Orscholz & the Saarschleife

Orscholz (Mettlach, Merzig-Wadern, Saarland) and Freudenburg (Trier district) are small villages near Trier, close to the German–Luxembourg–French border. They are the most precisely documented ancestral places on Jerry's paternal Maas / Fox (Fuchs) side. See Jerry's Family History (Ulcek / Fiedler).

Family connection

The GEDCOM records the earliest German forebears here (source: Ulcek Family Tree.ged):

• Johann (Johannes) Fox / Fuchs / Fockes — born and died at Orscholz (Mettlach, Merzig-Wadern, Saarland).
• Margreth (Margretha) Schmit / Schmitt — born and died at Orscholz.
• John Fox (Fuchs) Sr. — born at Orschholz, Saarburg, Trier.
• Anna Maas (Mauss) — born at Freudenburg, Trier.

Christy's research groups these as "Trier, Orscholz, Freudenburg — Germany" (source: Ulcek final PPT.pdf).

Orscholz is a village in the municipality of Mettlach (Merzig-Wadern, Saarland), sitting directly above the Saarschleife, the great horseshoe bend of the Saar — the heart of the "Saarschleifenland" tourist region. Freudenburg, despite its proximity, is administratively just across the line in Rhineland-Palatinate (Trier-Saarburg district), not Saarland — an important distinction for records research. Freudenburg grew up around a castle built in 1337 by King John of Bohemia; the castle ruins, a Jewish cemetery first documented in 1694, and a former mikvah survive (source: jerry-alsace.md).

What to see

• Christy's research includes dedicated slides for both Orscholz and Freudenburg as ancestral villages (source: Ulcek final PPT.pdf).
• Cloef viewpoint — the classic free overlook of the Saarschleife, a 10-minute walk from the Landhotel (source: jerry-alsace.md).
• Treetop Walk Saarschleife (Baumwipfelpfad) at the Cloef — a 1,250 m accessible canopy walkway up to 23 m above the forest floor, leading to a 42 m semicircular spiral observation tower; on clear days you can see to the Vosges. Opened July 2016, open year-round except 24 December (source: jerry-alsace.md).
• Villeroy & Boch flagship and Erlebniszentrum/outlet in Mettlach (the company's home since 1809), the old abbey, Burg Montclair, and Château de Malbrouck just over the French border; kayaking on the Saar; the "Traumschleifen" dream-loop trails of the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park (source: jerry-alsace.md).

Where to stay & eat

• Buchnas Landhotel Saarschleife (Cloefstr. 44, Orscholz/Mettlach) — the special-occasion base for this whole northern cluster: family-run 4-star operating since 1936, a 10-minute walk from the Cloef viewpoint and treetop walk, with a 500 m² spa and two on-site restaurants (recent guest scores ~8.9/9.1). Its gourmet Buchnas Landküche is among Saarland's better kitchens; the casual Buchnas Dorfküche serves hearty traditional Saarland dishes (Dibbelabbes, Geheirate, Schwenkbraten) (source: jerry-alsace.md).
• Self-catering: Vis Saar Vie apartments near the Landhotel (~9.2 rating). Casual options in Orscholz are limited — head into Mettlach or Merzig for variety. The report recommends this as the base for 2–3 nights covering the Saarschleife pocket + Freudenburg (within ~15–20 min) (source: jerry-alsace.md).

Records research

This area was mostly Catholic: parish records are at the Bistumsarchiv Trier (Jesuitenstraße 13c, 54290 Trier; covers both the Saarland villages and Freudenburg). For civil registration, use the local Standesamt (Mettlach for Orscholz; Verbandsgemeinde Saarburg-Kell for Freudenburg) or the Landesarchiv Saarland (Saarbrücken). Because Freudenburg is in Rhineland-Palatinate, its older civil records may sit with the Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz even though its Catholic parish books go to Trier — contact both (source: jerry-alsace.md). See Trier.

Trip fit

Mettlach — the station for Orscholz/the Saarschleife — is on the Trier→Saarbrücken rail line, so the ancestral village is reachable car-free: regional train to Mettlach, then bus 207 (~10 min) or the seasonal Saarschleifenbus (line 225) to Orscholz/Cloef, plus a ~20-min walk to the viewpoint (source: bahn.de / Mettlach, checked June 2026). It is built into the optional Trier/Mosel detour in 12-Day Public-Transit Itinerary: Champagne · Alsace · Burgundy — and can even be a stop on the southbound Trier→Strasbourg leg.

Related pages

• Trier
• Mosel Valley
• Jerry's Family History (Ulcek / Fiedler)
• Jerry's Alsace–Saarland Heritage Research (source summary)
• 12-Day Public-Transit Itinerary: Champagne · Alsace · Burgundy