Aussichtspunkt Kanaul zwischen Löf und Kattenes

The highest elevation in the Löf district, with a view over the Moselle and the towns of Löf, Brodenbach, and Alken, is 242 meters high. From this ridge, you can hike further towards Kattenes and Lehmen via the Würzlaysteig. On the southern side, you can descend into the Nachtigallental. On the way down, hikers pass by boxwood bushes. Here, in the Untermosel region, is the northernmost boundary of the boxwood's distribution area. In the protected valley (Nachtigallental) between Kanaul and Falkenberg (on the opposite side), it thrives wonderfully. From Kanaul, heading down towards the Moselle's slopes, we find – when no vineyards are planted – as is almost everywhere on the steep slopes of the Moselle and in the side valleys, coppice or stool wood forest. The low height of the trees is explained by the sprouting of shoots from the stump after the trees have been cut down and by the fact that the trees are felled while still young. The typical tree species of the coppice include the sessile oak, hornbeam, sometimes beech, and as a shrub, hazel. If you look around on Kanaul near the small shelter, you can see several depressions in the ground that extend more than a meter downward and can have several meters in diameter. They date back to the final phase of World War II. In March 1945, the Americans came from the west (Eifel) and encountered German troops, who were entrenched on the other side of the Moselle. The depressions were made by American soldiers who dug in here. From this position, the American army shelled Alken, Brodenbach, Burg Thurant, and the Vorderhunsrück, where there were German troops, before crossing the Moselle to the other side on March 13, 1945. Today, Kanaul is a popular viewpoint for hikers.