Steinheim border hike

We start the walk anti-clockwise, passing the Mainterrasse and some beautiful half-timbered houses along the street "Zur Bleiche" to reach the Maindamm. We cross this and walk across the Main meadow to the popular Main riverside path. Now we keep left and can already see the Steinheim Main bridges. As early as 1622, during the Thirty Years' War, Tilly's troops built a bridge over the Main here. But even in Roman times, the river was probably crossed by ferry at this point. When the Hanau-Offenbach railway line was built in 1873, the railway and road bridge was also built. On 25 March 1945, both bridges were blown up and were only put back into operation in 1947. Since 1995, a steel arch bridge for the suburban railway line has also spanned the Main.

The route continues along the riverside path. Just before the campsite site, excavations were last carried out in the 1960s. Remains of Roman buildings were found during these excavations. A stone house, which was rare even in the Middle Ages, may have given Steinheim its name.

Soon you can see Philippsruhe Castle on the other side of the Main. At the height of the castle, the path leads over a small bridge. Here, above Offenbacher Landstraße, there used to be a popular pub in Steinheim called "Zum Kühlen Grund". However, Steinheim locals only knew the pub as "Stabels Lisbeth". The first landlady, Stabels Lisbeth, widow of a quarry worker who died in an accident, was given permission around 1878 to sell beer, schnapps and breakfast for the workers in the neighbouring quarry in the former horse stable. In general, this area between Steinheim and Dietesheim was characterised by the extraction of basalt deposits. This is visualised for us as we continue on our way.

We now leave the Mainuferweg to the left, cross the Offenbacher Landstraße and follow a former transport route of the basalt industry to the end of Pfaffenbrunnenstraße. We pass the railway line through a subway. The path used to be a small railway connection to Steinheim station, where the basalt was loaded into wagons. On the right-hand side of Pfaffenbrunnenstraße, you can still find the remains of the trolley railway on a slightly elevated spot less than three metres from the road. Pfaffenbrunnenstraße now bends to the left, but we follow the connecting path to Dietesheim into the forest on the right. Here, in the last garden on the right before the forest, you can see an original trolley from the quarries.

At the next crossroads, you will find yourself on the border lane, where we turn left. You can recognise it by the boundary stones that follow. You have to have a trained eye to spot them. Over time, the moss has taken over them. But a closer look at the centre boundary stone shows us the letters NST alongside the engraved year 1820. These stand for the old designation: "Nieder-Steinheim." There are numerous graves from the Celtic period along the border. Some of the artefacts are now on display in the museum at Steinheim Castle. At the end of the long lane, take the left-hand path to reach the gallows on the right at the next crossroads.

The gallows, a symbol of the Steinheim High Court, stands on a sand dune on the old road to Frankfurt. There was no forest here in the Middle Ages, so it was visible from afar and was intended to deter criminals and riff-raff. The last executions took place in the 18th century. At that time, the two stone pillars supported a wooden crossbeam. From the gallows, the path leads down the hill to the former Frankfurter Straße. Turn right here and then immediately left again. At the next junction, turn half right and immediately left again. You now come to the edge of the forest and the view of the orchards of the Gailenberg opens up. The outermost corner of the Gailenberg is formed by the Siebeneichen natural monument. A tree with seven trunks is very remarkable. Oak trees play an important role in German cultural history and often mark the course of the border, as they do here.

After the seven oaks, we turn left and immediately right again to reach the old Steinheim quarry. Today it is a popular fishing lake. There used to be an old grazing area here, the Kühruh. You can still make yourself comfortable in the large clearing today. This place is often used for picnics and socialising.

Now you cross the Lämmerspieler Straße. The forest on the border between Lämmerspiel and Hausen is known for its mighty trees and abundance of songbirds. Now follow the path in the direction of Häuser Weg. Once there, turn left and follow this old connection between Steinheim and Hausen. When the leather goods industry flourished in the neighbouring towns of the Offenbach district in the 19th century, many people from Steinheim commuted between home and work here on foot, and later by bicycle. At the next junction, we leave the Häuser Weg to the right and immediately take the path to the left at the next junction. This is followed by a longer section of path until we reach a wider main path, which we now follow to the right. Here you can already hear the traffic noise from the nearby B45. Shortly afterwards, we leave the forest and reach Fasaneriestraße. But don't worry, it's only a short distance to the next junction, where we turn left into Darmstädter Straße.

There is a 1000-year-old oak tree on the site of today's Flexa company. Next to it was a popular pub, the old Hellenhütte. Bricks and tiles were fired here from the nearby clay deposits as early as 1700. Now turn right around the sports field and take the path that leads below the Hellenhang. The Hellenbach has formed the border to Klein-Auheim since time immemorial. After a while, you pass the almost 50 metre high water tower. It was built between 1936 and 1938 and has been supplying Steinheim with drinking water since then.

Just before the Kneipp facility, there used to be vineyards on the slope, as can be seen from the street name Albanusweinberg. Until recently, the old bleaching house was located at the Kneipp facility. In days gone by, laundry was washed here at the Albanunsbrünnchen and then laid out on the meadow for bleaching. Since this spring, there has also been a barefoot path here.

After the Kneipp facility, we cross Von-Eiff-Straße to take the slightly ascending path to Hainberg. Here, the parish church of St Johann Baptist rises up on the left. Like the water tower, it was built in the 1930s from the basalt stones found on site. It was consecrated by Bishop Dr Albert Stohr on 20 October 1940.

We cross the road at Hainberg and see today's Hotel Villa Stokkum on the right, originally a cigar factory from the 19th century. Cigar production provided a modest income for many people in Steinheim. The baroque Hainberg cross from 1756 still stands between the manor house and the road.

However, our path leads us above the quarry to the Dilgesturm tower and through an opening in the town wall into the centre of the old town. The town fortifications were built after Steinheim was elevated to a town in 1320 by King Ludwig the Bavarian. Steinheim later became an important administrative centre for the electors of Mainz and flourished under Archbishop Albrecht von Brandenburg at the beginning of the 16th century.

Here in the old town centre, many pubs and restaurants invite weary hikers to take a break. With so much to choose from, there is sure to be something to suit every taste.

At Platz des Friedens, you can choose whether to make a detour to Steinheim Castle and the local history museum, or whether to continue through the Main Gate down to the Main. In front of the Main Gate, one of the four historical entrances to the town of Steinheim, stands the lime tree under which court was held in ancient times.

The walk now continues along the Main riverside path below the castle, past the old customs tower in the direction of the Red Wall. In the past, this sandstone wall protected the banks of the Steinheimer Mainknie from damage caused by flooding and ice. Since the river was straightened 30 years ago, the Red Wall on the banks of the Main below Steinheim Castle has lost its significance.

We soon reach a fire brigade water extraction point in the extension of the Brückfeldgraben. Until the Steinheim bridge was built, there was a ferry connection to Hanau here, the so-called Nähefahrt.

The route continues along the banks of the Main. We then cross the Main meadow to reach the starting point of our hike, St Nicholas Church. Before we get there, however, we see a statue of St Nepomuk from 1734 at the edge of the park, where services are held at the outdoor altar during the pilgrimages to the cross. Incidentally, an almost identical statue of St Nepomuk can be found in the monastery garden of Seligenstadt Abbey.