Kraich cycle path

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Kraich cycle path
overall length 63.2
location Baden-Württemberg
Starting point Star Rock

Kraichweg Kraichquelle

Target point Ketch

Speyerer Straße Kraichbach estuary

Flooring mostly paved
difficulty light

The Kraich cycle path is a signposted cycle path of almost 65 km , which accompanies the Kraichbach from its source in Sternenfels in the Stromberg-Heuchelberg nature park to its mouth in Ketsch am Rhein .

Logo and route boards

Cycle path signage according to FGSV standard
Cycle path signage according to FGSV standard

The cyclists are guided by the Kraichradweg logo, which is attached to the main signposts according to the FGSV standard.

The elements of the cycle path logo show, in a simplified way, the landscape characteristics of the cycle path.

Route board in Kraichtal-Gochsheim
Route board in Kraichtal-Gochsheim

Route boards with an overview of the entire route are located at five locations:

  • Sternenfels, Kraichbachquelle
  • Oberderdingen-Flehingen, natural swimming pool
  • Gochsheim, Vorstadtstrasse below the Graf Eberstein Castle
  • Kronau, Kirrlacher Strasse near the village square
  • Ketch, at the mouth of the Kraichbach

Characteristic

Only in the upper reaches of the Kraichbach there are few inclines and declines, but they are easy to negotiate. On the section from Kraichsee to the Seven Beeches there are 56 meters of altitude to overcome and the subsequent gradient at the Kupferhalde above Oberderdingen is 116 meters. From Lindenplatz in Oberderdingen there is a short increase of 32 meters. The subsequent descent to Flehingen has a gradient of 51 m. The further course of the cycle path has no significant gradients due to the routing that is always close to the water.

The route runs over large parts on car-free paths and is therefore also very suitable for families with children. The vast majority of the route is paved, there are also sections with fine gravel and in the upper reaches of the Stromberg-Heuchelberg Nature Park there is a short section on a natural forest path. The signage is consistently present in both directions and is always clearly visible.

course

The Kraichradweg begins at the Kraichquelle in Kraichweg in Sternenfels at 297 m and ends in Ketsch at the Kraichbach estuary at the boathouse at 92 m. The following communities and cities are driven through or passed down the water:

Landscape and culture

The Kraichradweg follows the course of the Kraichbach from the source in Sternenfels to the confluence with an old Rhine arm in Ketsch and connects the three regions of the Stromberg-Heuchelberg Nature Park , the Kraichgau and the Upper Rhine Plain and thus the three districts of Enzkreis , Karlsruhe and Rhein-Neckar- Circle . In the upper reaches of Sternenfels and Oberderdingen, the cycle route leads through sunny vineyards and panoramic locations and through the wooded area of ​​the western Stromberg. Between the Trinkwaldsee and the game reserve on the Sternenfels district and the Kraichsee on the Oberderdingen district, the route breaks through the historic Eppinger Line defense system . The district boundary between the Enzkreis and the Karlsruhe district is also here. Oberderdingen itself lies on the border between the Stromberg-Heuchelberg nature park and the Kraichgau. On the journey to the Oberderdingen district of Flehingen, you cross the historic border between Württemberg and Baden . The landscape changes noticeably in Kraichgau. Due to the fertile fields and meadows in hilly surroundings and the relatively mild climate, the Kraichgau is known as the Badische Toskana.

In Gochsheim, the medieval townscape is impressive, located on a mountain surrounding the Kraichbach. The first German confectionery museum and the Baden bakery museum are located in the village. Between Münzesheim and Unteröwisheim, the route leads through the Kraichbachniederung nature reserve. From afar you can see the mighty castle in Unteröwisheim, on whose roof storks breed every year.

The western end of the Kraichgau is reached in Ubstadt-Weiher. The community describes itself as the gateway to the Kraichgau. From the bridge on Bundesstraße 3 over the Kraichbach, the view into the town center is dominated by the parish church of St. Andreas and the rectory. The Hardtsee leisure center, not located directly on the bike path between Ubstadt and Weiher, is the first of several gravel pit lakes that are typical of the Upper Rhine Plain. On the way to the suburb of Stettfeld, the cycle path leads through the Bruch nature reserve along the renatured Kraichbach. The Roman Museum in Stettfeld invites you to visit. Between Stettfeld and Bad Schönborn, the Kriegbach branches off from the Kraichbach at a weir system . The Kriegbach serves as a relief channel for the Kraichbach and flows directly into the Rhine at Altlußheim .

Asparagus cultivation is also typical for the Upper Rhine Plain. On the way to Bad Schönborn, the route touches large asparagus and strawberry fields. Another gravel pit lake appears with the Philippsee, located directly at the entrance to the Bad Langenbrücken suburb. The Outer Fischwasser leisure facility invites you to swim here. Bad Schönborn is known nationwide as a health resort due to its sulfur and thermal water resources. The Reimoldsee gravel pit, on which the route runs towards Kronau, is secured with a fence and is hardly visible due to the high hedges. Bathing is not allowed here.

