Lahn Valley near Weilburg

The tour starts at the train station of Weilburg in the beautiful Lahntal. Along the Lahntalwanderweg, go up to the heights and you will soon reach the unique Kubacher Kristallhöhle. The Kubacher Kristallhöhle (www.kubacherkristallhoehle.de) is the only calcite crystal cave in Germany and with a height of 30 meters it has the largest hall of all crystal caves. After countless steps you reach the cave, which shines in great light. Walk into the idyllic Weiltal valley and take a leisurely stroll along the same brook to the confluence with the Lahn. Via the cycle path, you will reach Weilburg with the only ship tunnel in Germany. In the summer you can observe many canoeists, who operate the double chamber lock by hand to overcome a height difference of 4.65 m. Then they can continue their tour on the Lahn. After watching the hustle and bustle for a while, walk on and come to the station of the roll ship (www.weilburg.de). Here you can use muscle power to move a gondola attached to a wire rope across the river. Immediately afterwards you come to the Modellbaupark 1: 8 (www.weilburger-modell-team.de). At the station you climb the diesel locomotive and pass several level crossings, passing lakes, old town passage, a church, police and fire station, petrol station and through a tunnel back to the station. Then hike up to the old town and Weilburg Castle, one of the largest and most important baroque palaces in Hesse. The castle of Konrad I was built in 1590 and then expanded in 1703 to its present appearance. It is worth seeing the castle garden and the ensemble on the market square with the castle church, the town hall and the magnificent Neptune fountain. Tip: In the old town of Weilburg you can still visit the interesting mining and city museum (www.museum-weilburg.de). The hostel Weilburg (www.weilburg.jugendherberge.de) is available for overnight stays.