The Wurm Valley is a green leisure retreat between Palenberg and Marienberg. St. Peter’s Chapel, the water tower and the Carolus Magnus Centre add early religious history and mining history as distinct themes. When choosing your outings, you can focus on different things: recreation in green surroundings or historic buildings and industrial heritage.

Wurm Valley: a leisure retreat between Palenberg and Marienberg

The Wurm Valley has mini golf and a multi-generational playground. There is also a place to refresh and get refreshments in the Wurm Valley year-round. The area can be reached via a car park at Schley in Marienberg or by a footpath from Aachener Straße in Palenberg. Before setting off, check which facilities are available, what opening arrangements apply to the food and drink offering, and how access is organized. Playground facilities and access arrangements may change.

Churches, the water tower and mining history

St. Peter’s Chapel, also known as Karl’s Chapel, is considered one of the significant early churches in the Rhineland. It is a surviving relic from the early Christian period, making it one of the notable examples of Übach-Palenberg’s early religious history.

The water tower is a landmark of Übach-Palenberg, visible from far away, and is about 49 metres high. From 1912 until the Carolus Magnus mine closed in 1962, it supplied water to the mine. The tower was professionally restored and painted blue; in 1989 it was added to the city’s list of historic monuments. Its height, former function and heritage status each give the structure a distinct connection to local and industrial history.

The Carolus Magnus Centre uses the former mine administration building as a venue for public and cultural events. The protected Bauhaus-style building has retained its original fabric. If you have a particular date in mind, check the programme in advance, as events change.

Zweibrüggen Castle was built in the Classical style in 1788. The old Zweibrüggen Mill has an impressive waterwheel and a beautiful garden. The foundations of a Roman bath in the Wurm Valley, discovered in 1988, offer a different glimpse into history. Together, these places represent different chapters in architectural and regional history, from Roman times to the mining era.

Roman traces and green trails

The Via Belgica is a cycling and hiking route that follows historic Roman traces. Information panels along the route point out buildings, ruins and old signposts. The route combines exercise with information about historic remains; check trail conditions and route information before setting out.

In the wider Heinsberg travel destination

The wider Heinsberg travel destination includes woodland and heathland in Schwalm-Nette Nature Park. The Teverener Heide is a 450-hectare nature reserve in the Heinsberg region. It extends across the municipality of Gangelt and the towns of Geilenkirchen and Übach-Palenberg. Open heathland, marshy bogs, quiet lakes, inland dunes and woodland characterize the landscape of this protected area.

The four circular trails vary in length: the Moor Circular Trail is 5.8 kilometres long, the Heath Circular Trail 6 kilometres, the Lakes Circular Trail 7.1 kilometres and the Great Circular Trail 9.4 kilometres. This allows you to choose a route based on its stated length and the landscape feature it focuses on. Trailheads are at the designated car parks in Scherpenseel, Grotenrath and Hohenbusch. As trail conditions may change, check them before setting off.

Discover more destinations: Wassenberg, Waldfeucht, Bocket, Tüddern, Gangelt, Selfkant, Holzweiler, Heinsberg

Go to the wider travel overview: Heinsberg.