Some Notes On The Sauerland

By J. D. Ellis.

The Sauerland district of Westphalia, although practically unknown in England as a holiday ground, is extremely popular in Germany and also with the Dutch, who probably regard its hills and valleys as affording a pleasant relief from the monotonous flatness of Holland. The name is a corruption of Suederland, and indicates the southern corner of Westphalia. Roughly speaking, it is a triangular tableland scored by many deep and winding valleys. It is drained by the Ruhr and Lenne, which unite on its borders and flow into the Rhine at Ruhrort, by the Lahn and the Sieg, which also feed the Rhine, and by the Eder, a tributary of the Weser. These last three rivers rise in the Rothaargebirge, which form the watershed between the Rhine and Weser.

The country is well wooded, principally with pine and beech, and agriculture and forestry are the main industries. Numerous metal-working trades are, however, carried on in the small towns and villages in the main valleys.

The so-called “ mountains ” are only the highest points in the various ranges (Gebirge). Trees are almost invariably grown right up to the summits and, to get any view at all from the top, one has to climb an Aussichtsturm (view-tower). Naturally, fine views of the country can be obtained from the slopes and ridges wherever there is a clearing. I only know two hills, Wildewiese and Heiligenstuhl, where there are uninterrupted views from the actual summits.

It may be of interest to give the heights of a few of the summits in the various ranges. The figures in brackets indicate the height of the starting point in the main valley :-

Lennegebirge.–Kohlberg, 1,681 ft. (Werdohl 621 ft.) ; Hohe Molmert, 1,885 ft., Heiligenstuhl, 1,915 ft. (Plettenberg 705 ft.), and Wildewiese, 2,125 ft. (Roenkhausen 754 ft.).

Ebbegebirge,–Nordhelle, 2,181 ft. (Werdohl or Plettenberg). At Nordhelle a substantial stone tower has been erected on the summit to the memory of Robert Kolb, who took the lead in getting the series of footpaths through the Sauerland properly charted and indicated. I shall refer to this later.

The tower and its surrounding pine-trees are reminiscent of Leith Hill in Surrey.

Rothaargebirge–Haerdler, 2,489 ft. (Lenne, 1,148 ft.) ; Schanze, 2,345 ft. (Schmallenberg 1,344 ft.) ; and Kahler Astenberg, 2,761 ft. (Winterberg 2,197 ft.). The last-named is the only hill mentioned which I have not been up. I only visited the Rothaargebirge twice, once by motor car for the day only, and the other time for a long week-end at Whitsuntide. We made the Hotel Stoermann at Schmallenberg our headquarters, and were most comfortable there, only paying 6s. a day each for full pension.

There are no lakes in the Sauerland, but their absence is compensated for by the many reservoirs (Talsperren, i.e., dale dams) which have been constructed among the hills at the river-heads. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that every river and stream of any size has been dammed near its source. In addition to fulfilling useful functions, these reservoirs, which are really artificial lakes, afford excellent facilities for boating, bathing, and fishing. On the larger ones there are motor~boat services. Each reservoir has one or more hotels or restaurants where good food and sleeping accommodation at reasonable prices can be obtained. The surroundings and banks are extremely picturesque, the slopes being planted With pine and birch, or left in their natural condition.

The Edertalsperre is by far the largest. It has a total length of about seventeen miles, an area of 463 square miles, and a capacity of 44,000 million gallons.

The next largest is the Moehnetalsperre, at the head of the Moehne, the northern branch of the Ruhr. This reservoir has a capacity of rather more than half that of the Edertalsperre, and a length of about seven miles, not counting a rectangular branch about three miles long. It is crossed by three arched stone bridges, the longest being about one-third of a mile in length. The Haus Delecke on its shores is an excellent hotel with a delightful garden; pension terms are about 8/6 a day.

Most of the reservoirs are, of course, much smaller, some being only a mile or so long. They fulfil a double purpose : (1) to regulate the water supply in the valleys so as to minimize floods in wet seasons and to ensure a supply of water in dry weather; (2) to provide water power for the generation of electricity.

Some of the larger reservoirs have a generating station at the base of the dam, but current is mostly produced at stations in the main valleys near the various works and townships. The Lenne, for instance, is dammed every three or four miles over a long stretch in the industrial district.

I suggest that it would be worth while for some one to study the Sauerland hydro-electric scheme carefully with a view to its application in the hilly manufacturing districts of England, such as Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Hebden Bridge-Halifax district appears to me to be particularly suitable for a start. All the water in the Pennines cannot be needed for household and manufacturing purposes !

In my opinion, a great deal is to be said for the method of using the samewater to work small generating stations every few miles if necessary. Start near the source of the stream and work down. Capital could be easily found by a group of works or a township for the erection of its own generating station, and the tax-payer need not be called upon as he probably would be in any large centralized national scheme.

I should like to say a word here on the vexed question of overhead transmission of electricity. The standards which one sees everywhere in the Sauerland are really no uglier than telegraph poles, once the eye has got used to them. If electricity, as it will, is to benefit Sussex or the Lake District, a line of overhead cables supported by well-designed lattice girder standards is a small price to pay for the cheap distribution of electric current which is as important for agriculture as it is for industry. In the Sauerland the smallest and most remote villages and farms use electricity for light and power.

