It was once considered the most modern facility in Germany - but on this tour, which winds its way up and down into the area of the former coal mine, you have to look closely to recognise a few relics. A shaft entrance in the middle of the forest - overgrown with ivy. A black mountain bike trail through a sparse birch forest - that's it. But then the bike tour turns into the avenue to the small village of Madenfelderhof, and suddenly you are rolling towards the bare, 90 metre high wall of the Reden slag heap. A sandy path, which soon widens, winds its way up its pyramid-like flanks. It culminates on a plateau with a 360-degree view and the large beer garden of the Bergmanns Alm.
The descent on the south-west side of the spoil tip is unfortunately tarmac, but the tour soon plunges back into dense forest and winds its way around idyllic little lakes that were once created to clean the huge bucket wheel excavators. The most scenic part of the tour ends on a mix of trails and forest paths through the almost Tuscan-like Bliesgau biosphere reserve. Afterwards, you could roll down to Furpach on the country road, but a final detour is rewarded with a fun downhill trail straight to the car park.
The Neunkirchen MTB area in Saarland
The re-cultivation of the former coal mine is a lengthy process. Negotiations on environmentally friendly trail routes therefore take a little longer in Neunkirchen, especially as some tour sections lead through Natura 2000 conservation areas. Nevertheless, a MTB project with three officially signposted routes around the district town has been agreed upon, which are to connect to the neighbouring trail networks of St. Ingbert and Sankt Wendel. These three tours around Neunkirchen take in the most beautiful viewpoints and loop through the disused mine. Open-air museum tours, so to speak, as the productive Saar mines were always a bone of contention between Germany and France. Starting point of the tours: the car park at Furpach swimming pool.
Retreat The Bergmanns Alm on the Reden slag heap offers "Alm Food" (Fri-Sun, summer holidays daily). Info: www.bergmannsalm.de Tip for the eveningThe Waldeslust. The charm of a long-distance travellers' pub, but with very tasty, simple food. Waldstr. 32, Neunkirchen (often full, no reservation possible).
History The complete history of the Reden spoil tip, including the current redevelopment and dismantling concept, can be read here: www.erlebnisort-reden.de
Bike shops Fahrrad Schweitzer, Steinwaldstr. 99 in Neunkirchen and Intersport Stiwi in Illingen, www.sportstiwi.de
General information www.regionneunkirchen.de
The three best MTB tours around Neunkirchen in Saarland
- Tour 1: 23.3 kilometres and approx. 400 metres in altitude
- Tour 2: 33 kilometres and 450 metres in altitude
- Tour 3: 32.4 kilometres and 460 metres in altitude
You can download the GPS data for the three tours free of charge at the end of the article.
download
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
