Euregio walking route no. 6 Pilgrim's walk to Saint Corona in Aachen

Very nice walking tour. Carefully plotted and described.

CORONA - PILGRIMS WALK
Reliquary of St. Corona on display until July 26, 2020 in the treasury of Aachen Cathedral From St. James' Church in Bocholtz
to St. Corona in Aachen.
From Bocholtz to Aachen Cathedral
► There via Laurensberg and the Lousberg – 12 km
◄ Return via the WesMriedhof, Gut Melaten and Seffent – 12 km
Or return with the Arriva bus: Line 350 from Aachen center or Schanz (after 1 km) to Vaals; there change to line 21
line 21 from the Uniklinik (after 4 km) directly to Bocholtz
WHO WAS THE H.CORONA?
According to legend, Corona lived in the 3rd century; she was martyred at the age of 16, suspended between two palm trees. She was venerated in northern and central Italy as early as the 6th century. Emperor ORo III would excavate her remains, together with those of St. Leopard, in 997 AD. from Rome to Aachen and buried in the cathedral. A floor tile of her can still be seen in the Dom van Aachen.
In 1910, the lead coffins containing the bones of both were removed from the crypt during excavations. At the request of the then
provost, Alfons Bellesheim, the relics had to be kept in a specially made shrine. The reliquary of 98 kg
was completed in 1912 and is shaped like a church. It was recently restored; a bit faster than expected, because her name is linked to the current corona crisis. The remains have been removed out of respect and are kept separately in the sanctuary of the Dom van Aachen.
The holy Corona does not only play a role in Aachen. In Austria there is a small pilgrimage site, St. Corona am Wechsel, in a wooded area. Lumberjacks worshiped her and prayed for her protection. At the beginning of the 16th century, they are said to have discovered an image of the saint that had grown into a tree trunk. Then a chapel was built on the site of the current pilgrimage church.
PRAYER FOR SAFETY IN THE CORONACRISIS
God, refuge in our distress, strength in our uncertainty and anguish, comfort in sickness and suffering: be near and merciful to us,
now that we are experiencing the consequences of the corona virus outbreak worldwide. Be a Protector for those who have contracted this virus; we pray for them for hope and healing.
For those who have died from the consequences, we pray that they may be safe with you.
We also pray for all who work in health care and public administration, that they may experience your nearness and blessing
in their work for the benefit of society as a whole. Instill in us the confidence that You are with us with Your care and Your faithfulness as we experience the fragility of our existence. We ask this through the intercession of Saint Corona and all your saints, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The starting point is the St. James Church in Bocholtz (NL).
From the (free) parking lot behind the church we walk left out of the Kerkstraat. At the T-junction with the Wilhelminastraat we go
turn right and at the intersection with a large road cross left the Min. Ruysstraat. It turns into the Akerweg. We follow this now narrow road for about 1 km, and pass the border near a windmill on the left, blocked for car traffic with concrete 'Lego bricks'.
This asphalt road then bends to the right and crosses a railway line of the Simpelveld-Vetschau line, which is still sometimes used in
used by the tourist steam train company ZLSM. Immediately after the bridge, we turn right onto a grassy path.
On both sides of the track we see the concrete remains of the Siegfried Line.
This 'Westwall' is a German defense line of more than 630 km: from Kleve to Switzerland, which was built by order of Hitler
just before and during World War II.
Immediately after the grove, we go left through the meadow and now walk along the Siegfriedlinie, on our left. The concrete remains are barely visible because of the bushes. Large windmills surround us. We come to an asphalt road. You turn right here, next to a bench and after 40 m on the left onto a stony road. At a T-junction we take the meadow path to the left and go straight on to and through the forest edge. This forest path, which can be muddy at times, bends to the right and after about 900 m we come out of the forest again.
Before us we see the striking church of Laurensberg. On the left is the cross-border motorway A2. And diagonally to the right behind us on the corner is a small wooden cross replacing a large cross of which only the base is still there.