Generally speaking, the summer is warmer and the winter colder than in Yorkshire. At Winterberg and elsewhere good ski-ing can be had, and special trains are run there from the towns whenever there is good snow. I returned to England before the severe winter of 1928-9 and unfortunately the four preceding winters were too mild to enable me to get any practice, as the snow only lasted a few days at a time.

The flora is similar to that of England, with some differences. There are no wild hyacinths (Scillanutans), primroses, or gorse, but the true oxlip (Primulaelatior) grows profusely in the meadows, and there is abundance of broom. White heather (ling) is also common in places on the hills, growing in large patches among the purple. Of flowers rare in Britain we found the May lily (Maianthemumconvallaria) carpeting the beechwoods, and a rampion (Phyteumaspicatum), which is only found in England at Waldron, Sussex, is common on roadside banks. We also found a Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatumverticillatum), another rarity with us.

Limestone occurs round Attendorn, at Letmathe, and in the Hoennetal, a delightful valley with many similarities to the Derbyshire dales. Near this valley is the Felsenmeer, a wooded dell about a mile long and half a mile wide, full of strange blocks of limestone and pits where the roofs of caves have been worn through by water. Here a promising pot was disclosed by heavy rains, but it turned out to be an old mine-shaft. When I revisited it I found it had been blocked up by a concrete slab twelve inches thick–a characteristic example of German thoroughness.

What caves there are seem to have been explored and exploited. There are only two show caves worth mentioning : the Attahoehle at Attendorn, which has some extremely fine curtain stalactites hanging in folds with red stripes just like blankets ; and the Deckenhoehle at Letmathe, which is smaller, but also has some good stalactites. Both caves are well lit by electricity.

The iron-working industries of the Sauerland date back to the Middle Ages, when iron was rudely puddled in forges driven by water power, and land-owners restricted the number of these to preserve the fish. As in Surrey and Sussex, “ hammer ” frequently occurs in place names, and “ Osmunds”—bars of iron of fixed weight—were used as currency. In those early days the Hansa merchants travelled the country, and many of the towns belonged to the Hansa League. The many churches of the picturesque walled town of Soest bear witness to its prosperity and importance at that time.

Near Soest, and now overlooking the Moehnetalsperre, is the hamlet of Drueggelte, with a little round chapel built by some Crusader after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Not far from Plettenberg are the ruins of a castle of the Knights of the Teutonic Order, who, when the Crusades were over, established German supremacy in the Baltic Provinces. One of the von Plettenbergs was an early Governor of Riga.

The country districts are entirely Roman Catholic. The widely-spread fortified farms, each with its little whitewashed chapel, are reminders of the days when the Prince-Archbishops of Cologne were the feudal lords.

There are many interesting old churches, but the scope of this article does not allow detailed description. One curious feature must, however, be mentioned: in some cases, as at Balve, when a new church became necessary, the orientation of the new building was diverted from the East in order that the old church might be incorporated intact. At Affeln we found a fine 16th-century Dutch altar-piece with elaborate figure-subjects carved in wood. It was in a very bad condition, and we were instrumental in getting it repaired by the Provincial Archaeological authorities at Muenster.

The old Westphalian black and white farm-house accommodated the family, farm servants, stock, and stores under one roof. In plan it is a long rectangle, of which one end is occupied by a wide doorway high enough to allow a loaded harvest wagon to enter. This doorway leads into a large T-shaped hall, called the “ Diele,” which serves as harness room and threshing-floor. Above the “ Diele,” under a high gabled roof, is the barn, and on each side of the main doorway are smaller doors leading into the cow-sheds and stables. The rest of the ground floor is occupied at the back by the kitchen-living room and bedrooms. Many of these extremely picturesque old houses have been modernized, but a few still survive in their original state. The beams over the main entrance are often carved with the names of the married couple for whom the house was built, the date of building, and a prayer to certain saints for protection against hail and thunder, and to S. Agatha against fire.

Safety while crossing rivers is secured by erecting on many bridges statue of St.John of Nepomuk, a 14th-century martyr who was thrown over the bridge into the Moldau at Prague for refusing to reveal the secrets of the confessional.

At Altena on the Lenne there is a most interesting “ Folk ” Museum, housed in a very fine twelfth-century castle, which was formerly a stronghold of the powerful Counts of Mark. As in so many other cases, this castle has been carefully restored.

I cannot conclude this article without expressing my appreciation of the Sauerlaendische Gebirgs-Verein (S.G.V.) which has planned and mapped out twenty-six main routes for pedestrians along existing footpaths throughout the district. These routes are clearly indicated by white crosses, and any number of walks and tours can be arranged, as the various routes intersect each other and auxiliary routes are maintained by local committees. In addition to this work the S.G.V. runs a comfortable hotel and restaurant, the Ehrenmal, just below the summit of the Kohlberg, near Werdohl. In connection with the hotel there is also one of the many Jugendherberge, where boys and girls can obtain separate shelter for the night and can cook their meals. It is the usual sight in summer to see large and small parties of school children, generally under the leadership of a teacher, out for a week-end in the country and carrying all their equipment on their backs.

I hope that I have said enough to indicate that the industrial district of the Ruhr has delightful country within easy reach. My work frequently took me to Werdohl, a pleasant little town of about 12,000 inhabitants, situated in a narrow valley, and surrounded on three sides by the Lenne. Whenever possible, we spent our week-ends there and so got to know the surrounding country, the Lennegebirge, the Hoennetal, and the Ebbegebirge, better than the other districts I have mentioned.