Böllweg - Heinrich Böll's time in the Bergisches Land
What the young Heinrich Böll, who was bombed out in Cologne, experienced in the community of Much in the mid-1940s also occupied him in his literary work throughout his life. "What I want to describe to you is a little odyssey," wrote the author in "Letter to my sons or four bicycles".
This STREIFZUG accompanies hikers on a 12.1-kilometre circular route to a number of places that were crucial to the survival of Heinrich Böll and his wife Annemarie between 1944 and 1946. In the former parish hall in Marienfeld, for example, the young couple found refuge in November 1944 after their apartment in Cologne had been destroyed by bombs and they had not been able to stay in emergency accommodation on the Ahr either.
In the village of Bruchhausen, the soldier Heinrich Böll reported back to the troops in March 1945 after he had illegally extended his "home leave" several times with the help of a doctor from Much, among others. The Böllweg also leads to Neßhoven, where Annemarie Böll, now pregnant, found a new home before giving birth to her son Christoph on July 20, 1945 in the St. Josefs-Haus in Much. A few weeks later, the baby died as a result of diarrhea. His parents buried him in the cemetery in Marienfeld. The "Böllweg" also leads there, providing unique insights into the lives of the Bölls as well as shedding light on the relationship between the locals and the refugees living there at the time.
In the center of Much there is a connection to the long-distance hiking trail "Bergischer Weg". In Neßhoven, a connecting path branches off from the "Böllweg" to the "Bergischer Panoramasteig".
The trail has a total of 8 information boards and 1 audio station. We would like to thank Andreas Hombach, who looks after the trail as a volunteer trail patron.
This STREIFZUG accompanies hikers on a 12.1-kilometre circular route to a number of places that were crucial to the survival of Heinrich Böll and his wife Annemarie between 1944 and 1946. In the former parish hall in Marienfeld, for example, the young couple found refuge in November 1944 after their apartment in Cologne had been destroyed by bombs and they had not been able to stay in emergency accommodation on the Ahr either.
In the village of Bruchhausen, the soldier Heinrich Böll reported back to the troops in March 1945 after he had illegally extended his "home leave" several times with the help of a doctor from Much, among others. The Böllweg also leads to Neßhoven, where Annemarie Böll, now pregnant, found a new home before giving birth to her son Christoph on July 20, 1945 in the St. Josefs-Haus in Much. A few weeks later, the baby died as a result of diarrhea. His parents buried him in the cemetery in Marienfeld. The "Böllweg" also leads there, providing unique insights into the lives of the Bölls as well as shedding light on the relationship between the locals and the refugees living there at the time.
In the center of Much there is a connection to the long-distance hiking trail "Bergischer Weg". In Neßhoven, a connecting path branches off from the "Böllweg" to the "Bergischer Panoramasteig".
The trail has a total of 8 information boards and 1 audio station. We would like to thank Andreas Hombach, who looks after the trail as a volunteer trail patron.
