This remembrance cycling tour begins at the Waldniel-Hostert Memorial, once the St. Josefsheim – a place where children fell victim to the Nazi euthanasia programme. Today, it serves as a memorial and a point of interest on the Liberation Route Europe, connecting stories of war, liberation, and renewal. From here, the themed route leads cyclists into Waldniel’s historic village centre (via junction 24), whose narrow streets reflect rural life during the war. The next destination is the village Amern whose citizens survived dire war conditions.

At Brüggen Castle, once a border fortress of the Duchy of Jülich and now a museum, two audiospots recall local wartime stories: one related to the St. Rochus Hospital, where nuns cared for the wounded under heavy bombardement, and another for the Stroetges family, who found shelter in the castle’s casemates. Following the Schwalm River, the route reaches Elmpt (junction 26) in the municipality of Niederkrüchten. After the war, this area became home to the Royal Air Force Brüggen (later Javelin Barracks), one of NATO’s largest Cold War bases in Germany. Today, the site is being peacefully redeveloped, symbolising the transformation from war to cooperation.

In the village Oberkrüchten (junction 10), the audiospot “Crash of the Lancaster” commemorates the crash of a British bomber in 1943 – a lasting local memory. Niederkrüchten (junction 17) stands as a symbol of post-war reconstruction and the British presence on the Lower Rhine. This tour blends natural beauty and remembrance, tracing Europe’s journey from conflict to peace along the paths of liberation.

The cycle paths in the Rhineland are equipped with so-called junctions (German: Knotenpunkte), which make it easier to navigate while cycling. They can be found in brackets after the location details on this themed cycling route and correspond with the signposts along the way.