Hikes in Stammbach

A beautiful circular route through idyllic villages and the romantic Koser Valley. Along the route, you repeatedly encounter beautiful panoramic views.

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

​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.

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".

Ca.10km lange Sonntagsnachmittagswanderung mit Einkehr im Schützengärtla in Witzleshofen.

44 Kilometer Frankenwald Wandermarathon 2019 durch das Kulmbacher LQN Land.

Vom Bahnhof Neuenmarkt über die „Schiefe Ebene“ nach Marktschorgast. Weiter über den Weißenstein nach Stammbach.

Der Jakobusweg von Hof über Bayreuth nach NürnbergWegverlauf Hof - Marktschorgast - Bayreuth - NürnbergDer Jakobusweg (183 km) orientiert sich in seinem Verlauf an der alten Handels- und Hansestraße Ostsee - Leipzig - Nürnberg - Adria ehemalige „via imperii“

„Bayerns steinreiche Ecke“ werden Frankenwald und Fichtelgebirge zu Recht genannt, denn kaum irgendwo sonst in Europa finden sich zahlreichere und unterschiedlichere Gesteinsformationen auf solch kleinem Raum. Der geologische Untergrund bewirkt landschaftliche Vielfalt und die Landschaft prägt wiederum die Eigenart von Mensch und Kultur. Der Qualitätsweg „Fränkisches Steinreich“ – als rund 75 Kilometer langer Etappenweg konzipiert – zollt dieser einzigartigen Mischung Tribut. Auf dem „Steinreich“ kommt vieles zusammen – nicht nur Granit mit Kalkstein und Schiefer, sondern ebenso „Oberland“ mit „Unterland“, Buddhismus mit Marienverehrung und „treu katholisch bambergisch“ trifft auf „wehrhaft protestantisch markgräflich“. Vier Tagesetappen von 13 bis 24 km Länge verbinden mehr als 40 ausgesuchte Wegepunkte mit erd- und kulturgeschichtlichem Hintergrund, von denen 22 mit erläuternden Schautafeln ausgestattet sind.