Slate mining, a Celtic settlement site and an award-winning hiking trail give Bundenbach a distinct cultural and historical character. There are several ways to explore these themes: the Altburg, which can only be visited on a guided tour, and the Hahnenbachtal Trail, which passes several cultural sites in the Hahnenbach Valley.
Slate Mining History at Herrenberg
Bundenbach is considered a historic hub of slate mining in the Hunsrück. Slate was mined here in a total of 32 mines from the early Middle Ages through the 1960s. This long history gives mining a central place in the town’s story. Bundenbach lies on the Hunsrück Slate and Castle Road and is considered its centre.
The Herrenberg Visitor Mine and its adjoining Fossil Museum cover the history of slate mining and fossils from the surrounding area that are around 400 million years old. The visitor mine is closed until further notice. Check its status again before your visit.
Altburg: Guided Tours Only
The Altburg is an open-air museum with reconstructed houses on the site of a Celtic hillfort that was in use from the 3rd to the 1st century BC. The reconstructed settlement and the hillfort’s former use are presented together. Visits are possible only as part of a guided tour; tours start about 400 metres away, at the Herrenberg Visitor Mine or the Hunsrück Fossil Museum. As the visitor mine is closed until further notice, check in advance which meeting point will be used for your tour.
Hiking in the Hahnenbach Valley
The Hahnenbachtal Dream Loop is a premium hiking trail in the Hahnenbach Valley near Bundenbach, Woppenroth and Schneppenbach. It crosses the cultural landscape of the Hunsrück and passes the Fossil Museum, the Herrenberg Visitor Mine and the reconstructed Altburg. In 2012, it received the award “Germany’s Most Beautiful Hiking Trail”.
The Altburg focuses on a reconstructed settlement site, while the Hahnenbachtal Trail links several cultural sites as part of a hiking route. A guided visit to one specific site is therefore clearly different from a tour through the cultural landscape. The medieval ruins of Schmidtburg are also in the Hahnenbach Valley, within the neighbouring municipality of Schneppenbach in the Rhein-HunsrĂĽck district.
In the wider Birkenfeld destination
The wider Birkenfeld destination also offers a look at other cultural and natural attractions. Part of the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park lies within the Birkenfeld collective municipality. The Birkenfeld State Museum has permanent exhibitions on the Celts and Romans; Birkenfeld and the Wittelsbachs; ironworks in the Birkenfeld district; an old classroom from around 1930; and the Oldenburg period. This museum adds regional themes that go beyond Bundenbach’s slate mining history.
The 2.5-kilometre-long Avenue of the Gods between the local municipalities of Schwollen and Leisel features ten life-size, colourful figures of gods. The “In the Land of the Red Kite, Stork and Co.” nature trail has 18 stations around Niederhambach, Schmißberg and Rimsberg. Near Schmißberg, the trail includes an aviary with the stork pair Lotte and Bernie; it also provides information about the habitats of red kites, black storks and other species.
Discover more destinations: Weiden, Schwollen, Bruchweiler, Stipshausen, Leisel, Fischbach, Niederhambach, Mackenrodt.
Back to the wider travel overview: Birkenfeld.
