Pingen, pond and a tower straight out of a fairy tale – Itzenplitzer Pingenpfad hike

The Itzenplitzer Pingenpfad leads through old mining craters, dense deciduous forest and right along a reservoir with a tower you can barely believe.

Right in the middle of the former coalfield, between mineshaft, forest and still water, lies one of the most surprising trails I have walked recently. The Itzenplitzer Pingenpfad near Schiffweiler in the Landkreis Neunkirchen is officially certified as a premium hiking trail – and entirely deservedly so.

What awaits you on the 8 km

The circular trail is 8 km long and takes you through a forested area that looks completely ordinary at first glance. Then you see the Pingen: bowl-shaped collapses in the ground, sometimes a metre deep, sometimes as large as a living room. More than 300 such craters are said to be found in this patch of woodland – traces from the time when coal was still mined at the surface before people went deeper underground. Between the Pingen winds a narrow earthen path covered in a layer of leaves, which can get a little slippery after rain. Sturdy footwear is no luxury here.

The trail then leads down to the Itzenplitzer Weiher, a nature reserve with tranquil wetland habitats and a solid birdlife. At midday, when I arrived there, the water was lying almost completely still – a perfect mirror for the autumnal mixed forest on the opposite bank.

The centrepiece: the historic extraction tower

And then there it stands: a small tower in the middle of the water, rendered in blue-grey, with a slate roof, a golden decorative finial, and – you have to do a double take – a balcony full of flowering geraniums. The pump house at the Itzenplitzer Weiher was built in 1878/79 to supply the surrounding mines with water for their steam engines. Its current form dates from 1908 and is considered unique in German mining history. From the dam you have the best view of the building’s symmetry, with the still water surface in front of it. Photographed through autumnally glowing red foliage, the tower looks almost unreal – like a stage set, not a technical monument.

A little further along the bank, through the branches of the birch trees, you can see the tower from the other side – smaller, embedded in the landscape, framed by forest. Both perspectives are worth it, and anyone with a camera will end up standing here longer than planned.

Industrial monument Grube Itzenplitz

Anyone who still has energy after the pond: the site of the Grube Itzenplitz is nearby. The headframes of shafts 2 and 3, the engine house, the wash house and the mine railway station are listed monuments. The mine was shut down in 1960 – today it is an impressive industrial monument that shows how deeply mining carved itself into the landscape here, literally and figuratively.

Practical information

• Start/finish: Car park Itzenplitzer Weiher, Weiherstraße, Schiffweiler (free)
• Getting there: By car via the B41 towards Schiffweiler; by train to Bahnhof Bildstock, then approx. 15 minutes on foot
• Length: 8 km, circular trail, approx. 2.5–3 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate – hilly, narrow paths, no extreme terrain
• Refreshments: Gaststätte Alt-Steigershaus is on the route; the Fischerhütte at the pond is another option (closed on Wednesdays)
• Special feature: At several stops you can listen to audio content about the history of mining – either in standard German or in Saarländisch Platt
• Equipment: Sturdy hiking boots, with grippy soles in wet conditions; the paths between the Pingen can be slippery after rain

When is the tour most worthwhile?

Early October is simply ideal: the foliage is just changing colour without having started to fall yet. The midday light is soft and diffuse under an overcast sky – no harsh backlighting, no shadows destroying the structures in the forest. The extraction tower with its light-coloured render looks particularly striking in this light. Those who arrive early in the morning can also hope for wisps of mist drifting over the pond, giving the already mysterious Pingenfeld an almost surreal atmosphere. A insider tip for photographers: on the south side of the pond, old birch trees grow right at the water’s edge – their white tangle of trunks frames the view of the tower in a way that no other vantage point along the path offers.

Anyone hiking in Saarland who so far only knows the usual suspects should give the Itzenplitzer Pingenpfad a chance. It is short enough for a relaxed half-day trip and dense enough with history, nature and unexpected images to stay with you for a long time.