2023-10-01 06:50:21
The Sauerland region
The low mountain region has a lot of area – this is how the townspeople from the Ruhrpott, who like to come here for a short vacation, praise the Sauerland. The wooded area is located in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a corner extending into Hesse, the so-called Waldecksche Upland. Sparsely populated, lots of nature: perfect for hiking and cycling in summer, and skiing in winter. There are no big cities far and wide, only Iserlohn with 95,000 inhabitants as a medium-sized town, otherwise small half-timbered towns and villages, here and there a castle or estate.
Five large reservoirs are spread across the Sauerland: the Biggesee and Listersee, the Hennesee, the Möhnesee, the Sorpesee and the Diemelsee – here there are beaches, fishing, camping, pedal boating, surfing, diving and sailing. The highest mountains are manageable: Langenberg (843 meters), Hegekopf (842 meters) and the Kahle Asten (841 meters). Kahl because of its exceptional high heath, which was created by grazing with goats, cows and sheep. In winter the mountain is part of the Winterberg ski lift carousel.
Because the Kahle Asten is often mentioned in weather reports, it is one of the most famous places in Germany. The viewing platform of the Asten Tower offers a spectacular all-round view of the Rothaar Mountains. And because there is always a fresh breeze in the mountainous area, not only climatic health resorts like Brilon and Eslohe have become a trademark, but also wind turbines.
Source: Infographic WELT
In the Hochsauerland district, for example, there are already 143 systems in operation, and dozens of new ones are planned, some of which will be 270 meters high. Many people are against further expansion, especially in tourist locations: shadows will be cast and the landscape will be spoiled. There is a threat of trouble in the Sauerland.
Perfect for a paragliding flight
A few steps, a slight jerk – and you take off. At lofty heights, the Sauerland appears from a completely different perspective as you float over the low mountain landscape, alone or as a tandem flight with a pilot. The region around Schmallenberg in particular, with its many mountain ranges and good thermals, is ideal for flying with a paraglider. After the foothills of the Alps, it is considered the second most popular German region for paragliders.
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There are enough take-off and landing sites for all wind directions, for example managed by the Sauerland-Air association with more than 620 members, for example in Willingen or Wenholthausen. Those interested will find a dozen flight schools here, such as Papillon Paragliding in Hochsauerland in Elpe with introductory courses for self-flying (from 14 years).
A paraglider in the Sauerland
Source: Kuttig – Travel / Alamy Stock Photo
Two-hour tandem flights that you can fly with, even without prior knowledge, start in Willingen at the Sauerland paragliding flight school. The only requirement: your body weight should be between 30 and 90 kilograms. Newly planned are two more take-off points for paragliders in Plettenberg, built on the bare, cleared mountaintops in the Lennetal.
To eat something hearty from the pot
In the Sauerland dialect, Potthucke means something like “that which sits in the pot”, as this dish easily sticks to the bottom. It is a hearty potato cake that is first baked in the oven and then fried in slices in the pan. According to great-grandma’s recipe: made from raw and cooked potatoes, bacon, sausages, at least three eggs, lots of cream, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Source: Infographic WELT
Sauerland butcher shops and inns also send Potthucke as a pre-cooked roll. In Sauerland, people traditionally eat brown bread and salad or turnip greens. A regional pilsner is often served as a drink – either from the top dogs Veltins and Warsteiner or from one of the family breweries such as Essel Bräu or Gräflich zu Stolberg’sche brewery Westheim.
Five caves are open to visitors
The Sauerland is one of the largest cave areas in Germany, more than 1000 caves are known and new ones are still being discovered.
The five most beautiful are converted into show caves: In the Heinrichshöhle in Hemer, famous for its Ice Age animal bones, a completely preserved skeleton of a 2.35 meter tall cave bear is on display. Concerts take place regularly in the Balverhöhle. The Bilsteinhöhle visitor path leads along the underground Bilsteinbach.
The Atta Cave in Attendorn is considered the most beautiful show cave in Germany with the most bizarre stalactite formations – it is a 6.7 kilometer long labyrinth full of stalagmites and stalactites, with almost two kilometers of cave passages accessible. A cave cheese ripens there at 95 percent humidity and nine degrees Celsius, which can be tasted on site.
Light plays in the Dechenhöhle
Those: www.dechenhoehle.de
The Dechenhöhle in Iserlohn, discovered in 1868, is famous for its high vaults and columns, such as the imperial hall and the organ grotto. The German Cave Museum is connected there and shows a skeleton of a baby cave bear discovered in the cave, tools from the Neanderthal period and blind cave fish in an aquarium.
The Dechenhöhle also has its culinary specialty: the Dechenhöhlenstollen – a Christmas stollen that matures in the cool underground for four weeks. The youngest cave in the Sauerland was only discovered near Hemer in 2022. It is 25 meters long, eight meters deep and is considered the entrance to another underground labyrinth.
A pony in the “Guinness Book of Records”
The shoulder height of the mini Shetland pony Pumuckl from Breckerfeld in the Sauerland region is 51 centimeters high at the shoulder. The little one lives on Claudia Wiedemann’s riding stables and enjoys driving the car (with his seatbelt on, of course). Even though he likes to be petted, he is not an ornamental animal: the three-year-old stallion works as a therapy horse in retirement homes and is very active anyway.
The Shetland pony just reaches the knee of a “real” horse
Source: picture alliance/dpa/Bernd Thissen
At this year’s wood skidding championships in Cobbenrode in the Sauerland region, he stole the show from the heavy cold-blooded horses: Pumuckl bravely pulled a 41 kilo tree trunk behind him that was as heavy as himself. This puts him in the “Guinness Book of Records” as the smallest back horse in the world.
The quote
“The best protection against sunburn is a holiday in the Sauerland”
The calendar saying shows: The Sauerlanders take their changeable weather with humor. According to the Sauerland weather portal, it rains so often because the rain-heavy clouds from the Atlantic to the west hit a mountain range here for the first time, the Rothaar Mountains, and then rain off.
The typical Sauerland summer is a friendly mix of sun and clouds – with showers, ideal for hiking, and actually a healthy, healing climate. But having an umbrella with you is a good idea. There are many expressions for rain in the Sauerland Platt: It nisselt (for drizzle), fisselt (for light rain), blabbers (for showers), blaester (for heavy rain) and saut (for long-lasting precipitation).
In the southwest of the Rothaar Mountains, an average of 1,500 millimeters of water comes down per year; it only rains more in the Upper Harz, the Upper Black Forest and the foothills of the Alps.
Bizarre, record-breaking, typical: You can find further parts of our regional studies series here.
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