This route winds around the old Köpfchen Border Station, named after the small hill that is traversed on the way from Aachen to the border.
This leisurely walk offers varied landscapes with forests and views of pastures and hedgerows of the Eupen Butterländchen (“butter country”).
Free hiking app: Information and offline maps are available here in the hiking app (Android & Apple) and on the Aachen Region’s hiking portal.
Places of Interest:
Refreshments and Dining:
West Embankment: Hidden in the forest are remnants of the region’s border history. The trail leads right through the heart of the former West Embankment, which was built here during World War II to secure the border between Germany and Belgium. Now covered in moss, the reinforced concrete bunker line is easy to walk through and serves a peaceful purpose as an ecological niche.
Landgraben (Defense Trench): Along the way rows of gnarled beech trees trace the course of the Landgraben. They are remnants of Aachen’s city fortifications, which included the hedge you’ll see here, now overgrown. The hedge has not been trimmed for about 100 years and the trees have grown wild, forming the often bizarre harp-like shapes seen today.
Cyclops Stones: The massive boulders that have lain here for millions of years pay little heed to the border. Scientifically speaking they date back to a time when the border lay on the sandy shore of the Cretaceous Sea. But whether they were brought here by giant cyclopes, served as a place of worship, or were simply spilled from the devil’s sandbag remains a mystery and is part of local myths and legends. In any case, this idyllic spot is well worth a stop.
