Even if we only stood one night on the great natural campsite Vulkaneifel in Manderscheid, we still know a lot about them Manderscheid castles and report to the campsite as it is our third visit here.
Manderscheid
The city was under French rule at the end of the 18th century, was assigned to Prussia at the beginning of the 19th century, and it was only after World War II that it became part of Rhineland-Palatinate. Today it is a climatic health and Kneipp health resort. In addition, Manderscheid has a Maar Museum, which is worth a visit to learn about the history and formation of the maars.
The Manderscheider castles: Oberburg and Niederburg
The Manderscheider castles are a magnet for tourists. The two castles are only a short distance from each other and were hostile to each other in the early Middle Ages, as they were inhabited by different principalities. Today they belong to the city of Manderscheid and are accessible to everyone.
The upper castle is free of charge, at the lower castle you pay admission. Once a year there is one here historical castle festival with jugglers and jousting. The river Lieser separates the city from the castles. On the urban side there is a small path that runs towards Oberburg. After a few hundred meters there is a small vantage point from which you can take good photos of the upper castle. And when the haze rises after a heavy rain shower, it is even more impressive. It stands on a flattened mountain peak and thus higher than the Niederburg. The Niederburg is located directly on the road and is therefore easily accessible.
The Vulkaneifel nature campsite
This place is really big, laid out in terraces and is located in the Vulkaneifel. There are also motorhome parking spaces outside the campsite. It is on the other side of Manderscheid like the castles. From here you walk down for about 15 minutes until you can see the castles. The location of the site is great and you can walk straight into a forest and hike to the surrounding maars.
Click here to go to the website of Natural camping site Vulkaneifel.
There are fields and meadows around the square. Since Manderscheid is very poor in light, you can also take beautiful nature and night sky photos here.
Maar walks around Manderscheid
Directly from the parking space you walk through the forest and part of the road to the Meerfelder Maar. The one-way route is approx. 4 km and is also signposted. You hike for about 1 hour and cover about 100 meters in altitude. The hike through the forest is very beautiful and the paths are well laid out. When you arrive at the Meerfelder Maar, there is a stone block bike right at the beginning, which of course tempts you to take photos.
You can walk around the lake completely and end up on the southern part of the lake in the village of Meerfeld of the same name. The lake even has a natural swimming pool.
There is still that around Manderscheid Eckfelder Maar, the Windsborn Maar and the Hinkel Maarwhich are all within walking distance.
This makes the campsite an ideal starting point for many hikes around the beautiful Manderscheid.
