Hikes in Gefrees

The town of Marktschorgast, where our hike starts, with its Biedermeier-style houses at the market square, is worth seeing. You should also visit the parish church of St. Jacob, a two-aisled fortified church with late medieval art treasures.

Circular route from the Entenmühle (place to eat and park) through the Ölschnitz valley to the spa park of Bad Berneck and back over the heights of the opposite side of the valley.

Circular route from Kornbach. On the way to the Eger spring, a detour to the Pestilence Garden. Rest at the Eger spring. Continue on the ridge path over the Hohe Haide with a detour to the Wetzstein rock. Return to the starting point. Dining option in Kornbach.

... the hiking trail leads from Bischofsgrün through the Ölschniz Valley to Bad Berneck on the "Jean-Paul Path".

A circular route from the Entenmühle on sunny heights over Metzlersreuth and Gottmannsberg to Gefrees and back to the starting point in the idyllic valley of the Lübnitzbach.

A circular route from Stammbach to Weißenstein including sections of the paths "Fränkisches Steinreich" and "Rund um Stammbach"

18 circular routes accompany the Jakobusweg Fichtelgebirge. Circular route 4 starts and ends in Kornbach (possibility to stop for refreshments). Through the Torfmoorhölle up to the source of the Eger and back to Kornbach via another path.

The 13.5 km long tour leads from Bischofsgrün via the district of Rangen to the Glasermühle, up to Neuhaus and Schweinsbach. The return route goes through the Wolfsgarten, over Hirschhaid back to the starting point.

​ ▶ From the parking lot at Gefrees 01 near the swimming pool, we turn right toward the church and, just before reaching it—at the Hotel Grüner Baum—turn right onto Rödergasse, via Metzlersreuth. Immediately after the bridge 02, turn left onto Heinrich-Christian-Funck-Straße, and after the first house, turn right into the first alley, which is paved for a short distance and then turns into a narrow grass path (white-and-blue markings). The trail leads up into the forest via several stone steps and finally across grass, past the turnoff to the Luitpold Monument (300 m to the right), and after the forest ends, toward the road, which we follow to Gottmannsberg 03. Head up the steep paved road through the small village to the edge of the forest, then continue ascending along the edge of the forest on a grassy forest path to the left. We cross a gravel road, follow the next intersecting forest road to the left, and leave it at the marked spot onto a wide but root-strewn path to the right, which leads us to the Jesusbrunnen 04.Climbing gently, we cross a forest road shortly afterward, and our now-grassy forest trail joins a crossing gravel path. We follow the signs for “Wetzstein” straight ahead—flat at first, then over a slight hill. Before the right-hand turnoff to Wetzstein, the trail becomes a bit more winding. After a short detour to the viewing pavilion at the Wetzstein Rock 05 (visible through the trees, with a beautiful view of the Ochsenkopf), we continue along the forest road—which now slopes gently downward at intervals—following the signs for Hohe Haide and Egerquelle. Passing the Markgrafenhütte and several scenic spots, we reach Pos.  Hohe Haide 06. Now the trail descends steeply, and at a fork we leave the wide gravel path to the left and take a narrow, grassy forest trail that winds gently downhill to a gravel road and directly to the Egerquelle 07.Passing the spring on the left, we soon come to a junction; we continue straight ahead into the forest (look for the blue dot markings) and follow a narrow, root-strewn path that winds downhill through the woods. Crossing a gravel road, we pass the houses of Haidlas at the edge of the forest on a forest trail until we turn left at the blue dot onto a root-strewn forest path, which then joins a wider, grassy trail. Going slightly downhill through a meadow clearing, then back through the woods, we reach the edge of the forest on the now gravel-covered forest road and continue past two small ponds down to Kornbach 08.Turn right at the fire station, then follow the stream through the village to the access road leading to the St2180, which runs just to the right. We keep to the left, cross the road, and turn right at the information sign for the NordicPark Fichtelgebirge. The blue dot guides us across open countryside on a meadow path—past old natural cellars—up into the forest. After a while, the path becomes steeper; we hear road noise from the right, then it levels off, we pass two turnoffs to the Hügelwiese parking lot, and come to a wide gravel path coming from the left, which we follow slightly downhill to reach the road (St2180). On the sidewalk running alongside the road—sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left of Egerstraße—we stroll toward Gefrees and, in a left-hand curve, to the main street and the church. On the way back to the parking lot, we make a brief detour to the right at the intersection near the Künneth Palace. Here, a large sign informs us about the historic streets and paths in and around Gefrees. At the street corner stands a marker stone inscribed with “Via Imperii, Nuremberg 4 days, Leipzig 5 days.” A few steps further along the main street, and we’re back at the parking lot in Gefrees 01.

