Hermeskeil with the Grimburg

In a valley basin in the westernmost part of Hunsrück lies the town of Hermeskeil, an ancient settlement at the crossing of two interregional trade routes, which already existed in the Bronze Age. Actually only a few kilometers away lies the most massive ringed wall area in Hunsrück, on Dollberg mountain near Otzenhausen, where there is an ancient settlement and a castle that was built during the Latène Age (500 to 20 BC) as the ancestral seat of an ancient Celtic dynasty. This was, at the time of the Roman conquest of the Gauls by Ceasar (54 BC), supposedly the center of power of the resident tribe of Treverians in this region. It is also not far to Trier from here, the 2000-year-old former Roman imperial residence "Augusta Treverorum". Due to its geographical proximity, Hermeskeil and the surrounding countryside belonged to the Trier Electorate and archiepiscopal seat during the Middle Ages. In the past century the town was also an important railway junction for the Hunsrück line. From here the route led out of the Nahe Valley from Langenlonsheim through Simmern to Hermeskeil and connected to Trier-Türkismühle (Nohfelden). Today only a museum for steam engines —complete with locomotives, a curved engine shed and turning platform— bears witness to this bygone era. A privately operated airplane exhibit on the road along the ridge of Hunsrück ("Hunsrückhöhenstraße") has almost 40 transportation and military machines on display. This worthwhile visit to Hochwald Museum gives you an insight into the local history of the Hunsrück region.

Photo: Grimburg castle high above the valley of the Wadrill river near Hermeskeil in the Hochwald Forest. This former electoral castle was built at the end of the 12th century as a border fortress to protect the properties of the Trier church against the expansionist ambitions of the Sponheim counts.