Jakobsweg Etappe von Hoppstädten-Weiersbach nach Tholey

This stage begins in Hoppstädten-Weiersbach at the chapel of St. Katharina von Alexandrien and leads via Nohfelden and Oberthal to Tholey and the Benedictine abbey of St. Mauritius.

The start of the connection is at the chapel in Hoppstädten in the main street. We follow the path behind the chapel to Schulstraße, Rothenweg, at the end on a narrow path (until then avoiding the busy Saarstraße L 169), to Neubrücke station; through the underpass we come to Harald Fissler Str.; to the right to the biomass power plant "Oie". We then cross the Nahe on the left and walk through a tunnel under the A62, then turn right; from here to Nohfelden, the Way of St. James runs parallel to the Naheweg (marked blue N on a white background), mostly along the edge of the forest and within sight of the Nahe and the railroad line.

At the beginning of Nohfelden you cross the Freisbach, whose mouth into the Nahe can be seen on the right, continue along Naheuferstraße, Buchwaldstraße uphill from the village with a slight incline to the Hochwaldhalle forest parking lot; take the path on the right towards Buchwaldhalle, past Heidenkopf on the right towards Walhausen; there through the street "Zum Heidenkopf" to Säbelstraße and Löschbachstraße.

At the allotment garden site, cross the railroad line on the right, then uphill past the solar power plant. At the entrance to Steinberg-Deckenhardt, you reach the fire station and the cemetery.Past the bus stop at the fire station / cemetery, cross the L319 and walk uphill to the former church (now the music club's event hall) into Steinmarstraße, Deckenhardter Straße, at the end of the village through the forest towards Waldritter-Bildungszentrum-Saar; at the industrial plants (feldspar mining) turn right, here the path touches the European Sculpture Route of Peace. The Güdesweiler Forest Cemetery follows and next to it the Valentine's Chapel; continue through the forest, past the Wildfrauhöhle - accessible via a staircase downhill next to the path.

Note: Between Steinberg-Deckenhardt and Oberthal, muddy paths must be expected due to forestry and feldspar mining.

From the entrance to Oberthal downhill through Neunkirchener Straße and Groniger Straße to the route of the former St. Wendel - Tholey railroad line, which has been developed as the "Wendelinus-Radweg" for walkers, skaters and cyclists. We follow this to the west in the direction of Tholey. The route finally ends in front of a walled tunnel, the Way of St. James goes steeply uphill here and joins a country road. On the left, you will see a pylon indicating the excavations of a Roman vicus in the Wareswald. These are located approx. 400 m to the left of the road. However, the Way of St. James follows the road to the right and reaches the center of Tholey via Wareswaldstraße, Bahnhofstraße and Trierer Straße, where the Abteikirche St. Mauritius and thus the stage destination soon comes into view.

The abbey church dates back to the 12th century. Its predecessor church was first mentioned in 634 AD. Benedictine monks still live and work in Tholey today. In fall 2020, the church will be reopened after extensive renovation work; the three newly designed main choir windows by Gerhard Richter are particularly worth seeing. It is also worth visiting the "Theulegium" museum.