We take the road to the right, but before it enters the forest, we take the descending grass path to the left. At a single house, you arrive at a busy street, which you take to the left over a pedestrian strip. We pass a beekeeping and reach Laurensberg. At a T-junction with a priority road, we cross diagonally to the right and go between two white houses (the one on the right with a double-headed eagle) into the Laurentusstraat and arrive at the St-Laurentuskerk. We go up the stairs and then to the left to the entrance. (5km)
There was a church here as early as 870. In the 15th century a new church was built, which was destroyed by fire in 1780. It was rebuilt in 1912, but in 1975 it was again hit by fire. The church was then given a modern interior including stained glass windows by Ludwig Schaffrath (in 1991). Through the glass door we also see some 16th and 17th century statues.
Leaving the church we walk to the right and go down the stairs behind the church along the cemetery.
You can also take a detour over the beautiful cemetery on the slope, and then take the exit at the bottom left.
At the bottom, with the entrance/exit of the cemetery on the right, we go right past Blumenhaus Dückers and after 60 m turn left onto the footpath, the
Hangweg, until the T-junction. Here we turn left up the Orthstrasse and reach a wide green strip that we turn right.
We walk to the right around a playground and go through a railway viaduct.
We turn right (Am Treut) and take the 1st road on the left, a dead end. At the end of it we descend via a staircase to
the busy Roermonder Strasse. We turn right to a crossroads with traffic lights, cross over to the left and walk into Schlossparkstrasse. We ignore the side street on the left, Ti\ardsfeld, and then immediately turn right onto a high dike via a zigzag path with a white railing. At the top we follow the wide straight forest path straight ahead.
We walk here on the former route of the Aachen - Düsseldorf railway line that served here between 1846 and 1900.
We arrive at a long picnic bench and can look out on the 264 m high Lousberg in front of us while swinging.
We walk zigzagging down stairs again. At the bottom we turn left over the gravel road with the edge of the forest on our left. At a small tunnel we keep walking straight ahead, now on the sidewalk, and reach the entrance gate of Schloss Rahe. We go left into the park. (7.5 km) (The gate is closed at the weekend. Then walk further along the fence. Before the building on the right, we take the path on the right between posts.)
Schloss Rahe is a former moated castle, first mentioned in the 14th century. The current building dates from 1787. It has been since 1982
including a conference center and party location. In the park we immediately turn right past the castle. Over the bridge, we go right past the parking lot at the barrier to the entrance/exit. On the left is the Rathsmühle, which belonged to the castle. Immediately to the right of the entrance is a large millstone. The large building behind the mill was the granary. The old building opposite the gate dates back to the 15th/16th century. It probably served as a watchtower of the castle and as a shelter for the guard soldiers.
We go out of the gate, then to the right and after 25 m to the left between posts. We walk on the grass path with the Wildbach on the left.
On the way back we pass its sources at Seffent. This stream eventually flows into the Wurm. We cross a wooden bridge and walk straight ahead on the gravel path that curves further on to the right to a staircase. You go down that and immediately afterwards you continue down a small stone slope to the left. We go through a tunnel and follow the path straight ahead. We cross the Wildbach via a bridge with a high railing, immediately turn left and at a signpost we turn right into the street to the Lousberg.
Ignoring side roads, we follow the road up to a row of houses. Opposite house number 203 we go up some stairs on the left. (9.5km)
We continue up the stairway to the left (direction Weissenweg). Where that route descends on the left via a few steps,
we keep walking up and arrive at a semi-paved wide forest path. We follow it to the left until it ends at a wider asphalt road. We follow this for 40 m to a Y-junction where we go up a wide forest path diagonally to the right. In front of us we see a 'hide umbrella'; you go there to the left via a staircase and take the path to the right down there. While descending we continue to the left at the T-junction and go on a 'double road' to the right along the edge of the forest (asphalt road and a wide footpath) and thus arrive at a spacious six-fork.
On the left we have a nice view. We see the sports park Soers with the light poles of the 'ReitstaDon' (40,000 places, CHIO jumping horse tournament). There is also the Tivoli football stadium of Alemannia Aachen (33,000 seats).
