Hike stage 5 of the Way of St. James between Wuppertal and Aachen. This route takes you 20 kilometers from Kerpen to Düren.

The starting point is Stiftsplatz in Kerpen. The first highlight of your hike lies along the route and is the birthplace of Adolf Kolping. He was born in the Obermühle on December 8, 1813. There is a memorial in the form of a small museum in the extension to the half-timbered house. Here you can gain an impression of the life and work of the Catholic social reformer. After leaving school, Adolf Kolping studied theology and was ordained a priest in 1845. His ordination took place in the Minorite Church in Cologne. With the onset of industrialization, journeymen found themselves destitute on the streets. At this time, Adolf Kolping became the chairman of the local journeymen's association and when he moved to Cologne as vicar of the cathedral in 1849, he offered the homeless journeymen a home. In addition to setting up hospitals and savings banks, he also took care of appropriate educational opportunities and presented the journeymen with an image of a Christian worthy of emulation in his job, family and state. Even during his lifetime, Adolph Kolping's work spread far beyond the borders of Germany. Today, his legacy is the international Kolping Society, which is represented in 50 countries and has 275,000 members in Germany alone.

In Bergerhausen, which belongs to Blatzheim, you can explore Bergerhausen Castle . There is a public park next to the castle, which attracts many visitors due to its old trees and the view of the castle. As an outpost to the west of Cologne, Blatzheim protected itself against the Duchy of Jülich with three moated castles. Two of the three moated castles are still preserved today, including Bergerhausen Castle and the Deutschordensburg.

On the outskirts of Golzheim, you walk along the path past the Ahrburg, a former moated castle. The path continues past a Florian wayside shrine and leads you to a modern chapel containing a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. The green area is located at the end of Johann-Kaspar-Kratz-Straße. The street was named after a Jesuit missionary born in Golzheim in 1698. The missionary was beheaded with three companions in the province of Tonking (Vietnam) in 1737. He is also commemorated in the Gregorius Church, which dates from the 19th century.

The tower of the mill built in 1608, which was converted into a water tower in 1912, is now the landmark of Merzenich. The "Culture and Monument" association often organizes exhibitions here and you can enjoy the beautiful panoramic view from the top floor. To the right of the neo-Gothic parish church of St. Laurentius is a half-timbered farmstead. This was restored by Merzenich's local history association between 1986 and 1988 and a local history museum was opened.

The devastating bombing raid by the British Air Force on 16 November 1944 almost completely destroyed the Gothic Annakirche in Düren with its almost one hundred meter high church tower. Between 1954 and 1956, the architect Rudolf Schwarz built the seventh church building on the remains. Old rubble was integrated into the new church building. Today, the St. Anne's Church building is one of the most important works of post-war modernism in Germany. The St. Anne's Church in Düren was initially dedicated to St. Martin and only later to St. Anne. A chapel in Düren was mentioned by scholars as early as 748. This chapel subsequently developed into St. Martin's Church. The stonemason Leonard from Kornelimünster near Aachen gave the town of Düren a very special story with the abduction of the Anna relic: in 1501, Leonard brought the remains from the collegiate church of St. Stephen in Mainz to our town via a circuitous route. The four bronze bells in the tower are dedicated to the saints Mary, Joseph, Anna and Martin.

There are numerous places to stop for a bite to eat around St. Anne's Church, which we have listed under the menu itemRestaurantsmenu item.

You can stay overnight in one of the accommodation establishmentsto set off on the 6th stage the next day.