Stiefelsbach und Zuflüsse

The Stiefelsbach and its tributaries form a nature reserve southwest of Rheinbach in the Rhein-Sieg district. The protected area follows the Stiefelsbach stream from Krahforst through the hamlets of Groß-Schlebach and Klein-Schlebach into the Rheinbach forest. Six separate sections make up the reserve, each with its own mix of meadows, woods and streams. The 32-hectare site was designated in 1998 to safeguard typical stream-valley habitats and the transition between woodland and farmland. Its goals include restoring damp meadows, preserving old orchards and protecting natural broadleaf woodlands on the valley sides. Over a hundred plant species have been recorded here, from the common goldrush to the ragged robin, alongside thirty kinds of animals such as the large white butterfly and the jay. Visitors walk along the Schlebachtal’s beech-lined stream, where steep slopes carry grazed pastures and scattered orchards. The Zingsbachtal shows narrow alder belts giving way to oak and birch woods on steep banks. In the Schnellkesbachtal, old fish ponds lie beside unaltered stream beds and remnants of wet meadows, while the Eichen-Buchen-Altholzinsel shelters veteran oaks and beeches between two deep valleys.