The Aachen Round - a cake for cycling

Through the old town we pass by Elisenbrunnen, Cathedral and Town Hall before driving through the charming city garden. It was originally established in 1852 by Peter Josef Lené as the garden of a nearby citizen's hospital and later became the core of the spa garden.
At Europaplatz, surrounded by highway entrance and industrial area, we dive into a green oasis. Far from settlements and traffic, we follow the murmuring Wurm. Shrubs, trees, fish, and initially a scent of jam accompany our way along the stream. Along the way, we pass Gut Kalkofen, one of the many manorial farms in the rural urban area, whose roots date back to the Middle Ages.
In the Soers plain, a wide old cultural landscape opens up. The direct sales of some farms continue the tradition of the former Aachen district, which was responsible for supplying the Palatinate and the city since the times of Emperor Charles. Like the Rahe watchtower, the sturdy farm walls also contributed to the defense of Aachen. In the 19th century, some farms like Gut Scheuer became the country seats of the local industrial nobility. Schloss Rahe was equipped with a landscape park in the 18th century.
Along the Wildbach, our next companion, cereal mills were built and later wool and cloth mills, whose buildings and mill ponds are preserved like at the Stockheider Mühle. It also flows through the historic cultural landscape of the city in Seffent. It is named after the septem fontes - seven springs - that find their way here from the Snowberg. Burg Seffent, with its surrounding courtyard farms, looks back on over 1,100 years of history as a royal court.
Up and down through the greenery on the edge of the basin, we head up to the Öcher Bösch. For centuries, it was a central source of wood, hunting, and grazing land until Mayor Pelzer took the initiative and placed it under special protection in 1882. As a result, trees were allowed to be over 100 years old, and a recreational forest with hiking trails and shelters was created. A tram took the people of Aachen out into the countryside to the Waldschenke, where we can also take a break.
On the large Aachen round, we climb up almost to the highest point of the continuous forest belt with its impressive old deciduous trees. The effort is worth it, as we zigzag back down like on a ski slope to the old border station Köpfchen, where we can take a well-deserved break and then cycle the next forest stage, this time flatter, beyond Eupener Straße.
Back in the settlement area, we comfortably ride on the Vennbahntrasse through Brand and in Eilendorf, we stress-freely ride on excellent cycling priority routes. Soon, the Haarbach becomes our companion, once supplying three mills. The Welsche Mühle on our cycle path dates back to the 15th century. The preserved gem is a technical treasure and can grind two types of grain in parallel. With the stream, we flow back into the green realm of the Wurm towards the city center.
Sights along the route:
Cathedral, Town Hall, Market
City Garden
Carolus Thermen
Europaplatz
Gut Kalkofen
Cultural landscape Soers, manor houses, mills
Schloss Rahe
Historic center of Seffent, castle, courtyard farms
Hospital
Border crossing Köpfchen
Welsche Mühle