A Short Walk across the Chestenberg Ridge in Canton Aargau

Wednesday November 2, 2022 -- It was mostly a very overcast day, but we knew there should be some clearing of clouds mid-afternoon, so we headed out anyway, to a small hill in Canton Aargau (between Aarau and Brugg) called Chestenberg, which is a nature reserve of sorts, a forest which has been allowed to grow and regenerate with no human intervention.

We didn't do a long hike this day, as we lose sun so quickly now. The main idea was to walk along the crest of this hill (starting at Brunegg Castle), which took about an hour. It was much more pleasant than expected, as we did get some views to the area to the north (Baden, Brugg, Windisch, and even all the way across the border into Germany) and the sun-dappled forest was very pretty. And we were surprised to learn that a small community existed here on the mountain back in the Bronze Age.

Originally we had planned to walk all the way to the Habsburg castle (that would have been a 3-hour hike), but we ended the hike at the little village of Scherz (2 hours), which was the main goal of the day as there is an old mill there which still produces various flours and feed for livestock, and also hand-makes special cherry-pit pillows which we heat up as warming pads. (I wanted to buy one, but came away with two kilos of cherry pits instead, as I will try to make my own pillows!)

I had hoped to see three castles along the way, but the one at Brunegg at the east end of the ridge is privately-owned, and from our vantage point we only saw the tower. The nearby beautiful Schloss Wildegg on the west side was unfortunately hidden by trees, and we never did make it to the Habsburg castle to the north. On the other hand, back in March of 2017 we walked the section of the "Aargauer Weg" from Brugg to Wildegg, visiting both those castles at the time. Those photos are HERE.

Heading by bus to Brunegg at the base of Mt. Chestenberg, we get a glimpse of the Brunegg Castle (privately-owned). We walked up to that castle first, then along the ridge...

Heading up the hill to the Brunegg Castle (25-minute climb)

A look down at Brunegg where we started

This is the best look we could get at the Brunegg Castle

The Brunegg Castle was already part of the Habsburg Family holdings back in the 13th Century.

Fortified wall around the Brunegg Castle

Our hike along the crest of Mt. Chestenberg, with descent to Scherz. Originally we were planning to continue north to the Habsburg castle, but the sun was already starting to go down!

The sun is just starting to shine as we head along the Chestenberg Ridge

It was a very nice 50-minute walk across the top of the mountain through the sun-dappled forest

A very cool mushroom!

Even along a small mountain ridge, there are some interesting stretches!

A view to the north toward Windisch/Brugg and Siggenthal

Here on this mountain they found evidence of a settlement during the Bronze Ages 3000 years ago!

Reading about the 3000-year old settlement here on Mt. Chestenberg

A close-up look at the medieval Habsburg Castle, original seat of the powerful Habsburg Family, one of the leading imperial and royal dynasties of Europe.

Another look north toward Brugg and Siggenthal, this time with sunshine! The hills in the back are in Germany.

The ridge trail along Mt. Chestenberg.

From the west end of the Chestenberg we descended to the village of Scherz via the Scherz pond. In 1848, the Scherz River, which runs out of this pond, was used to power the mill.

The Scherz pond

There were several such small "wharves" over the water for the fishermen! Actually, you were not actually allowed to access this without a "license" (I only read the sign later).

A sign warned that you had to have permission to walk on the wharves, not that I would have wanted to walk on this one...

Heading down from the forest into the community of Scherz

A second pond in Scherz

Living quarters next to the old mill

I didn't think to take photos inside the old mill, so here is a picture from their website, showing a selection of the cherry pillows which they sell. (They also sell pillows filled with grape seeds, apricot pits, and even strawberry seeds!!!)