Echternach, Morgenstern

Starting at the lowest point in Luxembourg, the "Spatz" in Wasserbillig, this route runs along both banks of the Sauer through picturesque villages and vineyards in Germany and Luxembourg to the abbey town of Echternach. A short shaded section of the route runs "elevated" through a valuable wetland. You pass through an old railway tunnel and over modern bridges. Points of interest: hermit's chapel "Girsterklaus", mineral springs and reservoir (swimming opportunity) of Rosport, Echternach (city walls, basilica, Benedictine abbey), Bollendorf castle.

The "Prelate's Garden" was created after 1731 by Abbot Gregorius Schouppe according to French models on the site of the former city wall. The Orangerie was built for the overwintering of exotic plants and was completed in 1736, presumably according to the plans of Leopold Durand. The four stone pictures in the niches of the main façade are attributed to the work of the Würzburg sculptor Adam Ferdinand Tietz (1708-1777). This depiction of the cycle of the four seasons played a major role in the Baroque period and symbolises the succession of spring, summer, autumn and winter as the eternal cycle of nature. The garden is in the shape of a rectangle divided into eight squares and bordered by avenues. At the intersection of the main avenues is a fountain, next to a sundial from the time of its origin. Only a few of the twelve stone figures which once marked the corners of the avenues have survived. They were destroyed during the von Rundstedt Offensive.