Geierlay suspension bridge: a thrill 100 metres up

History and location of the Geierlay suspension bridge

The Geierlay is one of the finest suspension bridges in Germany and lies in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the heart of the Hunsrück. It spans a wooded side valley of the Moselle, crossing the Mörsdorfer Bach stream. The idea for a bridge on the Nepalese model was born in Mörsdorf in 2006, during planning for the village renewal scheme, but it took many more years before it was built, in 2015, in the space of six months. The bridge takes its name from a rocky slope (Ley) where birds of prey (Geier, vultures) live.

The Geierlay suspension bridge – the Geierlay for short – is a rope suspension bridge linking the villages of Mörsdorf and Sosberg. It is a popular attraction for young and old alike, and for dogs and their owners. Allow two to three hours for a visit to the bridge with a walk.

There are four car parks in total that charge a fee, and one more a little way outside the village of Mörsdorf. The car park near the cemetery is very popular, with room for around 160 cars. There is plenty of parking right at the visitor centre as well. From here you have the quickest route to the suspension bridge, around 2 kilometres. The other car parks lie outside the village, but you are quickly on the Geierlay from there too. The paths are level and surfaced, so the Geierlay is comfortable to reach.

Dimensions of the Geierlay suspension bridge

The bridge is 360 metres long and 100 metres high, so visitors with a fear of heights have to steel themselves a little. It measures 85 centimetres across at the bottom and around 140 centimetres at the top. The bridge withstands wind speeds of 200 kilometres per hour and carries a weight of 50 tonnes.

Restrictions for visitors

The bridge is open 24 hours a day and can be crossed at any time of year and any time of day, at your own risk of course. In extreme weather it is closed temporarily at short notice, and when visitor numbers are high it is opened in one direction at a time. Bicycles have to be pushed across. Pushchairs should be narrow, and a visit by wheelchair is possible too. Dogs are fine, but only on a lead.

The view from the bridge down into the wooded valley is a captivating sight. Below it runs the award-winning Saar-Hunsrück-Steig (stages 19/20), which forms part of the two Geierlay circular walks: the large Geierlayschleife (5.5 kilometres) leads from the Mörsdorf visitor centre across the suspension bridge, then follows a section of the Saar-Hunsrück-Steig underneath the bridge and back to Mörsdorf. The small Geierlayschleife (3.6 kilometres) runs from the Mörsdorf bridgehead along a meadow path through a small wood and back to the starting point.

The Eifel is a wonderfully varied landscape in the Rhenish Slate Mountains: the interplay of ridges and plateaux, narrow V-shaped valleys and broad flat-bottomed ones, with their many forms and distinctive vegetation, keeps a stay here interesting. Striking basalt domes and volcanic shapes mark the countryside, with cinder cones and the maars of the Eifel. Water in the volcanic craters that fell dormant 10,000 years ago forms these picturesque crater lakes, such as the Laacher See, where you are also allowed to swim.

At Holiday Homes Susi, Annika and Tommy, looking out over the Waldsee Rieden, up to two dogs are welcome. These top five-star homes are an ideal base for days out in the area, the Geierlay suspension bridge among them. And if you simply want a little luxury after a rewarding day’s walking, your house by the lake has a wood-burning stove, sauna, hooded beach chair, kettle barbecue, an EV charging point and everything else you need.

More than 300,000 people have crossed the bridge since it was completed in 2015. On busy days there are up to 5,000 visitors.