Hersiwil: Circular Trail, Cultural Heritage and Landscape

When looking for a hotel for a trip to Hersiwil, it makes sense to first decide what you are interested in during your stay. Local highlights include a hiking route with two connected loops, the history of the NäijereHuus and the characteristic landscape.

Hiking Trails and Variants

The Drei Höfe circular trail is an approximately two-hour hike through varied landscapes and can also be completed by bike. It is integrated into loops A and B of the Urzeitenweg. Highlights include Dreihöfer Platz and the viewpoint. The approximate hiking time gives you a rough idea of how to fit this outing into your day’s plans.

The two branches offer different highlights. The upper branch, variant A, turns off the Oekingenstrasse towards Winistorf before reaching Hersiwil. The lower branch, variant B, passes through a renaturalised floodplain and by beaver habitat. If you are particularly interested in floodplains and beavers, these topics are specifically featured on variant B; variant A is described by its direction towards Winistorf.

Landscape and Nature

Surrounded by woodland, Hersiwil stretches along a ridge. There, a gently rising slope gives way to a small, elevated plateau. The farmland extends right up to the farmhouses and has not been built over there. The slope, plateau and farmland together define the area’s distinctive landscape.

In the vicinity of Hersiwil, beavers have created a connected wetland with several dams in a small stream in the agricultural area. This wetland links two woodland areas. The surrounding nature therefore includes both the renaturalised floodplain along variant B and a habitat shaped by beavers in the nearby area.

Fire Pit and FriedWald

The Hühnerhüsli fire pit is free for all visitors to use. The municipality maintains it and supplies it with firewood.

The FriedWald in Hersiwil is also freely accessible to visitors. In the designated section of woodland, trees are marked for interested visitors to choose and buy. Free access and the option to choose a marked tree are two distinct aspects of the site.

NäijereHuus and the Townscape

The NäijereHuus is a protected historic high-post house and is part of the village’s oldest building stock. The southern section, the core structure, was built between 1645 and 1650. In 1786, the house was extended using the same high-post construction. Its building history thus includes a 17th-century core structure and a later extension that adopted the same construction method.

The NäijereHuus is considered an important link in the townscape and has a special place in the streetscape. Hersiwil itself is also listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites as a townscape of regional importance. The cultural history of the area is reflected both in the significance of the individual house and in the classification of the townscape as a whole.

The NäijereHuus team organises around 25 cultural events each year. These include art exhibitions, concerts, readings, and lectures and exhibitions on cultural history. Check the dates before your trip if you would like to include an event in your plans.

Hersiwil and Drei Höfe

Until 31 December 2012, Hersiwil was a political municipality in the Wasseramt district of the canton of Solothurn. On 1 January 2013, it merged with Heinrichswil-Winistorf to form the political municipality of Drei Höfe. This distinguishes the historical municipal name Hersiwil from the name of the municipality formed through the merger.

Discover more destinations: Luterbach, Aeschi, Zuchwil, Horriwil, Biberist, Steinhof, Bolken, Kriegstetten

For the main travel overview: Wasseramt.