5-Valley Route

From the marketplace in Bad Mergentheim, we cycle along the Wachbach following the signposting “To the Jagst Valley.” We first stay on the bike path "Lovely Tauber Valley - Adventure Route 3," then on the "Sportive" route towards Niederstetten and Wachbach. At Wachbach, we pass the orchard educational trail, the small Renaissance castle (private property), as well as the church, and continue to Hachtel. Ottmar Mergenthaler, the inventor of the “Linotype,” the first usable machine for setting and casting characters, was born here.

The street of the same name leads us past the Ottmar Mergenthaler Museum out of the village towards Hollenbach, before a resting bench turn right uphill towards Rengershausen. On the hill, we follow the paved road slightly to the left and come through the forest to Ailringen. On Hollenbacher Street, we turn right, then left onto Alte Poststraße and, after crossing the bridge over the Jagst, keep right.

We are now on the Kocher-Jagst bike trail, which we follow—through Hohebach and past the castle of Eyb (private property)—on Klepsauer Street, then right onto Mühlgartenweg, and before the church turn left through Dörzbach. Below the vineyard-covered Altenberg, we cycle to Klepsau, Krautheim, Altkrautheim, Marlach, Westernhausen, and Bieringen.

At the end of Bieringen, we cycle on the right side of the railway tracks to Schöntal to the idyllic Schöntal Monastery with its extensive gardens. Then we return by the familiar route back to Bieringen. Here we now keep left, cross the bridge, turn right onto Max-Eyth Street, and ride along the Erlenbach to Aschhausen (“humpback route”).

Heading northeast, we follow the country road to Assamstadt and cycle on Bobstadter Street to Bobstadt, then on to Schweigern and Unterschüpf. There we keep right on Unterschüpfer Street and before the tracks turn left (“Lovely Tauber Valley - Adventure Route 3”).

We now follow the signposting always parallel to the tracks. At Sachsenflur, the Sachsenflur little castle invites you to pause. After the level crossing shortly before Königshofen, we cycle towards Bad Mergentheim along the Tauber, then cross the river and go through Unterbalbach to Edelfingen. At the first houses, we turn left and follow the signpost “Lovely Tauber Valley – The Classic” to the left, which leads us back to the center of Bad Mergentheim.