Behind Kronau lies the district boundary to the Rhein-Neckar district. The internationally known golf course of the St. Leon-Rot Golf Club is located exactly on this district boundary . The bike path crosses the large golf course on the exemplary renatured Kraichbach and leads across fields to St. Leon, a district of St. Leon-Rot. Shortly after St. Leon, the route passes Lake St. Leon. This recreation facility with a campsite offers, among other things, a permanently installed water ski facility.

Behind a small forest, directly on the Kraichbach, just before Reilingen, lies the Wersau Castle Archaeological Park . The history of this facility, which is still largely unknown, has been researched since 2010. Reilingen is known for its asparagus and tobacco growing.

Hockenheim, also a city with a long tobacco growing tradition, is located on the Schwetzinger Hardt . The large forest reserve consists of ice age sand dunes. The forest was once the hunting ground of the Palatinate electors, to whom a memorial was set in the famous folk song "Der Jäger aus Kurpfalz". Hockenheim is internationally known for its Formula 1 race track, the Hockenheimring . The kingfisher breeds on the Kraichbach, which was renatured as part of the State Garden Show in 1991. The Zehntscheuer has its own museum dedicated to tobacco.

Shortly before the mouth of the Kraichbach in Ketsch is the Hohwiesensee swimming lake. The arm of the old Rhine into which the Kraichbach flows shows the original course of the Rhine before it was straightened in the 19th century. The Rhine island created by the straightening is under nature protection and, with its near-natural Rhine meadow landscape, offers a habitat for a rich fauna. It is worth driving 3.7 km from the Kraichbach estuary over the Rhine island to the Rhine shipping line.

Emergence

The Kraichradweg was initiated in 2014 on the basis of private commitment from the municipality of Sternenfels. The first test use of the later cycle path on July 19, 2015 under the motto "Expedition Kraichradweg", organized by the local council group Free Voters & SPD Sternenfels and Diefenbach, supported the idea sustainably. With significant support from the Karlsruhe District Office, after an initial information event in Sternenfels in September 2015, several working group meetings were held in the neighboring communities involved in 2016 and 2017. A broad alliance of the affected districts of Enzkreis , Karlsruhe and Rhein-Neckar-Kreis , the ten neighboring communities, Kraichgau-Stromberg-Touristik, ADFC Baden-Württemberg and VCD Baden-Württemberg led to the realization of the cycle path.

On May 7, 2017, the Kraichradweg was officially opened as part of a rally. Opening celebrations at the Kraichbach spring in Sternenfels and at the Kraichbach estuary in Ketsch gave the starting signal for a cycling tour to the central opening ceremony in Kronau. In addition to many cycling enthusiasts, the Baden-Württemberg transport minister, federal and state parliament members, the district administrators of the three neighboring districts, the mayors of the Kraichbach neighboring communities and the state chairmen of ADFC and VCD Baden-Württemberg were present.

As early as 1991, the administration of the city of Hockenheim addressed the first considerations of a tourist cycle path along the Kraichbach to some mayors of the Kraichbach neighboring communities as part of the state horticultural show held in Hockenheim. The project failed due to the lack of or unsuitable cycle paths at the time and the time-consuming coordination of three districts and numerous municipalities that was becoming apparent.

A second attempt at implementation came in 1995 from the Swabian Alb Association , Sternenfels local group. This year, the Kraichbach spring in Sternenfels was built structurally in sandstone and made accessible. The plan was to create a continuous hiking and cycling path to Ketsch. These plans were also rejected at that time due to the high level of coordination required.

