Altenbeken – Viadukt Wanderweg
Altenbeken is a lesser known village just outside the city of Paderborn in east Westphalia. It has been a railway town since the building of its important and strategic railway viaduct. The viaduct was built in the 1850s and opened on 21 July, 1853 by Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia. It provided the first rail passage to the east through the Egge mountain range.
The large viaduct (there are actually two) is the largest limestone viaduct in Europe: it is 482m long, 35m high and includes 24 arches. Its strategic importance as a transport route was sadly emphasised nearly 100 years later. During the second world war it carried 200 trains per day and towards the conclusion of the war the viaduct was heavily bombed, losing several of its arches and 4 of its support pillars.
The starting point in town at the rail museum.
The Grosse Viadukt: still in use after 154 years
The task I set myself was to walk the complete Viadukt Wanderweg in a single day. Officially it is a route of 29km, but when you add in the extra distances to reach its start and return home, plus a few wrong paths and retracing of steps you end up walking close to 40km. In my case the journey took 9 ½ hours.
Whoa! This was a real staring competition. It became abundantly clear that I was not welcome to enter this field.
The walk is notable for the variety it offers along the route. It starts at the locomotive museum with the Große Viadukt being the first sight along the way. The walk then scales the ridge above Altenbeken providing great views of the town below. There follows some beautiful forest walks, paths through the village of Buke with its religious shrine, then across farm fields by numerous wind turbines, and an edgy part where you follow the perimeter fence of the active shooting range near Buke. Then the route takes you through 2 beautiful valleys: the Dunetal to the Kleine Viadukt before heading back towards Altenbeken along the side of the Beke valley.
Bollerborn - this used to be an intermittent spring but now runs continuously
Another sight along the walk is Bollerborn, a spring said to have quenched the thirst of the army of Charlemagne in 772 at the onset of the Saxon wars. There are numerous such springs in the limestone ranges in the area around Paderborn.
Railway heritage: the railway station at Buke, now sadly not used.
The Mariengrotte: a shrine in the village of Buke
Refreshment at Richts Deele in Buke
Schießstand - shooting range
So many wind turbines, silently doing their bit to reduce CO2 emissions
The kleine Viadukt. If you make it this far you have survived the circumnavigation of the shooting range!
One of the many map boards along the way
Notwithstanding my occasional wrong turns, the Viadukt Wanderweg route is very well marked, and there are several maps for orientation along the way.
The third punch card station near Buke. You need stamps from 5 of these along the way to demonstrate completion of the walk. Punch cards are available from the Tourist Office in Altenbeken
The last pass under the railway line through into the Beke valley
The beautiful Beke valley (Durbeke)
The view from my accommodation at the top of the hill just NE of the town centre
After having failed to complete this walk 2 years ago, I felt a particular sense of achievement in making it around the entire loop this time.
My Certificate of Achievement from the local Tourist Office - well earned at the second attempt!
Acknowledgments
Altenbeken Tourist Office - for their warm welcome and the map (just make sure you check the opening hours in advance)
Birgit and Gill - my welcoming and generous hosts in Altenbeken. An outstanding B and B to which I very much hope to return