Hiking in the Hochsauerland

We leave the market square in a north-easterly direction via Hellenstraße and turn right through Kirchstraße to St. Jakobus Church. On the way there, we enjoy the many beautiful old and restored half-timbered houses. The church is dedicated to St. James the Elder. In the Middle Ages, the pilgrimages from Leipzig via Cologne to the apostle's grave in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) stopped here. The first church was probably built before 1225. After fires in 1759 and 1791, the hall church was rebuilt in its current form in 1796. The oldest parts of the altar date back to the beginning of the 18th century, while the most valuable and older apostle figures on the walls come from the Grafschaft monastery, which was dissolved in 1803.

We leave Kirchstraße in an easterly direction, turn right to Obere Pforte and then left into Wernsdorfer Straße . After house no. 35, a narrow concrete staircase leads up the embankment to the small historic Jewish cemetery. Wernsdorfer Straße continues into the street Am Postteich. We follow this road and turn left behind the children's playground up the Kreuzbergweg with the 14 Stations of the Cross to the Kreuzberg Chapel. Construction of the chapel began in 1848 at the insistence of wealthy Winterberg itinerant traders and with donations. The "Am Rade" chapel was consecrated in 1850 and the Stations of the Cross on July 13, 1851 by the Franciscans from Paderborn. The statue of St. James is a replica of the Galician granite statue brought back from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral by an amateur carver from Züschen.

After visiting the Kreuzberg Chapel, we turn right onto Hesborner Weg, walk down Kapellenstraße and turn left at the VOLKSBANK into Nuhnestraße, always uphill. This continues as Philosophenweg / Waldlehrpfad (X13). Take the steps towards the swimming pool to reach the road and then turn right to the Bürger- und Stadthaus. There we visit the memorial stone for the burning of witches above the parking lot. In 1523, 6 women were burned as witches at this site following a verdict by the "Winterberg Neck Court".

Now we take the spruce path to the right up to the Waltenberg and downhill, cross the road at the Vacantiehotel Brabander and walk past it and the ski hut on the left up to the St. Georg Schanze (managed, 718 m above sea level). There we enjoy the panoramic view of Winterberg and the mountains of the Hochsauerland. For a small fee, you can also climb the 22 m high ski jump. From the ski jump we continue in an easterly direction (9), after approx. 150 m downhill to Haus Herrloh and then left through the Kurpark (9), past the treading pool back to the market square.