Discover Welver: Cycling Routes and History

If you are looking for a hotel in Welver, cycling and hiking routes, as well as historic sites, can help you get a sense of the destination. The municipality combines marked routes with a long history in Kirchwelver and a geographically marked point in Scheidingen. When planning your trip, consider whether you are more interested in a hike, a cycling tour or a focus on cultural history. The route lengths and local histories below offer concrete points of reference.

Hiking: Circular Routes and Navigation

Welver has six circular hiking trails ranging from 2.5 to around 14 kilometres, and the trails are marked on site. This range makes it easy to see the difference between shorter and longer routes at a glance. There is also a large information board at the car park in Kirchwelver showing the hiking routes. When choosing a loop, you can use the board and trail markers on site to find the specific route. Also check local information for current conditions.

Cycling: Cultural Route and Other Routes

Cycling routes of varying lengths and with different focuses pass through the municipality of Welver. In the north, a 30-kilometre cycle route is designated as a Cultural Route; it passes historic cultural sites in the municipality. Another option is the family-friendly, just under 10-kilometre short cycling route through the Staatsforst, also known as Reiherwald, to Haus Nehlen in Berwicke. Comparing the lengths can help with planning: the Cultural Route is considerably longer, while the short route is explicitly described as family-friendly. Check local conditions before setting out on the short route.

The Alleys Cycle Path between Unna and Welver ends just a few hundred metres from the centre of Westphalia. A memorial stone on the edge of the village of Scheidingen, in the direction of Illingen, marks this centre and is located within the municipality of Welver. This gives route planning a specific geographical reference point, even though the cycle path and the memorial stone are not in the same place.

Kirchwelver: Monastic History and Buildings

Kirchwelver is a former monastic village. Its Romanesque church was probably built in the 11th or 12th century. In 1240, Cistercian nuns enlarged the church and added a tower; it subsequently served as a monastery church. For more than 100 years, the Reformed congregation and the Catholic nunnery shared the church. In 1700, the nuns consecrated a new Baroque monastery church. This sequence reveals different phases of construction and use: from the probable Romanesque period through the enlargement to the later Baroque church.

A nearly completed bridge lies between Beckumer Straße in Kirchwelver and Kettlerholz in Dorfwelver. It is part of a planned but unfinished road project. Thus, in addition to its historic church, Welver also has a structure whose origins are connected to a project that was never completed.

Cultural Attractions in the Wider Destination of Soest

The wider destination of Soest offers other distinct cultural attractions. The Osthofentormuseum in Soest provides an overview of the city’s more than 1,000-year history and its topographical development. It uses information panels, large-format texts, photos, graphics and a city model. The LiebesLeben_Museum in Soest describes itself as a modern science centre where participation, interaction, experimentation and learning take centre stage. It appeals to people aged 5 to 95. In Soest, a historical overview of the city and an interactive experience are therefore available side by side.

Discover more destinations: Möhnesee, Werl, Soest, Warstein, Ense, Wickede, Rüthen, Anröchte

Go to the wider travel overview: Soest.