​Stage 1: From Waldstein to Weißenstein, 24.2 kmStage 2: From Weißenstein to Marienweiher, 12 kmStage 3: From Marienweiher to Steinachtal, 22 km Stage 4: From Steinachtal to the Wilde Rodach, 18.1 kmBavaria's "Rocky Corner" is rightfully what the Franconian Forest and Fichtel Mountains are called, as hardly anywhere else in Europe are there more numerous and diverse rock formations in such a small area. The geological substrate causes landscape diversity, and the landscape in turn shapes the character of people and culture. The quality trail "Fränkisches Steinreich" – designed as a roughly 75-kilometer long multi-stage trail – pays tribute to this unique mixture. On the "Rocky Realm" many things come together – not only granite with limestone and schist, but also "Upper Land" with "Lower Land", Buddhism with Marian devotion, and "devoutly Catholic Bamberg" meets "militant Protestant Margravial." Four daily stages ranging from 13 to 24 km in length connect more than 40 selected points of interest with earth and cultural history background, of which 22 are equipped with explanatory display panels.Stage 1: From Waldstein to Weißenstein 24.2 km At the highest point of the Schieferland Geopark, the impressive granite massif of the Großer Waldstein (871m), begins the first and longest "Steinreich" stage of 24.7 km. Already halfway to the picturesque market town of Zell, the Fichtel Mountains end at the Saale source in geological and landscape terms. With gently rolling hills and few distinct valleys, the Münchberg Hills now spread out to the northwest, known to geologists as the "Münchberger Gneis Mass." The landscape's introduction is the idyllic Haidberg, also called the "Magnet Mountain," because the iron minerals in the shimmering green serpentinite rock render any compass useless. Halfway, the impressive Mordkreuz near Mödlenreuth tells of a gruesome act of violence, and before the climb to the stage destination at Weißenstein, the market town of Stammbach invites you for a final rest. Stage 2: From Weißenstein to Marienweiher 12 kmHead and eyes are more in demand on this just under 13 km long stage than the walking legs, because there is much to see and linger over. For example, the observation tower at Weißenstein offers a magnificent panoramic view over the Fichtel Mountains, Franconian Forest, and the Upper Main Valley. The massive tower consists, like the entire mountain, of the rare and hard eclogite, which was formed at a depth of 60 km and brought to the surface by the tremendous forces of mountain formation. Passing by Singerweiher, where former Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt once fished, it goes on to Herrnschrot, where unexpectedly the altar hill with a life-size Buddha statue appears at the Muttodaya Forest Monastery. Here, just a few kilometers from the stronghold of Marian pilgrimage in Northeast Bavaria, Buddhist monks live a very different spiritual approach. Across the valley of the Große Koserbach – once a center of late medieval mining – the ancient pilgrim paths lead to the stage destination Marienweiher. The impressive late Baroque pilgrimage church may call itself a "basilica minor" according to papal decree, a distinction shared by only three other outstanding churches in Upper Franconia.Stage 3: From Marienweiher to Steinachtal 22 km Passing the Sweden Cross, an atonement cross from the 16th century, the about 22 km long third stage first leads to the Peterlesstein. Pearls for rosaries – called "Patterla" in the dialect – were made long ago from the serpentinite found there. At the Galgenberg near Kupferberg, the Münchberger Gneis Mass ends. The impressive view over the Franconian Line into the "Lower Land" stretches to Plassenburg near Kulmbach and into Franconian Switzerland. The enormously diverse and partly more than 500 million years old layers of the West Franconian Forest shape the further course of the trail. Just behind the ancient mining town of Kupferberg (mining museum), enormous quarries open where diabase, a rock very similar to basalt, is mined. On a diabase rock stands Guttenberg Castle, the ancestral seat of the old noble family. Besides secretaries of state and ministers, it has produced with the current family head Enoch zu Guttenberg a widely recognized conductor and environmentalist. The stage destination, the managed Neumühle in the Steinachtal, is picturesquely embedded in one of the most beautiful meadow valleys of the Franconian Forest.Stage 4: From Steinachtal to the Wilde Rodach 18.1 km At the beginning of the last roughly 18 km long "Steinreich" stage stands the short themed path "1000 Steps of Earth History," which makes the origin story of the Earth and the Franconian Forest tangibly understandable to scale. An outstanding landmark here is the more than 60 m deep Steinach Gorge, an impressive rock ridge made of quartz keratophyre, an extremely rare volcanic rock of the Paleozoic era. Equally rare and more than 500 million years old are trilobites and other fossils found at the Galgenberg near Schlopp. From there, it continues through the deeply incised Lautengrund to the Pressecker Knock with its wooden observation tower. A true jewel is the fortified church in nearby Presseck, where paintings from the 16th century are preserved in the late Gothic choir vault. Shortly before the "Steinreich" ends at the Gasthof Fels on the Wilde Rodach, the venerable marble quarry at Köstenhof provides a final historical and scenic highlight.