Siebengebirge - Geowanderung: Leyberg

The view from the Leyberg of the Rhine Valley and the northern and eastern Siebengebirge mountains is one of the most spectacular in the Siebengebirge. The last 80 meters of the ascent are over more or less natural rock steps - evidence of the history of basalt mining. Today, only one route can still be seen on the Leyberg, which runs straight through the forest on the northern slope and is clearly visible on maps and aerial photographs. This track is a relic from the time when the stone from the quarries was brought down to the valley with the help of braking tracks. Brake tracks had two parallel tracks on which trolleys rolled. The wagons were connected by a steel cable in such a way that the full wagons traveling down to the valley pulled the empty ones back up by their weight. There was a braking device to compensate for the considerable difference in weight between the full and empty trolleys. This was used to mechanically regulate the speed of the rope as it ran around several rollers. The braking apparatus was constructed entirely of iron and walled into the ground, in so-called brake cellars.