Ahr Valley

Coordinates: 50°32′N 7°04′E / 50.533°N 7.067°E / 50.533; 7.067
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ahr Valley
Ahrtal
The Middle Ahr valley
Geography
Coordinates50°32′N 7°04′E / 50.533°N 7.067°E / 50.533; 7.067 
RiversAhr

The Ahr valley (

Ahrweiler, and hence the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Running through the collective municipality of Adenau the valley bends northeast at its confluence with the Adenauer Bach and reaches the collective municipality of Altenahr, from where it resumes its characteristic west to east course, albeit interrupted by meanders. Here begins the section that is known as the Ahr valley (Ahrtal) in a touristic sense. Here it is characterized by vineyards on the south-facing slopes and a picturesque rocky landscape, carved out by the river creating a 300 metre deep gorge in the Ahr Hills. In the next stage the Ahr reaches the area of the county town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, before finally discharging into the Rhine south of Remagen in the borough of Sinzig
.

Historic view of the Ahr valley near Altenahr
Vineyards in the valley near Mayschoß
Walporzheim
Kripp

Course

Upper Ahr valley

From its head, the Ahr valley runs through a rolling uplands with pastures, woods and occasional

Schuld, passing Insul and reaching Dümpelfeld where it is joined by the B 257
. Here, at its confluence with the Adenauer Bach, coming from the south, the Ahr heads northeast, leaves the collective municipality (VG) of Adenau and reaches the collective municipality village of Altenahr south of Liers, which belongs to Hönningen gehörenden. This is now the middle course of the Ahr, the Mittelahr.

Middle Ahr valley

The valley runs initially northeastwards from

Walporzheim
the valley bottom broadens suddenly into the Lower Ahr Valley (untere Ahrtal).

Lower Ahr valley

The lower Ahr valley is also dominated by vineyards. The Ahr flows through the settlements of

Kripp
has an almost natural character and is a nature reserve.

Economy

The Ahr Valley is primarily known for its

Bad Neuenahr
into a spa town.

Tourism has been a steadily growing part of the economy for many years. The area immediately around the springs in Blankenheim, but mainly the Middle Ahr Valley between Altenahr and Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler benefit from this. The county town has meanwhile become one of the three most popular tourist stays in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Among the villages along the Ahr, Dernau is representative - here its transformation from local wine village to a national tourist destination has been the most striking.

Culture and sights

Among the sights in the Ahr Valley are the Roman villa of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, an excavation of a Roman settlement in Ahrweiler, next to the Red Wine Trail (Rotweinwanderweg).

Near Bad Neuenahr the Ahr Valley is crossed by the prominent Ahr Viaduct that carries the A 61 motorway. The 1.5-kilometre-long, prestressed concrete bridge, completed in 1975, with its 50-metre-high concrete pillars, dominates this part of the valley.

During the Cold War the Ahr Valley was envisaged as a safe location for the central organs of the federal government. Below the vineyards near Marienthal, a concealed government bunker was built in 1962 in a wider section of the valley between Dernau and Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. It has been largely dismantled and, in March 2008, was opened to the public as a documentation site for the Cold War.

For hikers the Ahr Valley has the following attractions:

  • the Ahr Path (AhrSteig) with its two blue and red sections and a total of six stages, which has been nominated as a "Quality Path of Hiking Germany" (Qualitätsweg Wanderbares Deutschland) by the German Rambling Association (Deutscher Wanderverband).
  • the
    Bad Bodendorf.[1]
  • the Ahr Riverbank Way (Ahr-Uferweg)
  • the Iron Trail (Eisenweg).[2]
  • the Wine Discovery Trail (Weinbaulehrpfad).[2]

For cyclists:

  • the Ahr Cycleway (Ahr-Radweg), which runs mainly along the Ahr from its mouth in Sinzig and has only a gentle gradient.

Transport and infrastructure

The Ahr Valley Railway runs from Remagen initially double-tracked, before reducing to a single track from Walporzheim, to Ahrbrück. The line is closed beyond that point.

References

  1. ^ Red Wine Trail Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine at Romantic Germany. Accessed 21 Dec 2015.
  2. ^ a b Hiking in the Ahr Valley at ahrtal.de. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.

Literature

  • Vera Kettenbach: Das Ahrtal von Bad Bodendorf bis Altenahr. Gaasterland-Verlag, 3. Aufl., Düsseldorf, 2010,
    ISBN 978-3-935873-02-4
  • Heinz Schönewald: Bad Neuenahr. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2006,
    ISBN 3-935873-13-1
  • Hans-Georg Klein: Ahrweiler. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2005,
    ISBN 3-935873-05-0
  • AhrtalReise. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2007,
    ISBN 978-3-935873-18-5
  • Christoph Bach: Der Regierungsbunker im Ahrtal und seine Geschichte. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2008,
    ISBN 978-3-935873-30-7
    .
  • Das Ahrthal, malerische Ansichten / nach Originalzeichnungen in Stahl gest. von den vorzüglichsten Künstlern. Bonn : Habicht, [ca. 1840], Online-Ausgabe dilibri Rheinland-Pfalz
  • Neuestes Album vom schönen Ahrthal. Bonn : Foppen, [ca. 1870], Online-Ausgabe dilibri Rheinland-Pfalz
  • Heinz Schönewald: Bad Neuenahr - Das Weltbad der Kaiserzeit. Sutton Verlag, Erfurt 2009,
    ISBN 978-3-86680-465-4

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ahr_Valley&oldid=1034095403"