike that characterize this loop. First the Laubach, which feeds several fish ponds in the valley, then the Pleisbach, which brings us close to Oberpleis, the center of the Pleiser Hügelland, and later the Logebach, which becomes the Pleisbach with the influx of the Quirrenbach. And when we are on the heights near Berghausen, Quirrenbach, and Brüngsberg, we see the Seven Mountains from a new perspective and the Siebengebirge panorama opens up to us with completely different views. During the hike, we will have seen two of the twelve chapels, following the main route of the Chapel Hike, in Sand and Quirrenbach.