Baumwipfelpfad Saarschleife-05-Aussichtsturm

The Treetop Walk Saarschleife is a 1,250 meter long

canopy walkway Canopy walkways - also called canopy walks, treetop walks or treetop walkways - provide pedestrian access to a forest Canopy (biology), canopy. Early walkways consisted of bridges between trees in the canopy of a forest; mostly linked up with pl ...

in the Orscholz area of Mettlach, Germany. Built atop a rocky vantage point known as the "Cloef", it offers visitors views of the

Saarschleife The Saarschleife, also known as the Great Bend in the Saar at Mettlach, is a water gap carved by the Saar River through a quartzite layer and today one of the most well-known tourist attractions of the Saarland. Location The Saarschleife begin ...

. The major

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

tourist attraction is operated by "Erlebnis Akademie AG."

Structure

At 1,250 meters long, the treetop walkway winds its way to an observation tower that was constructed over the Cloef. The path is at a height of up to 23 m and has a minimum width of 2.5 meters. A series of four information stations along the path inform the visitor about

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

, the beechwood forest, the Saarschleife, and wood debris, while children have access to a specially designed bridge and slide. The path winds its way to the top of the tower with rest areas along the way. By design, the path is completely handicap accessible with a maximum grade of a mere 6%. The pathway is open all year, apart from December 24, with only adjustments to its opening hours according to the time of year. The observation tower closes when wind speeds exceed 50 kmh.

Construction and opening

The treetop walk was built by Erlebnis Akademie AG from

Bad Kötzting Bad Kötzting (; before 2005: Kötzting; Northern Bavarian: ''Bad Ketzing'') is a town in the district of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border. It is situated in the Bavarian Forest, southeast of Cham. Overview Bad Kötzting has the ...

thanks to a community initiative by

Mettlach Mettlach (Saarlandic dialect:Mettlich) is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany, situated on the river Saar, approximately northwest of Merzig, and south of Trier. The headquarters of Villeroy & Boch are in Mettlach. ...

. The total cost for the project amounted to 4.7 million Euros including a contribution by

of 275,000 Euros. The European Regional Development Funds also proved to be a key partner in the project. The treetop walk is a member of EUROPARC Deutschland and has been recognized as a distinguished national landscape. The treetop walk is made of 80% wood which required the use of 1,000 cubic meters of Douglas and larch wood as well as 100 tons of steel during construction. The project's realization also came with criticism. Many critics believed that the observation tower would mar the surrounding landscape and nature - particularly on account of the area's special meaning for Saarland and its wide visibility. However, the Mettlach town council approved the project with a significant majority because of the tourism increase it promised to bring. The walkway was officially opened on July 23, 2016 and had attracted its 25,000th visitor within three weeks.

References

External links

* Saarland Tourist attractions in Saarland Buildings and structures in Saarland 2010s architecture Buildings and structures completed in 2016 Forestry {{Improve categories, date=May 2020