Spessart Hills Trail 1: a tale of princes, pilgrims and waggoners
This gentle three-day walk through the Bavarian Spessart hills offers culture and nature in equal measure.
The Spessart hills make up one of Germany's largest single expanses of forest. From west to east, the Spessart Hills Trail 1 crosses the Bavarian Spessart nature reserve. It sets off from Fasanerie landscaped park on the outskirts of Aschaffenburg. The first highlights along the trail are the rock formation on the Teufelskanzel (devil's pulpit) and Kippenburg castle ruins on Godelsberg hill. Onwards through the Haibach Switzerland region, you arrive at myth-enshrouded Ketzelburg Castle. Schmerlenbach Convent is a popular place of pilgrimage that you pass en route to Waldaschaff, where the Spessart Hill Trail 1 meets the Spessart Hill Trail 2. Through gentle meadows and broadleaf forest, you reach the heart of the Upper Spessart region in Rothenbuch. From the roof of the Spessart, the trail heads down through the Klapper gully paths into the Main valley to Lohr am Main with its attractive Franconian old town. From the former fishermen's quarter in Lohr, you cross the river Main to Romberg hill, before stumbling across the secluded Mariabuchen pilgrimage church. Perched high above Gemünden am Main are the ruins of Schönrain Priory.
Tip
Lohr Castle and Spessart Museum
The 14th- century castle in Lohr, which was originally built as a residence for the Counts of Rieneck, today houses the Spessart Museum. This 2,000m² exhibition explores the history of the Spessart region and its inextricable links with the forest.
At a glance
- Starts: Aschaffenburg
- Ends: Gemünden am Main
- Length: 59km
- Number of stages: 4
- Altitude variation (approximate values): Ascent 2,300m, descent 2,300m
- Terrain: 38% unmade, 16% asphalt, 46% other, e.g. gravel
