ケテリヘンの湖・トップ20

The Ulmen Maar lies 420 meters above sea level today, covers an area of 5.5 hectares, and is 36 meters deep. The bubbles at the maar's edge demonstrate that volcanism is still active. They bear witness to a turbulent past—but rest assured, there's no eruption in sight! A wall of various rocks and ash, up to 20 meters thick, surrounds the cone. For those interested, these testimonies to this explosive past are beautifully displayed in St. Matthias Church. This unique wall, with its different colored layers and rounded inclusions, is worth seeing for more than just geologists. The slopes of the maar basin are covered with a beautiful forest, which can be explored on a circular walk. A detour to the medieval castle ruins, from which the Crusaders once launched their campaigns, is recommended. The view from the crater rim over the maar and the Eifel beyond will take your breath away. Whether after a sweaty hike or a long drive, the blue of the Ulmer Eifel lake is all too tempting in summer. However, bathing in the maar is prohibited because it is designated as a nature and water protection area.

The lower castle has completely disappeared. You can still see the beginning of the ring that connected the lower castle and the Ulmen city wall, a two-story outer wall of the palace, as well as a cistern and some foundation walls of other buildings. The old part of Ulmen Castle was built around 1074 AD and likely rests on the remains of a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages, Ulmen Castle was further expanded and divided into the upper castle, whose remains of the walls still exist, and the lower castle, which extended to the banks of the maar river. Two knightly families lived in the castle, which is believed to have never been attacked or destroyed until 1673 due to its size. Only the Sun King's troops succeeded. It was rebuilt, but fell again in 1689 during the War of the Succession. However, Ulmen Castle was also rebuilt this time, with only the city wall being abandoned. With the invasion of Napoleon's soldiers, Ulmen also became French and later Prussian. The empty castle, whose last descendant died in 1801, was auctioned to a merchant from Cochem, who sold it as a quarry. When a devastating fire burned Ulmen to the ground in the 19th century, the residents of Ulmen rebuilt their houses with stones from the castle. That's why you can still see a coat of arms on some of the stables today. It wasn't until the early twentieth century that Ulmen Castle was declared a listed building and became the property of the municipality of Ulmen. The castle is always freely accessible.

beautiful small reservoir, ideal for a short walk

The history of the Volcanic Eifel can be explored at the Booser Doppelmaar. The Booser Doppelmaar consists of two silted-up maars, which today appear as flat hollows in the terrain. The two maars were formed between 10,150 and 14,160 years ago. Viewed from above, the two maars are circular basins. The west-southwest maar has a diameter of around 700 m and is between 30 and 60 m deep, the east-northeast maar is between 650 and 700 m large and has a depth of 50 to 87 m. The two hollows are very wet, so there are still places that have a permanent water surface. The water areas were previously used as fish ponds, but later silted up and served as meadows and fields. Today there is again a fish pond in the west-southwestern maar, the Booser Weiher, see also https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booser_Doppelmaar

The Ulmener Maar is small but beautiful. Located in the middle of the Eifel and in the middle of the city, it is a wonderful destination. You can easily combine a walk around the maar with a walk around the neighboring Jungferweiher. Both have recently been connected by the Ulmener Maar tunnel, which runs under the A 48 motorway.

The Jungferweiher Maar is located at an altitude of 428 meters, is 1.7 hectares in size and is very shallow and swampy at 80 cm.

From a wooden bridge there is a wonderful view of the swampy foothills of the rainwater-filled Booser Maar, which is located in the Hohe Acht mountain region and approx. 8 km south of the Hohe Acht. The maar lies in a circular tuff basin, whose tuff walls are covered with swampy meadows and the edge of the bank is overgrown with reeds. Galloways graze in the dry, higher meadows.

A visit is worthwhile both in summer and in winter. However, the Ulmener Maar is a nature reserve, which is why bathing is strictly forbidden here!