Hikes in Weigenheim

A scenic hike from Ippesheim to Frankenberg Castle and then along the Kunigunden and Wine Paradise trail through the well-known vineyards Bullenheimer Berg, Kapell- and Tannenberg past the Jewish cemetery to Hüttenheim with its well-preserved fortified church.

The Osingmuseum is the culmination point of a very peculiar cultural history. The Aaglander rides at Schloss Frankenberg are also legendary.

A scenic hike from Hüttenheim with its well-preserved fortified church, then along the Weinparadies and Kunigunden routes past the Weinparadiesscheune to the well-known vineyards Kapellenberg and Bullenheimer Berg. After a short detour to the Altenberg vineyard, it goes to Frankenberg Castle. With Frankenberg Castle at your back, you then head through forest and fields via the Taubenlöcher and the castle mill at Reusch directly to Weigenheim.

Hiking route right through the heart of Franconia – over more than 160 km from Bamberg to Bad Windsheim

The circular route leads through the beautiful southern Steigerwald, past the ruins of Hoher Landsberg, with a magnificent view of the Franconian wine paradise.

Circular hike in the Steigerwald from Bullenheim on parts of the Kunigunden and Celtic paths

Pleasure route through the wine paradise Franconia

On this rather long hike, we’ll visit a few special places around Markt Nordheim; first, the trail takes us through the beautiful forests near Krassholzheim up to Iffigheimer Berg, where the Andreas Därr Tower stands. The tower has an observation deck, but it was closed off during our research. Shortly thereafter, we’ll follow the Steinbruchweg, also known as the “Sandsteige.” Until the 1960s, it was the the only direct route connecting Nenzenheim and Krassolzheim. In earlier times, horse-drawn carts hauled wood or sandstone through this 10-meter-deep cut in the hillside. Sand—eroded from the rocks by frost and trampled by hooves—was washed down toward Lake Judensee by rain and meltwater. There, the villagers collected it for use around the house and in the garden. In 1864, the ravine path lost its importance following the construction of the connecting road. Afterward, we climb the Hohenlandsberg, which, at 498 m, is the highest point in the northern Steigerwald. Only a few remnants remain of the once magnificent Hohenlandsberg Imperial Castle. These include the dry moat with its outer rampart and walled rampart, as well as the partially buried main entrance and several cellars with collapsing ventilation shafts.> We begin our hike in Krassholzheim 01. First, we follow the NEA32 toward Nenzenheim for just under 400 meters. Then a dirt road branches off to the right and uphill; a sign here already points the way to Nenzenheim (7 km). At first, the trail climbs; after about half a kilometer, it takes a left turn at the edge of the forest. We leave it and continue straight ahead up a forest path, following the blue drop marker. After 5 minutes, the trail leads us to a signpost marking the junction with Main Trail 02. We now follow the main trail to the left toward the Andreas-Därr Tower, following the blue drop and airplane symbols as well as the red spoon.We now walk through the forest for nearly half an hour until we turn right onto a wide forest road and, a few steps later, reach the NEA32. We cross the street to the left and follow a somewhat rough path with large stones toward Hohenlandsberg. We are now joined by the N4, the Steinbruchweg. After a few minutes, we turn right at the T-intersection, then right again at the next fork. Immediately afterward we take a sharp right turn with the N1, following a trail uphill to the Andreas-Därr Tower. We cross a gravel path once before the extremely steep final ascent begins. At the observation tower on Iffigheimer Berg 03, we walk past the right side of the tower and head back down the path, which alternates with steps. Partly steep, it leads to a forest trail, where we follow the N4 to the left again.At the next fork, we keep to the right; after a few hundred meters, we turn left at the right-hand curve. We continue along the N4 on the Steinbruchweg 04 through a sunken lane. Then we come to a forest path again, which—along with our old friends, the red drop and the blue airplane—leads us to the right, toward Hohenlandsberg.After a while, we cross a forest road diagonally to the right and continue following the markers to the next fork; here, we keep to the right, heading up a sunken path over the Roter Buck 05.We reach a wide forest road, where we turn left toward Hohe Landsberg, continuing along the “Red Spoon” trail and now also on the Steigerwald Panorama Trail.The Steigerwald Panorama Trail and the “Roter Löffel” trail accompany us for a good one and a half kilometers until they send us right onto a path that widens again after just a few meters. At the next major intersection, we turn left toward Weigenheim. The path quickly narrows and eventually meets up with a wide trail again. After 10 minutes, the Steigerwald Panoramic Trail leads us straight to an information board and the turnoff to the ruins. So we follow the path to the right uphill and reach the Hohenlandsberg 06 ruins. After visiting the remains of the wall and taking a walk along the outer rampart around the ruins, we descend back to the forest trail and follow it to the right, continuingtoward Weigenheim. At the fork, we turn left around the curve and continue downhill. After a quarter of an hour, the Steigerwald Panorama Trail branches off to the right; we stay on our wide forest path, following the red drop symbol toward Markt Nordheim.After a good half hour, we emerge from the forest. A paved path now leads us straight ahead; after another five hundred meters, we reach the Markt Nordheim Nature Experience Area 07 on our right. After a brief visit there, we continue on our way to Markt Nordheim 08. At the fork, we keep to the right, then continue straight through Markt Nordheim until we reach the NEA31. We follow it to the right into Kottenheim. We pass through the small village, then follow the main road for a good 20 minutes to Krassolzheim 01; after passing through the village, we reach the parking lot 10 minutes later.

