Klingelfelsen – Col de Hichtenbach – Frönsburg – Bruderfelsen – The eastern section of the Great German-French Castle Trail

​ ▶ From the large parking lot across from the fire station in Schönau 01, we turn left onto Gebüger Straße and then Wengelsbacher Straße, continuing onto Birkenweg, where the paved road ends at the last house. On a steep, narrow forest trail, we come to a wider path, which we leave shortly afterward by turning right. The narrower trail descends and takes us to the Wengelsbach 02 hiking parking lot at the bottom of the valley.We cross a small paved road and a stream, then keep to the left, following the flat path into the forest. Shortly after passing a small lake down to the left, we go straight ahead at a fork in the trail and hike slightly uphill toward Wengelsbach. Passing Chapel 03, the cemetery, and the Au Wasigenstein rest stop, we turn right and climb up a narrow path through the forest to the Klingelfelsen 04, right at the sharp bend in the road. We follow the Burgenweg logo to the right above the road on a path that starts out steeply ascending, cross the road in a left turn and then intersecting forest trails, arriving a few minutes later at the Zigeunerfelsen 05, which can be climbed via a ladder.At the next trail junction, we keep to the right, come to a wider path, and turn left toward Frönsburg. At a shelter, we reach—finally heading downhill again—the trail junction at Col de Hichtenbach 06; we follow the trail that runs slightly higher to the right, and soon leave it again to the left onto an ascending, narrow, and partly rocky path. After a short stretch back on a wider trail, then again on a slope path that is somewhat exposed in places, we reach the already visible Frönsburg Ruins 07.Heading uphill, we follow the signs to Hirschthal, pass a shelter hut, and hike downhill through the forest until we come to a wide forest road, which we follow to the left. To our right flows the Saarbach stream; behind it runs the highway. We now follow the outline of the Felsenland Sagenweg logo and reach the houses of Hirschthal. On a paved path, we walk past the Zehntkeller 08 and historical figures; the path climbs steeply and turns sharply left at a cell tower. We cross the Hichtenbach, hike along the edge of the forest to the Hichtenbach viewpoint. Here we turn right and ascend more steeply up a narrow path through the forest. Winding our way up, we reach the Bruderfelsen 09 and make a short detour to the lookout point. On a rocky, stony path that slopes downward toward the end, we reach the scenic Pfaffenfelsen, which offers a magnificent view down toward Schönau.On steeper switchbacks, partly over stone steps, we follow the Sagenweg logo downhill, come upon the first houses and Pfaffenfelsstraße, and keep to the right. At a sheep pen, we turn left, descend via wooden steps, and follow the Graf-Zeppelin sign down a grassy path to Schönau 01 and then turn right back to the starting point.