From Holderbank in the Balsthal Valley, over the Jura Crest to Egerkingen.

(This post created on April 27, 2026)

Sunday April 6, 2014 -- Before going to spend a lovely afternoon with friends (woodfire BBQ!) we did a quick two-hour hike in their neighbourhood in Northwest Switzerland (Canton Solothurn). Starting point was Holderbank in the Bals Valley (Balsthal), from there we walked up to the ruins of the fortress Alt-Bechburg (Old Bechburg), and then over the hill and down to Egerkingen. It was a 7-km hike which took us about 2¾ hours.

Unfortunately it was a foggy day, and we don't usually hike in the fog, but we did want to do a hike first before our visit, and the fog gives the landscape a unique atmosphere. 

Heading by bus from the town of Balsthal to the start of our hike in Holderbank, we pass another large Fortress Ruins at the entrance of a side valley. This castle is called Neu Falkenstein. 

A close-up view of the Neu Falkenstein fortress ruins high above the valley. 

From the town of Holderbank, we started up the mountain at about 10:45 a.m. toward the ruins of the Alt-Bechburg fortress, and passed a farm just below the castle where the cows and pigs were making their way to the pasture (unattended!)  We could have sworn the cows were foster mothers to about 20 hyperactive piglets!

VIDEO:

I tried to make a little video of the cows and pigs

(Not great quality)

View of the valley from the fortress ruins. Too bad that it's a foggy day!

Exploring the ruins of Alt-Bechburg. 

As it was now 11:30, we had a bit of a picnic break here. 

From the ruins, we had to head down to this farm, before continuing up the hill to the crest. 

A look back at the ruins of the Old-Bechburg fortress as we reach the crest of the Jura Range here. This is looking north, and we are now going to descend the hill to the south. 

This spot on the crest of the hill is called "Schlosshöchi" (i.e. "Castle Heights"). The National Trail no.5: "Jura Crest Trail" passes through here. We have come up from Holderbank, and are now descending to Egerkingen. 

Shortly down from the crest of the hill is the restaurant Bluemlismatt. It seems to be very popular on a Sunday!

So here we are at 12:15, and heading down toward Egerkingen. 

Heading down the steep side of the mountain.

Our first view of the town of Egerkingen below

Close-up view of the end of our hike. It is now just about 1 p.m. Once we get to the church below, we still have to walk another 15 minutes to the train station. 

A look back up the hillside we had just descended, before heading to the train station. The fog has lifted and the sun has come out now!

This was a 7-km hike we did, starting in Holderbank and ending in Egerkingen. Pure walking time is about 2½ hours. We started about 10:45, and would have gotten to the train station in Egerkingen at about 1:30 p.m.