​The little village of Ippesheim—though quite small—has quite a bit to offer: The 16th-century castle, while now serving as a government office, is definitely worth a visit from the outside; on the grounds, there’s also a viticulture and agriculture museum that offers interesting insights into everyday life back then and even features a complete shoemaker’s workshop. From Ippesheim, we’ll head over the Kirschberg—with its beautiful views—and through the vineyards to visit Frankenberg Castle. The imposing castle is idyllically situated among the rolling hills of the southwestern Steigerwald—right next to it are the ruins of Hinterfrankenberg Castle. On the way back, we hike through the Holzöd Nature Reserve at the foot of Bullenheimer Berg. Crisscrossed by old sunken paths, the nature reserve is a littlegem, as it combines many different habitats.> We begin this hike at Schlossplatz in Ippesheim 01, near Lichtenstein Castle, which currently houses a kindergarten.First, we follow Reuscher Straße to the right and uphill. It soon makes a right turn; here, we continue straight ahead onto Sohlweg. The paved path takes us to a sports field; from here, we follow trail marker 15. After about 15 minutes, we reach a fork in the trail. Turn left here, slightly uphill toward Kirschberg 02. Soon we find ourselves on a meadow path that takes us around a left curve and then along the edge of the forest. We briefly pass through the forest again, then reach a dirt and gravel path. Here we turn right, following the vineyard hill until, after about 500 meters, we come to a fork in the path: Here we keep to the left, passing through the Altenberg vineyards, slightly uphill. At the end of the vineyard, we follow the path straight ahead, now marked “Weinparadiesweg,” with grape symbols guiding the way. We cross the NEA42 to the left, then head up the road toward Frankenberg Castle 03. We walk along the back of the castle, then take a sharp left; from here, the Steigerwald-Panoramaweg leads us onward. After a few steps, we turn right. Before a path leads us down to the left, we continue straight ahead for a short detour to the well-preserved Hinterfrankenberg castle ruins.After this short detour, we head down the path and reach a fork where we turn right; however, after just a few steps, our trail marker already directs us to the left, along the edge of the forest. After a few minutes, we reach the NEA42 again. We cross it straight ahead and follow the path for another good 300 meters until the Weinparadiesweg leads us to the left. We’ll soon head down along the vineyard-covered hill, and the trail leads us past the Holzöd 04 nature reserve to the NEA46 in just under a quarter of an hour. We turn right and walk alongside it for a bituntil the trail marker directs us to the left. We now follow the trail for a good quarter of an hour until it meets a paved road. We take a short detour to the left toward Ziegelhütte 05, then follow the original path straight ahead directly into Ippesheim. We walk along Molkereistraße, past the sports field, and after a few minutes, turn left up Brunnengasse. At Reuscher Straße, we also turn left and walk just a few steps back to Schlossplatz in Ippesheim 01.

Hike from Hüttenheim via Tannenberg, Schreckenberg, Frankenberg Castle, on the Wine Paradise Trail towards Bullenheim, Kunigunden Chapel, Wine Paradise Barn, Seinsheim