Juniper trail - death tree with healing powers
The juniper has many faces - and many legends surrounding it. On this 5.5-kilometre circular trail, you can discover the many facets of this evergreen tree, which shaped large parts of the Bergisches Land 200 years ago.
Since the Middle Ages, the people who settled here had cut down more and more forests in order to obtain firewood and timber. Because the resulting meadows were also intensively grazed, large areas of heathland developed, on which the frugal juniper with its pointed needles was one of the few plants to survive.
The Branscheid juniper heath, through which this circular trail leads, is today one of the last juniper heaths in the Oberberg region and is being saved from being overgrown by the forest with human help and animal support from herds of sheep and goats. Information boards along the trail provide information about the importance of juniper as a spice in the kitchen as well as its healing powers, for example against kidney and bladder diseases.
There are also interesting insights into the myths surrounding the juniper. For example, wool and food used to be sacrificed to the tree when a child was ill. However, its uneven growth can also be really frightening, especially at dusk. All the more reason to discover the secret of the juniper on this trail.
The juniper trail runs along the route of the "Bergischer Panoramasteig" for a few hundred meters.
The trail has a total of 5 information boards. We would like to thank Susanne Maass, who looks after the trail as a volunteer trail patron.
Since the Middle Ages, the people who settled here had cut down more and more forests in order to obtain firewood and timber. Because the resulting meadows were also intensively grazed, large areas of heathland developed, on which the frugal juniper with its pointed needles was one of the few plants to survive.
The Branscheid juniper heath, through which this circular trail leads, is today one of the last juniper heaths in the Oberberg region and is being saved from being overgrown by the forest with human help and animal support from herds of sheep and goats. Information boards along the trail provide information about the importance of juniper as a spice in the kitchen as well as its healing powers, for example against kidney and bladder diseases.
There are also interesting insights into the myths surrounding the juniper. For example, wool and food used to be sacrificed to the tree when a child was ill. However, its uneven growth can also be really frightening, especially at dusk. All the more reason to discover the secret of the juniper on this trail.
The juniper trail runs along the route of the "Bergischer Panoramasteig" for a few hundred meters.
The trail has a total of 5 information boards. We would like to thank Susanne Maass, who looks after the trail as a volunteer trail patron.
