Erzweg Trail: through the land of a thousand fires in East Bavaria

The Erzweg Trail is a sheer delight with its mix of natural beauty and cultural history, offering a virtuoso walking experience that combines mining heritage with beautiful scenery.

History and nature are unlikely bedfellows on the Erzweg Trail, which unites a wonderful walk with over 1,000 years of ore extraction in the mining heartland of the Middle Ages. Monuments to this industrial past such as the Maffei pit, the Luxemburg pit and the Maxhütte steelworks alternate with breathtaking limestone rocks in the Veldenstein Forest, narrow ridge trails in the Kuppenalb area and dramatic craggy paths in the rocky Königstein peaks. The Erzweg Trail guides walkers across the soft, fragrant forest floor and through limestone scenery reminiscent of the Mediterranean, across steep rocky ridges and through deep valleys, past the bizarre formations of the 'Stone City' and to captivating grottoes such as the Osterhöhle and Maximiliansgrotte. The landscape is dotted with sites of cultural and historical interest: Lichtenegg castle ruins, the medieval mining town of Amberg, Sulzbach-Rosenberg with its Gothic town hall and mighty castle, the impressive abbeys of Michelfeld and Kastl, and baroque Hammerherren House in Theuern.

Tip

Hammerherren House and mining museum, Theuern
Hammerherren House in Theuern houses the Museum of Mining and Industry in East Bavaria. It puts the spotlight on minerals extracted from the ground, the life of the miner, a collection of glassware and porcelain, and the industrialisation of East Bavaria.

At a glance

• Starts: Pegnitz
• Ends: Kastl
• Length: 160km
• Number of stages: 10
• Altitude variation (approximate values): Ascent 3,000m, descent 3,000m
• Terrain: 48% unmade, 14% asphalt, 38% other, e.g. gravel