Beggar Path
The beggar path is a historical hiking trail that leads from Merzhausen near Freiburg im Breisgau through the Hexental and the Norsinger Grund to Badenweiler in the Markgräflerland . Its total length is about 27 km with mostly only slight to moderate gradients. It can be divided into five stages of different lengths and inclines and runs mostly through cultural and natural landscapes as well as some localities (see below). Due to its exposure in open spaces, there is often a wide view. The entire route is marked and signposted: In addition to signposts that contain kilometers, the yellow diamond can be followed.
history
There are various theories about the origin of the name: One theory says that the path was used in the Middle Ages by monks of the mendicant order of Freiburg, who from time to time made their way through the Markgräflerland to beg. In addition, it is believed that hermits lived along the way, who had to beg for a living from the rural population.
Another version (and this is considered the most likely) claims that a poor journeyman craftsman who was on his way to Freiburg in the winter of 1870/1871 was surprised by the darkness shortly after Wittnau , i.e. about two kilometers from the destination Lost orientation. Because of his exhaustion, he was overwhelmed by sleep. The next morning he was found dead by farmers from the nearby Hauerhof . They had heard the watchdog bark the previous evening, but thought nothing of it. In memory of the deceased hiker, they created a memorial cross that can still be seen today.
The beggar path has been designated as a hiking trail since the 1930s. In 2003 the original historical path was made accessible again in the area of the Norsinger Grund. For various reasons, the actual beggar path there had been relocated to a forest path (the Wiiwegli) several decades ago . Thanks to a cooperation between the municipality of Ehrenkirchen , on whose boundary the Norsinger Grund is located, the Black Forest Association and the local farmers, it is now possible to hike the historic path again.
Stages
From Merzhausen to Wittnau
The path begins in the middle of the Merzhausen municipality, which borders on Freiburg im Breisgau. From there, the path climbs quite steeply at first, then flattens out a little. It leads past the Hauerhof with the memorial cross through the municipality of Au . With a view of the Black Forest , it goes past orchards and small parcels of land to Wittnau .
From Wittnau to Bollschweil
The path runs in Wittnau past the town hall and church and then on a dirt road between vines on the right and green space on the left in the direction of Sölden , past the western end of Sölden down into a valley floor and from there on to a small St. Mary's grotto . Then the beggar path climbs slightly to the village of Bollschweil . At the entrance to the village there is a cemetery where the grave of the writer Marie-Luise Kaschnitz (1901–1974) is accessible. The path leads through the new development area of the village and over the property of the von Holzing-Berstett family (Marie-Luise Kaschnitz's parents' house) towards Staufen .
From Bollschweil to Staufen
After Bollschweil, the path runs between fields for almost a kilometer through mixed deciduous forest , and then leads past a forest playground into an unpaved grass path in the open air. This meanders at a location directly by a stream Mariengrotte over and rises immediately afterwards easy to Lehenhof on, a farm whose existence is documented since 400 years. The publisher Friedrich Ernst Fehsenfeld , who has owned the property since 1898 and who also spent his twilight years here, is said to have once hunted and spent happy evenings here with his author Karl May and Ehrenkirchen dignitaries .
Past the Lehenhof, it goes again through the forest to the nearby Norsinger Grund. This is where the original historical path separates from the route laid down decades ago: While the historical path leads across meadows and fields in the footsteps of hikers and beggars of the time, the newer path leads as a forest path near an old grave site with exposed Alemanni graves from the 7th century. Century (off the marked path).
A little later, the two variants come together again and after about 2.5 km the northernmost foothills of the city of Staufen are reached at the St. Gotthard Chapel . The restaurant next to it offers a view of the Rhine plain and, if the view is good, of the Vosges , possibly even as far as the Burgundian Gate . In the further course of the path, the Staufener Schlossberg remains to the right of the path . After about a further kilometer, you will start crossing the town of Staufen with its historic town center .
From Staufen to Sulzburg
There is a signpost on the south side of the market square in Staufen. After leaving the old town, initially on the main street, the beggar's path crosses the Neumagen river over a cast-iron bridge built in 1871. Passing Bonnevilleplatz in Staufen, the path runs over fields into the new development area of Grunern . Shortly after the Grunern cemetery you have a view of Staufen in the north and the Belchen in the east. The path leads on an asphalt vineyard road past the Fohrenberg and then without asphalt on towards Castellberg. Shortly before the path joins the paved Castellbergstraße, you can see some segments of the Berlin Wall from Sonnenallee on the right . After the Kastelberghütte with its parking lot, where there is only an explanation board pointing to the burnt court oak of the Freiburg artist and wood sculptor Thomas Rees , you reach the Castellberg with the Kastelberg castle rest on the right . The market square of Sulzburg can be reached via the Kingdom of Heaven with a view of Sulzburg and the St. Cyriak monastery church there.
From Sulzburg to Badenweiler
From Sulzburg the beggar's path leads over the Sulzburg district of Laufen and the Müllheim districts of Muggardt , Britzingen and Zunzingen to Badenweiler. On this stage it is largely identical to the Markgräfler Wiiwegli , also a hiking route through the Markgräflerland, running from Freiburg to Weil am Rhein .
literature
- Werner Kästle: The beggar path . Schillinger Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 2003, ISBN 3-89155-285-8 .
- Marie Luise Kaschnitz, description of a village , Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1966.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall: In Ballrechte-Dottingen there are eleven meters of the Berlin Wall. In: Landesschau Baden-Württemberg. SWR television, accessed on June 25, 2020 .
Web links
- Bettlerpfad and Wiiwegli at freiburg-schwarzwald.de
Coordinates: 47 ° 53 ' N , 7 ° 45' E