On the six-fork is a work of art 'Bauersfrau und Teufel' on the left; on an information board on the floor we read the saga of the farmer's wife who fooled the devil. Out of anger he created the Lousberg here. Diagonally opposite, we go up the Salvatorberg, take the stairway on the left, and arrive at a crossroads station. Before that we go left via a small street further up and take the first path sharply to the right and thus reach the entrance of the Salvator church. (11 km) In this austere church, an information board tells about its history and about the monastery diagonally behind it. Oblate Fathers of Mary lived there from 1949 to 2012. Coming out of the church, you go down the stairs diagonally to the left and you continue until you reach a wall. We follow it to the right and thus take the path down to the left. After house number 2 we go down the stairs and then continue down Kupferstrasse on the left until the traffic lights. We first cross the Ludwigsallee and go behind the old tower to the next traffic lights. We also cross the Saarstrasse and
arrive at Veltmannplatz with a pond in front of us. We walk around it to the left and then go straight ahead into the Hermannstrasse. At a crossing we descend straight ahead: Bergsdriesch. At the traffic lights we cross diagonally to the left and go up the Neupforte. Then we take the 1st street on the left: Mostardstrasse. At the T-junction we turn right, walk across the Markt and 100 m further take the first street on the left: Johannes Paulus II-Street, and thus reach the Aachener Domschatzkammer on the left.
The treasury is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (until 2 p.m. on Mondays). Admission € 5.00 per person. Tickets are available at the
Dominformation across the street. You can also get a pilgrim's stamp as proof that you have completed the pilgrimage to Aachen!
Beautiful church art can be seen in the Domschatzkammer. The recently restored reliquary of St. Corona and Leopardus is also on temporary display. Detailed information can be read there. Turning left around the corner from the Domschatzkammer, we arrive at the
Domhof with the entrance to Aachen Dom at the end. (12.5 km) The Dom van Aken originated from the hojerk of Charlemagne.
The central octagonal part was built between 796 and 804 after Byzantine examples. The chandelier is a gift from Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa. Later there have been important Gothic and Baroque extensions. In the Palatine Chapel stands the golden shrine containing the bones of Charlemagne since 1215. More than thirty emperors and kings have been crowned on the wooden throne.
In the Middle Ages, the Dom became an important place of pilgrimage because of the relics that are kept in the Marian Shrine.
Once every seven years they are 'shown to the people' Djdens de Heiligdomsvaart. The next time will be in 2021.
In the Dom, a black floor tile with the name of St. Corona can be seen at the front left.

RETURN: Aachen DOM – BOCHOLTZ (12 km)
Coming from the Dom we go straight back over the Domplatz, through the iron gate. On the left is an information column about Aachen as a place of pilgrimage. We turn diagonally to the left, into the Annastraat, pass the evangelical Anna Church and arrive at a busy traffic road (on the left it is called Alexianergraben). We cross this road and after 20 m we turn right at a Y-junction: the Rosstraat. We pass an octagonal white Maria chapel on the left, cross the Stromgasse and go up the Mühlenberg. We take the first road to the right (Jakobsplatz) past St. James Church. Aachen was an important gathering point for pilgrims to Saint James in Spain. The German St. James Society, founded in 1987, has its seat in Aachen. The pilgrims marched from the baptistery of the Dom
past the St. James church towards Liège or towards Maastricht.
The current St. James Church was built between 1877 and 1881 to replace an old church from the 12th century. At 87 metres, the tower is the tallest in the city. Coming out of the church, we cross past a Calvary group to Vaalser Strasse and descend to the left to the railway viaduct under the Aachen-Schanz train station. Here is a bus stop of the frequent Arrival Line 350 that goes directly
to Vaals (Wittem and Maastricht). In Vaals you can change to line 21 to Bocholtz.
We cross at the traffic lights and follow the Vaalser Strasse diagonally to the right for another 200 m and then turn right into the Gartenstrasse. After 100 m we leave it again and turn left into the Westpark. You pass a playground on your left and immediately after it, at a five-fork with a thick tree, you take the second path to the left. We continue more or less straight ahead, also where the park becomes narrower. We leave the park again at the bus stop on Welkenrather Strasse. We cross to Weststrasse and pass some supermarkets. The road bends right under a viaduct and passes sports fields (right). We return to Vaalser Strasse, go to the right under the railway and then immediately up to the right, onto Bleiberger Strasse.
