This trail really lives up to its name: on a route comprising around 35 kilometres, the Kettwiger Panoramasteig offers unique panoramic views along the Ruhr and an entirely unique nature experience, whilst being right in the middle of the city of Essen.
The landscape along the trail is varied: those hiking the trail to the north of the Ruhr will pass through steep forests, as well as go past large fields and along urban residential settlements. To the south of the blue Ruhr, those walking on the trail will alternate between forests and agricultural areas. There is not only lots of green space and nature along the trail for people who love walking but also interesting sights to discover. In addition, there are lots of places to stop off for refreshments.
Route information
• Length: 34.4 km
• Metres above sea level (climb): 761 m
• Difficulty level: medium to high
• Fitness level: high
• Suitability for families: only some sections
• Landscape/nature:
north of the Ruhr: a varied mix of hilly forest areas, agricultural areas and settlements
south of the Ruhr: a varied mix of hilly forest areas and agricultural areas
Since 1964, both young and older visitors have had the opportunity to catch sight of red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, mouflons and lambs in the game preserve.
Haus Schuir, a moated castle from the Middle Ages, can now only be seen as a few terrain features in the grassland. There is, however, a classical manor house from the 18th century in the immediate vicinity.
The pilgrimage chapel “Maria im Maien” can be found in the small location of Weiler Pierburg. It is used for special devotions, as a pilgrimage destination and for wedding services.
The Kettwiger Stadtwald covers around 109 hectares. The path is lined with numerous information boards on the respective “tree of the year”. The urban forest is one of Essen’s viewpoints known as “Essener Aussichten”.
Once you have made it up the steep path to Kettwiger Bilstein, you are rewarded with a panoramic view over the Ruhr Valley. This spot is also one of Essen’s viewpoints known as “Essener Aussichten”.
In 1873, the old railway station in Kettwig was built in the style of round arch classicism. Now it is a centre for citizens and culture, where, for example, concerts, cabaret, seminars, sport courses and culinary events are also on offer.
The double-track bridge over the Ruhr has been in operation since 1951. Its predecessors were destroyed at the end of the Second World War. Nowadays, the suburban railway goes across the bridge from Essen to Cologne.
Having been first mentioned in a document in the 9th century, Schloss Oefte is one of the oldest stately homes in the region. The castle estate and park, which is listed, is now used by a golf club.
There is a Jewish cemetery, which was constructed from 1830 onwards, on Pastoratsberg. Its gravestones, of which around 70 have been preserved, date back to between 1845 and 1938.
It is sometimes worth heading off the beaten track. It’ll only take you around ten minutes to get to Rutherhof. Here you can have a go at the unusual sport of swing golf or visit the ostrich farm, for example. Food and drink are also available at the “Die Farm” restaurant.
Only a short distance away from this, the seventh generation of the Kammesheidt family is now running its farm which bears the family name. It previously belonged to Werden Abbey as fief. Nowadays, the listed buildings offer a unique event location in which you can celebrate and host weddings, birthdays or seminars. The family has also been breeding Galloway cattle since 2006.
You can stop off in the historic centre of Kettwig directly from the Kettwiger PanoramaSteig. The most important architectural monuments of what is the largest (in terms of surface area) and possibly also the most idyllic district of Essen are marked with Essener Ruhrperlen QR codes and can therefore also be accessed on your mobile in image, text and audio format.
The tour, which lasts around one hour, takes you behind the Kettwig dam bridge to the right over the Mühlengraben bridge, which was the location of the Kettwig grain mill in the Middle Ages. When we pass the Brückencafé, we go right at the junction and follow Ruhrstraße past the historic half-timbered buildings. After around 100 metres, at Jakobusvikarie, which was built in 1525 by the clergyman Rutger Hommelberg, we turn off onto Hexenbergweg. This street leads directly to Bürgermeister-Fiedler-Platz, where Kettwig town hall is located. This is made up of an old building and a new building, where the council hall for district administration IX and the Heimatmuseum are located nowadays. The old building was a cloth factory until 1867. Between 1935 and 1940, the town of Kettwig extended the building by adding a tower and west gable with a bay window for the mayor’s room, featuring interesting stained glass paintings.
We follow the market along to the left past the town houses, which were built in 1832 in a uniform classical style, and continue on to Hauptstraße. The evangelical Kirche am Markt can be found there on the left, the oldest parts of which date back to the 13th century. There is a range of historic buildings grouped around the churchyard. We continue straight on on Hauptstraße past lots of interesting architectural monuments from various centuries and turn off left onto Ruhrstraße after around 200 metres. After another 100 metres, we can see the catholic Pfarrkirche St. Peter, which was completed in 1830, on the right.
We follow Ruhrstraße to the left past “Nachtwächters Grotte” and the row of houses on Tuchmacherplatz. This square features the Weberbrunnen. From Tuchmacherplatz, the Kirchtreppe leads to the evangelical church along a narrow street. Ruhrstraße takes us back to Mühlengraben, which we cross via the bridge. From there, you can see the former turbine house of the Scheidt cloth factory from 1901, as well as the traditional half-timbered round tower, which is now used as residential space. You can find the stopping point of the Weiße Flotte on the banks of the Ruhr. The ships take you to Wasserbahnhof Mülheim.
