FrankenwaldSteigla Süßengut-Weg

We start at the village square in Mittlere Schnaid. Past the church our hike goes uphill until we meet Schanzenbinderweg. We follow it left into the (rear) Mittlere Schnaid.

There we stay briefly on the street to the left, then turn right onto a meadow path that leads straight into the forest. We follow the comfortable forest path to a forest road, which we follow left until we can see the Lorchenmühle in the valley. We cross the road and go down into the Thiemitztal. At Lorchenmühle we can refuel before crossing the road and the primeval Thiemitztal. We walk left past well-maintained ponds, then right into the forest up Gößengrund for a few meters to a forest road.

We then hike right, with occasional views of the Thiemitztal, past one of the three houses of the individual farm Süßengut. Before a sharp left curve in a clearing, we see to the right the site of the second former individual Süßengut house. We continue to the power line spanning the valley below the individual farm Breitengrund. After about 100 m, we leave the path sharply left upwards to the highlight of our hike, the approximately 900-year-old yew tree, which we reach shortly before the first house on a short detour (20 m) sharply to the right.

We walk back a few meters, past the two houses uphill and hike right steeply up the forest road in the high forest, reach the open field and walk with beautiful views along the forest edge up the slope. Along the way, the view broadens and impresses with increasing elevation. After the hill, our hiking trail merges into the village street "Zur Eibe" and takes us down to Bernstein past the cemetery and chapel.

At the church we walk the main street briefly to the right, then down left, choose the left local path and soon reach the open field where we come down into the forest on the plateau with beautiful views, heading to Fels/Schübelhammer. The Trupfhaus, first mentioned in 1785, the former inn with castle-like appearance, was taken over in 1805 by Georg Lehner from his father-in-law as Trupfhaus in Schübelhammer. It remained in the ownership of the Lehner family as an inn for almost 200 years (until 2002). The Wilde Rodach then separated the Margraviate of Bayreuth from the rule of the Wildenstein family, today the districts of Hof and Kulmbach.

Occasionally, while continuing to hike, there are views of the widening valley of the Wilde Rodach, the Thiemitztal, and the hamlets Kleinthiemitz and Schnappenhammer (starting point for raft trips on the Wilde Rodach). We reach Kleinthiemitz after a longer distance (3 km) when we leave the floater path to the right and cross the Wilde Rodach and its valley to the pedestrian and cycle path on the B173. From here, a detour to the rafting area in Schnappenhammer is worthwhile.

The path itself runs along the right side of the cycle path until we cross the B173 at Kleinthiemitz. Another detour is worthwhile – this time about 200 meters with the DÖ 62 to the Bamberg Bridge. In the middle of the stone arch, a boundary stone is embedded with the Bamberg lion and a slanting stripe on the outside. It is recommended to view the bridge – built in 1730 – also from the side, where you can see the mentioned boundary stone. This bridge once separated the domain of the margraves from that of the Bamberg prince-bishops and today the districts of Hof and Kronach.

Our path now goes straight through Kleinthiemitz to the old church road and we hike the "Fechtn" (spruces) through various forest sections and the "Kla-Bächla Valley" uphill to the Voglerei. Here presents another highlight of this hike with the Maria Assumption Chapel and the idyllic cemetery. In late autumn, the artistically decorated graves impress. After the cemetery we stay on the road and follow it back to Mittlere Schnaid, where we soon arrive at our starting point.

Tips and further information

In summer, the raft trips for tourists begin on Saturdays in Schnappenhammer.