After 100 m we turn left onto the Westfriedhof. (15.5 km) Immediately afterwards we take the broad asphalt lane diagonally to the right and pass the neo-Gothic 'Capo Santo' full of large funerary monuments. This Catholic cemetery was established in 1890. Centrally located
here this covered arcade gallery. In the freely accessible arcades, the theme of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection is clearly a favorite. Here
the rich people from Aachen and the surrounding area used to be buried here. We walk past 'Campo Santo' and arrive at a five-fork with op
a tomb a white statue of Christ. We take the 2nd path to the right, so to the right of that statue.
We pass, on our left, 148 graves of Soviet soldiers who died in captivity.

We go straight on until a T-junction of asphalt paths with a cornerstone with nr 63 and we continue straight on via the grass path, which after 40 m ends at a small asphalt road. Here we turn right and after 70 m we walk diagonally to the left out of the cemetery.
We immediately cross the road and walk into the next park. We keep to the left and walk more or less parallel to the traffic road on the left behind the bushes. In this way you eventually curve to the left to a street that ends here. On the left we cross a long bicycle and pedestrian bridge with a parking garage in the middle. We go straight down and we come to an information board that
tells us about the Königsweg; and on the right is Gut Melaten. (17 km) Here you can also read about the solemn entry of the later Emperor Charles V
who was crowned king in Aachen on October 23, 1520. He spent the last night before in Castle Wittem.
The large farm across the street was a leprosy in the Middle Ages, where lepers lived in seclusion outside the city. 'Melates'
comes from the French 'mal ladre': the disease of Lazarus.
On the left is the university hospital 'Uniklinik' with 1,600 beds; one of the largest hospitals in Europe in terms of building. It got in
Commissioned in 1984. Construction cost DM 2.06 billion; 3.5 times as much as originally budgeted.
This district of Aachen is defined by the RWTH: the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, with 45,000 students the largest
technical university of Germany.
Before the 'Uniklinik' is the terminus of the Arrivabus line 21, which runs to Hoensbroek via Vaals, Bocholtz, Simpelveld and Heerlen (hourly service).
Immediately after Gut Melaten we turn right and arrive at the Karlsgarten herb garden. It is usually open; we walk through it and
leave it again through the gate on the other side (gates close properly! Locked? Then walk straight ahead to the gravel road; turn left there.) We walk through the orchard with old fruit varieties and, turning right, arrive at a gravel road, the Rabenthalweg. We go up to the left until just before a three-fork. Here, opposite a pond, we turn right and immediately left at an information board about Seffent and the Wilkensberg. We follow this footpath at the bottom of the hill. Turning to the right, we come to a source area on both sides of the road, the 'seven sources'. In fact, we count more sources; together they form the beginning of the Wildbach, which we followed a bit on the way there, past Laurensberg. We're going over a bridge. The path follows the stream for a while and ends in the hamlet of Seffent. We cross the road and take the cobbled road straight ahead past a beautiful white farmhouse.
At a T-junction we go left further up to the Herzogweg. We follow it to the left and turn right after 60 m, a small road further up. We walk all the way down to a T-junction. We take a left on the street and then turn right onto a cart track.
We follow this straight ahead until a crossing with a bench on the left and a simple wooden cross. It's hard to see, though
on it is something special: a smiling Christ.
At this cross we turn right back into the Netherlands. At a Y-junction, before a work of art, we take a narrow road on the right to a T-junction in the hamlet of Vlengendaal. We turn left to a railway tunnel with traffic lights. We walk straight into Bocholtz and on the Wilhelminastraat we turn left to the church.
This is a publication of the Pilgrim Roads & Footpaths Foundation
● The SPV organizes about 8 group walks per year to 'sacred spots', particularly in South Limburg and the border region.
● The SPV publishes pilgrim guides for individual journeys: in addition to route descriptions, special attention is paid to religious-cultural heritage along the way.
For more information: www.spvlimburg.nl
This booklet (price € 2.50) is available at Kloosterboekwinkel Wittem,
Wittemer Allee 32, 6286 AB Wttem; phone 043 450 2332.
www.kloosterboekwinkelwittem.nl