The permanent trails of the DVV are circular routes in particularly scenic areas of Germany with lengths from 5 to 42 kilometers. The hiking routes are generally open year-round and start at a starting point venue, where hikers receive start documents (start card / route info). The starting point venue for the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg in Dreis, in the Wittlich Stadt & Land holiday region, is the branch of the Flesch bakery on Freie Reichsstraße 7. The starting point for the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg is the community center at Kirchstr. 22.
The 10 km circular trail passes a total of 14 culturally and historically interesting stations.
Timetables and prices for bus line 325 Wittlich - Dreis are available on the website of Verkehrsregion Trier: www.vrt-info.de
From the community center on Kirchstraße, the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg is continuously marked with its own logo. On the exterior facade, a remnant of the gallows cross dated to 1599 is attached (Station 1). Diagonally opposite, at Rosenplatz, is the pillory cross from the second half of the 17th century (Station 2). The Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg leads, crossing the Freie Reichsstraße, into Salmstraße, past a baroque wayside shrine with Pieta (Station 3), to the Salm bridge. At the beginning of the footpath towards the Waldhotel Sonnora, a wooden beam cross (Station 4) commemorates a tragic accident involving World War ammunition in which two children died in 1945. The path then continues along the right trail, along the Salm River, which is crossed by a footbridge. Behind the footbridge, the theme trail follows the farm road to the right, which leads into Mühlenstraße. After 100 meters, the impressive baroque wayside shrine from the well-known workshop of the Wolff brothers in Wittlich is reached (Station 5). Here, Mühlenstraße is crossed, and the path leads about 100 m back towards the town exit, turning right at the next intersection into the street "Am Weinberg".
At the next intersection is the so-called Echternach (Pilgrim) Cross (Station 6). If you wish, you can follow the left path for about two hundred meters and make a detour to the chapel built in 1956 on the Weinberg. The Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg continues straight ahead, gradually ascending along the former Dreiser vineyards. At the sharp left bend, the path initially goes straight past the garage of the rectory and then down stairs on the right to the St. Martin Parish Church. The baroque church completed in 1756 under Abbot Michael Hormann of Echternach is worth a visit.
The theme trail continues along Kirchstraße and then turns left into Schloßstraße. At the intersection, a shaft cross from 1811 that formerly stood in the former school garden on the Weinberg has found a new place after its restoration (Station 7). It then continues slightly uphill, always along the castle wall. Schloss Dreis, built in 1774 like the parish church by Abbot Michael Hormann, originally served as a summer residence for the abbots of Echternach. After secularization, the property was privatized. In 1840, Timotheus Freiherr von Linde acquired the estate. Through marriage, the castle came to the family of the Counts of Walderdorff, who still live there today. At the sharp right curve at the end of the castle wall, the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg turns left onto a narrow path called "Eselspiedchen." In the castle park stands the newly restored, imposing shaft cross, around which a mysterious werewolf legend revolves (Station 8). The Eselspiedchen continues to the cross group at "Plenter" (Station 9) and runs for a short stretch parallel to the Dreiser Orchid Trail. From the farm road, the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg leaves the Orchid Trail and leads to the cross group on Bergstraße (Station 10).
Here, the theme trail can be abbreviated by following Bergstraße back into the village, passing the Horse Cross (Station 13).
Those wishing to visit all stations of the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg should follow the marking on the farm road to the left. After about two kilometers across the Dreiser fields, the field chapel, popularly known as the little shrine, is reached (Station 11). The altar piece consists of the impressive remnant of an ancient pilgrim cross from 1650. The path continues along the bicycle path accompanied by the Schorbach back towards Dreis, passing the Swedish Cross (Station 12). Upon reaching the industrial area, the theme trail turns right and quickly returns to the village center via the footpath along L 43 / Freie Reichsstraße. At the junction of Bergstraße stands the Horse Cross (Station 13). After crossing Freie Reichsstraße and following Talstraße, the last station of the Dreiser-Kreuze-Weg, the plague cross from 1665 (Station 14), is reached at the edge of town. From here, the path leads through the quiet Salmaue into Salmstraße and finally back to the starting point.
Before and/or after the route, a visit to the restaurant Saschas Esskultur is recommended by reservation https://saschas-esskultur.de/.
