Bridge at Krähwinkel

Photo: Dennis Stratmann, CC BY-SA, district of Düren
At just under 20 km, the hike is quite long but has few inclines and leads from the fortress and research town of Jülich via Kirchberg and along the Inde river to the train station in Weisweiler. On the section of the route around the Inden opencast mine, we accompany the renatured Inde through a near-natural river landscape in which numerous plants and animals have found a habitat. Viewpoints offer a view of the Inden mine, which is still active today.Jülich is worth a trip of its own to discover the fortress, Renaissance and modern-day research town. Duke Wilhelm, who lived around 400 years ago, is responsible, among other things, for the construction of the citadel with the residential palace, which is still preserved today, and the layout of the inner-city development. The French and Prussians also left their architectural traces, but the layout of the city center has remained unchanged to this day and represents an ideal Renaissance city layout from the 16th century. Today, Jülich has made a name for itself far beyond the borders as a research city, and the research center is one of the leading institutions in Germany. In its institutes and competence centers, scientists investigate complex topics such as in the field of fuel cell development and biotechnology, structural change and quantum technology (tourismus.kreis-dueren.de/wandern/alle-wanderwege/a-indeland-entlang -the-renatured-inde).