Hiking in Niddatal

A nice afternoon walk through the forests around Kloster Engelthal without major climbs.

The pilgrimage route leads us over 185 km along the path of the funeral procession of St. Boniface from Mainz to the Boniface Cathedral in Fulda. Along the way, we pass through the diverse landscapes of the Rheingau, the Wetterau, the Vogelsberg, and the Fulda region.

A beautiful circular route on partly hidden paths from Wickstadt to Engelthal Monastery with a lovely view from above of the monastery and its garden.

Two-day hike from the spa town Bad Nauheim in the Wetterau along the Usa, Wetter, Nidda and Nidder rivers to the Celtic princely tomb in Glauburg-Glauberg; from there to the old imperial city Büdingen (the "Rothenburg of Hesse") and through the imperial forest to the imperial city of Gelnhausen ...the 7th stage of the long-distance hike from our book "2 x 2 Füße zum Wanderglück", but also the 7th stage on the Hans & Thomas Trail, as it continuously connects Westphalia, Hesse and Bavaria with Tyrol, South Tyrol, Trentino, Lombardy and Ticino.

For this stage on the Bonifatius route, we chose the Wetterau. We start in Windecken and the route takes us over paved farm roads across fields, orchards, and forest paths to Eichen and then further to Altenstadt.

Border hike between Wetteraukreis and Main-Kinzig-Kreis with some boundary stones along the way. The hike first leads through the beautiful Krebsbachtal to Erbstadt. From there, with a nice view over Wetterau towards Naumburg Castle. Just before that, take a right turn at a left curve of the asphalt path and immediately turn left again. The forest path is hard to find. If you want, you can add a small local round trip through Kaichen at the end. From there back to the starting point.

​This forested route takes us past the idyllically situated Engelthal Monastery and finally to the Sternbach Pilgrimage Church, which stands secluded amid dense greenery. We walk a few steps down Kirchgasse 1 toward the “center” and immediately turn right onto Borngasse. We follow this street past the fire station and numerous beautiful half-timbered houses. Ancient foundations lie hidden beneath the streets and houses of Altenstadt, as there was already a significant Roman military base here in the 2nd century. At Obergasse, the route turns right and reaches the outskirts of town. At house number 52, we follow the left-hand curve and immediately cross the country road straight ahead. On the opposite side, the hike continues along the paved path, where we now follow the blue dot and the Bonifatius Route., at the asphalt fork, we keep to the right and continue uphill for 400 m. After just a few steps, the trail markers guide us to the left.First along the edge of the forest, then through dense beech woods, and finally alongside a small road, we reach the beautifully situated Engelthal 2 Monastery. We enter the complex—founded as early as 1268 for a community of Cistercian nuns—through the main entrance at the gatehouse. Today, Benedictine nuns live here. Be sure to take a look inside the surprisingly simple church. While regional products are available for purchase in the gatehouse, the monastery garden is a great place to take a break. Our route continues from the crucifixion group at the main entrance, marked by the Boniface symbol, the blue dot, and the green St. Andrew’s cross. Passing horse paddocks, the hike reaches the forest, where it initially stays on the main trail.Only after about 1 km does it turn right at a T-junction on a forest road, where the path is clearly marked. At the next major fork, the three markers still guide us along the way. After that, however, we rely solely on the St. Andrew’s cross, which soon branches off to the right. The green cross symbol reliably guides us through the idyllic forest area. It’s important to keep an eye out for it, as the route veers somewhat abruptly from the forest road onto a narrow forest trail. Soon we’re hiking—under the watchful eyes of several wooden forest gnomes—on Trail 3, where you’ll need to pay special attention to the markings.Back on a wide trail, the route passes a shelter 4 near an intersection. The hike eventually crosses a road and then winds—often veering off—through the forest. Finally, a steeper section leads us down to an intersection in a hollow.Here, following the St. Andrew’s cross, we turn left and, after 150 m, reach the Sternbach Church 5, idyllically situated on a forest lake—another wonderful place to rest. Our route now leaves the green trail markers, heads back to the intersection, and crosses over to the narrower forest path on the opposite side. We soon cross a larger cross-path, slightly to the right.The path across from us takes us to the outskirts of Florstadt 6, where Reitfeldstraße and Seegartenstraße lead us to the bus stop at Messeplatz.

very promising tour

4th stage of the Pilgrim's Way from Mainz to Fulda

The tour goes through the forest from Engelthal Monastery near Altenstadt