Pirminiusweg

The hiking trail bears the name of Saint Pirminius, the patron saint of the Palatinate. As early as the year 742, the wandering monk established a Benedictine abbey in this enchanting landscape. The multimedia monastery museum illustrates the Middle Ages and life in Hornbach amidst the cultural site of the monastery. The Pirminius Hall of the monastery town of Hornbach is the starting point of our hike. The character of the Pirminius Trail can be described as restrained – and that suits it perfectly! We hike up to the edge of the Burger Forest, from where we have a magnificent view of Hornbach. On forest paths, we reach the next hill and walk along meadows into a magnificent mixed forest, the Great Forest. From the forest, we descend to Brenschelbach. After passing through the village, we soon reach the German-French border. About 50 m from the hiking trail stands probably the oldest boundary stone in the region, the so-called Sweden Stone from 1597. We reach Ormersviller for the first time. Above the village, we climb towards a wind turbine, pass the Peace Cross, and are briefly in Germany again. In a curve, we return to France. Ahead of us, we already see the Chapelle St. Joseph, which we reach after a few minutes. A beautiful place with views of the Sickinger Höhe and the Lorraine plateau. After walking through Ormersviller for the second time, we head towards the distinctive water tower and descend after a short but steep section into the Schwalb valley with the Schwalbaue nature reserve. We walk along a former railway line past the Eschviller Mill. A detour to the mill with its museum and culinary offerings should definitely be planned. Continuing along the Schwalbaue, we pass the Lutzviller Mill and are again in Germany near the Blumenauer Mill. Brenschelbach station is soon reached, and we walk up the gently ascending road. After a small forest area, we are surrounded by meadows and fields again. From the next hill, the Vosges View, we have another wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. We follow the ridge to the forest edge and descend into the Becherbach valley with the idyllic pond. Even though it is not far to the destination, here we must rest once more and let the peace affect us. Finally, we pass by the Gimpelwald hut of the Palatinate Forest Association. At the forest hut, a path leads downhill and brings us back to the starting point of this wonderful hike.