Way of St. James stage from Hoppstädten-Weiersbach to Tholey
In Hoppstädten-Weiersbach, at the Chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria, this stage begins, leading via Nohfelden and Oberthal to Tholey and the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mauritius. The connecting route starts at the chapel in Hoppstädten on Hauptstraße. Follow the path behind the chapel to Schulstraße, then Rothenweg; at the end, take the narrow path (avoiding the busy Saarstraße L 169 up to that point) to Neubrücke station. Through the underpass you reach Harald Fissler Str.; turn right to the biomass power plant “Oie”. Then cross the Nahe to the left and continue through a tunnel under the A62, then turn right. From here, the Way of St. James runs largely along the edge of the forest and within sight of the Nahe and the railway line, parallel to the Nahe Trail (marked by a blue N on a white background) as far as Nohfelden. At the entrance to Nohfelden, cross the Freisbach, whose mouth into the Nahe can be seen on the right, then continue along Naheuferstraße and Buchwaldstraße out of the village with a gentle ascent to the Hochwaldhalle forest parking area. Take the path to the right toward Buchwaldhalle, passing Heidenkopf on the right toward Walhausen; there, go through the street “Zum Heidenkopf” to Säbelstraße and Löschbachstraße. At the allotment gardens, cross the railway line on the right, then walk uphill past the solar power plant. At the entrance to Steinberg-Deckenhardt you will reach the fire station and the cemetery. Passing the bus stop at the fire station/cemetery, we cross the L319 and walk uphill to the former church (today the music club’s event hall) into Steinmarstraße and Deckenhardter Straße; at the edge of the village, continue through the forest toward Waldritter-Bildungszentrum-Saar. At the industrial sites (feldspar extraction), turn right; here the route touches the European Sculpture Road of Peace. The Güdesweiler forest cemetery follows, and next to it the Valentinskapelle; continue through the forest, passing the Wildfrau Cave, which can be reached by a staircase descending beside the path. Note: Between Steinberg-Deckenhardt and Oberthal, muddy paths should be expected due to forestry work and feldspar extraction. From the entrance to Oberthal, descend via Neunkirchener Straße and Groniger Straße to the route of the former St. Wendel–Tholey railway line, which has been converted into the “Wendelinus Cycle Path” for walkers, skaters, and cyclists. Follow this westward toward Tholey. The route eventually ends in front of a bricked-up tunnel; here the Way of St. James climbs steeply uphill and joins a farm track. On the left, a pylon can be seen pointing to the excavations of a Roman vicus in Wareswald. These are located about 400 m to the left of the road. The Way of St. James, however, follows the road to the right and reaches the center of Tholey via Wareswaldstraße, Bahnhofstraße, and Trierer Straße, where the Abbey Church of St. Mauritius and thus the stage destination soon come into view. The abbey church dates back to the 12th century. Its predecessor church was first mentioned in 634 AD. Benedictine monks still live and work in Tholey today. In autumn 2020, the church will reopen after extensive renovation work; especially worth seeing are the three newly designed main choir windows by Gerhard Richter. A visit to the museum “Theulegium” is also worthwhile.
- Length
- 26.7 km
- Walking time
- approx. 7:45 h
- Ascent
- 410 m
- Descent
- 357 m
Walking time as stated by the operator.
Elevation profile calculated by Fairvisit from satellite elevation data. Ascent and descent usually differ by up to about 10 %, more on steep terrain.
Start
Kapelle St. Katharina von Alexandrien
Nearby
Along the way
Finish
Benediktinerabtei St. Mauritius Tholey
Nearby
