Irreler Wasserfälle

The Irreler Wasserfälle are the rapids of the Prüm river near Prümzurlay and Irrel in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm. They lie where the river has cut a deep, gorge-like valley into the hard Luxembourg sandstone of the Ferschweiler Plateau. The valley sides show layers of fractured sandstone above and softer Keuper clays and marls below. The falls were shaped by a rockslide during the last Ice Age, when tonnes of sandstone and clay dammed the river. After the dam burst, softer material washed away, leaving only the larger blocks to form low steps in the water. Flooding in July 2021 shifted many of these blocks and destroyed the old wooden footbridge, but a new steel suspension bridge downstream now carries walkers across the rapids. Visitors follow well-marked paths through the gorge to the bridge, which offers close views of the remaining cascades. Two kilometres away, the Teufelsschlucht—a narrow, walkable rock crevice—shares the same geological story. Both features are explained at a visitor centre above the Teufelsschlucht, reached by a short walk from the car park.