Between conflagration and pilgrimage site

The region's abundance of water has significantly contributed to its rise, even during the industrialization era. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the use of hydropower at the historic industrial site of Niedergaul, where Wipperfürth's first steam engine later operated. This 15,8-kilometer circular route through southern Wipperfürth leads to Niedergaul, as well as to the pilgrimage site of Agathaberg, founded after a devastating fire and which, by all accounts, should be located in Sicily. The route continues over scenic heights along the watershed between the Gaulbach and Sülz rivers to Thier and from there to the Klosterberg (Monastery Hill) in the Hanseatic city of Wipperfürth.
From the tourist information center of the "Water Quintet" reservoir region, hike up to Lüdenscheider Straße and follow the Water Quintet hiking trail markers towards the town center. At the traffic lights next to the police station, continue along the road towards Surgères Square/Bus Station.
and take the footpath to the left of the Gaulbach stream at the Edeka supermarket. The stream originates near Marienheide and has already traveled a good eight kilometers before flowing into the Wupper river not far from here.

After a few meters, a small road leads you up to Ostlandstraße, which you follow downhill to the right for a few meters before turning left onto the residential street. This street eventually leads you back to the Gaulbach stream, which you now follow upstream on the Sonnenweg (Sun Path). Passing the Eugen-Wolfrich-Kersting Foundation and the BEW energy and water supplier, continue on the Sonnenweg to the end of the road and then continue on a footpath. A few meters further upstream, you'll follow the Stillinghauser Weg, and then, at a left-hand bend, you'll find another footpath leading to a small road. Turn right onto this road and follow it to the main road in Niedergaul. Opposite the Landgasthof Tönnes inn on the right, you'll find a historic industrial site.
In 1786, Christian Heinrich Wülfing, the long-serving mayor and lawyer of Wipperfürth, founded a water-powered ironworks here at the confluence of the Gaulbach and Pasbach streams. His son Franz converted the facility into a spinning mill before 1816, where Wipperfürth's first steam engine was installed in 1829. Later, the Wuppertal-based carpet and household appliance manufacturer Vorwerk & Co. acquired the site, which was taken over by Jokey-Plastik in 1986. The company had the historically significant buildings extensively restored.

In Niedergaul stood the town hall of the former municipality of Klüppelberg, which merged into the present-day city of Wipperfürth during the municipal reorganization of 1975. Cross the main road and continue straight ahead, soon climbing steeply up Agathaberger Weg. At the end of the road, follow a farm track. Where this rejoins asphalt, continue straight ahead uphill to Agathaberg. The village lies on the watershed between the Gaulbach and the Sülz rivers. According to tradition, the church was founded after Wipperfürth was repeatedly destroyed by fire in 1465. The then-parish priest, Vollmar, and the townspeople vowed to undertake a pilgrimage to the burial site of Saint Agatha, the patron saint against fire, in Catania, Sicily. Over time, however, the community was released from this obligation by the church authorities. As a replacement, Pastor Vollmar had a wooden chapel built on a mountain in 1474 in honor of God and Saint Agatha.

The current neo-Gothic church was consecrated in 1903. Turn right at the church onto the district road and follow it out of the village. Walk under a power line and then turn left onto a path that soon leads you down through the woods to a side road. Follow this road downhill through Fähnrichstüttem to a fork in the road. Turn right here to Stüttem, then onto the L 284. Turn left onto the L 284 and continue to Graben, where you turn right onto the side road. Soon, follow the "Water Quintet" marker along a farm track that leads you to a T-junction near Buchholz. Turn right here, then shortly after, turn right again at the fork and follow the "Circle" marker into the valley. Continue for a few meters along the district road to the left, then turn right again, passing through Niederflosbach (keep left in the village) and up the "Kapellenberg" (Chapel Hill) to Thier. From there, turn right onto Johann-Wilhelm-Roth-Straße in front of the church, then follow the triangle marker straight ahead out of the village. About 80 meters before Fürden im Tal, turn right onto a wide path. Continue following the triangle marker straight ahead through the villages of Drecke, Eichholz, and Seidenfaden until the path between Münte and Herzhof joins Siegburger-Tor-Straße at a sharp angle. Follow this road straight ahead to Wipperfürth. It descends as a sunken lane to Ringstraße, which you follow to the right. At the end of the parking lot, turn left onto a footpath that leads down to the market square. From there, pass the Protestant church and continue to Untere Straße. Turn right at the intersection and then soon left down to the base station at Ohler Wiesen.