Hikes in Marktschorgast

HEAR SILENCE - Experience the typical landscape triad of wooded slopes, cleared plateaus, and narrow valleys. No place is traversed, only nature is to be heard.

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.

A historic railway line on the Schiefe EbeneRemarkable railway lines can be found not only in the Alps. The steep ascent from the Main valley to the Fichtelgebirge heights posed a major challenge to engineers 150 years ago. How they mastered this can be discovered by hikers on the educational trail along the railway line on the Schiefe Ebene between Marktschorgast and Neuenmarkt, renovated and extended in 2014 in cooperation with the Steam Locomotive Museum Neuenmarkt.

Quiet hike in the Schorgast valley.

The new "Schiefe Ebene" nature trail between Marktschorgast and Neuenmarkt, which opened in 2014, combines a culturally and historically interesting hike with a spectacular steam train ride. ▶ Our hike begins at the train station in Neuenmarkt 01, leads along the tracks, and across the bridge over the railroad tracks. We turn left onto Birkenstraße and, shortly thereafter, find ourselves in front of the entrance to the German Steam Locomotive Museum 02. This is where the “Schiefe Ebene” nature trail begins. We return to the bridge, then take a left-right turn onto Friedhofsstraße. At the next fork in the path, we keep to the left and walk along Laubenstraße. When the road curves to the right, we continue straight ahead out of town (via Marktschorgast). The paved road ends, and we stroll along a beautiful, tree-lined gravel path parallel to the railroad tracks through meadows and fields toward the forest. We then leave the wide path (marked), turn right onto a narrower meadow path, and a short time later pass under a large road bridge ( 03) right next to the tracks. We keep to the left, head deeper into the forest, and turn right onto a flat forest path. Passing several information signs, with the railroad tracks always visible to the right, we reach an underpass. Here, you can take a short detour through the underpass and then turn left to a beautiful photo spot near a small cottage.However, we stay in front of the underpass, head left up a slight incline into the woods, and keep to the right as we walk along the edge of the forest. We approach the tracks again, come to a small rest hut 04, and then walk along the so-called firebreak directly beside the railroad tracks. The trail climbs slightly; we pass the site of the former railroad overpass and must be careful not to miss the turnoff to the right, which winds sharply and descends quite steeply. We pass under the railroad tracks through a damp tunnel 05 and, on the other side, walk along a slightly undulating path to the next underpass. The trail climbs again; here we come across a sign offering a shortcut to the left, but we stay on the flat footpath above the tracks. A short while later, the path drops sharply again and leads us to the next tunnel. After passing under it, we keep to the left and then climb in switchbacks up to the massive stone embankment. We head uphill along the wall and up an iron staircase, then continue along a railing-lined path slightly above the tracks, still ascending gently as we follow the edge of the forest. We pass the concrete piers of Blast Trap 06, head downhill again, and turn left onto the intersecting gravel road. We ignore the next underpass, continue straight ahead on the gently ascending gravel path, pass another overgrown tunnel, and arrive at Sound Station 07. Here you can listen to various steam locomotive sounds. Continuing along the gravel path, past the “Final Ascent” photo spot, we reach the road. Turn left onto the asphalt, go through a tunnel under the railroad tracks, and walk slightly uphill in a right-hand curve up to the Protestant church. In front of the cemetery and the church, we turn right onto a meadow path, walk past the back of the cemetery, and come to the road, which takes us to Marktschorgast Station 08 in just a few steps.

​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.

Hike on March 28, 2021

A historic hike along the Schiefe Ebene monument. Numerous signs explain to us the significance of this magnificent structure.

Nature Park Frankenwald - Wirsberg - Schorgast - St. John's Church - Wirsberg Castle - War Memorial - Bismarck Stone - Forest Swimming Pool - Weißenbach Very beautiful circular hiking trail with little things to discover. Many benches along the river for resting. Unfortunately, only one on the mountain .:-)

The descent begins very steeply over an unpaved forest trail. Sturdy footwear and sure-footedness should be present. Afterwards, the landscape is very varied, mostly walking in the shade. Parallel to the path, a larger stream often flows, which our dogs of course really liked. The steep ascent in the last 500 m demands everything from you once again. But you end up directly in the Weißenstein excursion inn where you immediately get a "cool one".