Connecting cycle paths

Listed according to cycle paths, downstream

  • Württemberg wine cycle path in Sternenfels
  • Broom tour in Sternenfels, Oberderdingen
  • Kraichgau view tour in Sternenfels, Flehingen (Oberderdingen)
  • Vespers tour in Sternenfels, Oberderdingen
  • Lake tour in Sternenfels
  • World Heritage Tour in Oberderdingen, Flehingen (Oberderdingen), Gochsheim (Kraichtal), Bad Langenbrücken (Bad Schönborn), Kronau
  • Eco-regional tour in Oberderdingen, Flehingen (Oberderdingen), Gochsheim (Kraichtal), Münzesheim (Kraichtal), Oberöwisheim (Kraichtal), Unteröwisheim (Kraichtal)
  • Castles tour in Flehingen (Oberderdingen), Gochsheim (Kraichtal), Münzesheim (Kraichtal), Oberöwisheim (Kraichtal), Unteröwisheim (Kraichtal), Ubstadt (Ubstadt-Weiher)
  • Ears tour in Flehingen (Oberderdingen), Gochsheim (Kraichtal)
  • Panorama tour in Flehingen (Oberderdingen), Gochsheim (Kraichtal)
  • 3-brook tour in Gochsheim (Kraichtal), Münzesheim (Kraichtal), Oberöwisheim (Kraichtal), Unteröwisheim (Kraichtal), Ubstadt (Ubstadt-Weiher), Stettfeld (Ubstadt-Weiher)
  • Feel-good tour in Oberöwisheim (Kraichtal), Unteröwisheim (Kraichtal), Ubstadt (Ubstadt-Weiher), Bad Langenbrücken (Bad Schönborn)
  • Riesling tour in Stettfeld (Ubstadt-Weiher)
  • Heidelberg-Black Forest-Bodensee cycle path in Ubstadt (Ubstadt-Weiher), Stettfeld (Ubstadt-Weiher), Bad Langenbrücken (Bad Schönborn), Kronau, St. Leon (St. Leon-Rot), Reilingen
  • Pan-European cycle path in Kronau, St. Leon (St. Leon-Rot), Hockenheim, Ketsch
  • Rhine Cycle Path (EV15) in Kronau, St. Leon (St. Leon-Rot), Hockenheim, Ketsch
  • Kraichgau-Hohenlohe cycle path in Kronau
  • Tour de Asparagus in Kronau, St. Leon (St. Leon-Rot), Reilingen, Hockenheim, Ketsch
  • World Heritage bike tour in Hockenheim, Ketsch
  • Kurpfalz route in Hockenheim, Ketsch

Listed according to Kraichbach neighboring communities, downstream

  • The cycle path runs from Sternenfels to the Seven Beeches on a joint route with the Württemberger Weinradweg . The cycle paths Besen-Tour , Kraichgau-Blick-Tour , Vesper-Tour and Seen-Tour also run along this route .
  • In Oberderdingen on Lindenplatz, the cycle path runs on a shared route with a World Heritage Tour , Eco-Regio Tour , Vesper Tour and Broom Tour .
  • In Oberderdingen-Flehingen, the cycle path runs on a shared route with a castle tour , world heritage tour , Kraichgau view tour , corn tour , eco-regional tour and panorama tour .
  • In Kraichtal-Gochsheim, the cycle path runs on a shared route with a World Heritage Tour , Corn Tour , Castles Tour , Eco-Regio Tour , Panorama Tour and 3-Creek Tour .
  • In Kraichtal-Münzesheim, the cycle path runs on a shared route with an eco-regio tour , a castle tour and a 3-brook tour .
  • In Kraichtal-Oberöwisheim and Kraichtal-Unteröwisheim, the cycle path runs on a shared route with an eco-regional tour , a castle tour , a 3-brook tour and a wellness tour .
  • In Ubstadt, the cycle path runs on the same route as the Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance cycle path , the castle tour , the 3-brook tour and the wellness tour .
  • In Ubstadt-Weiher, suburb of Stettfeld, the cycle path runs along the same route as the Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance cycle path , the 3-brook tour and the Riesling tour .
  • In Bad-Schönborn, part of Bad Langenbrücken, the cycle path runs on the same route as the Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance cycle path , feel-good tour and World Heritage tour .
  • In Kronau the Paneuropean Cycle Path , Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance Cycle Path , Rhine Cycle Path (EV15) , Kraichgau-Hohenlohe Cycle Path , Tour de Asparagus and World Heritage Tour cross or run on a shared route .
  • In St. Leon-Rot, the cycle path runs on a shared route with the Paneuropean cycle path , Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance cycle path , Rhine cycle path (EV15) and Tour de Asparagus .
  • In Reilingen, the Heidelberg-Black Forest-Lake Constance Cycle Path , Odenwald-Madonnen Cycle Path and Tour de Asparagus cross or run on the same route .
  • In Hockenheim, the Tour de Asparagus, World Heritage Cycle Tour, Kurpfalz Route , the Paneuropean Cycle Path , and the Rhine Cycle Path (EV15) cross or run on a shared route .
  • In Ketsch cross or run on a shared route Paneuropean Cycle Path , Rhine Cycle Path (EV15) , Tour de Asparagus, World Heritage Cycle Tour, Kurpfalz Route.

Connection to public transport

The Kraichursprung in Sternenfels can be reached by bike in about 1 hour from Mühlacker train station (bike path 15 km). Mühlacker is a railway junction on the Residenzbahn between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe . There are IR, IRE and Intercity trains.

On Sundays and public holidays from May 1st, 2019 to October 3rd, 2019, a Velo-Bus is in use on the 702 bus between Mühlacker and Oberderdingen-Flehingen, which travels in both directions via Sternenfels and takes bicycles with it. According to the VPE regulation ( Verkehrsverbund Pforzheim-Enzkreis ), it is necessary to register for bicycle transport by calling 07231/3970299 by 12:00 noon on Friday. If Friday falls on a public holiday, the day before the public holiday until 12:00 p.m. applies for registration.

The mouth of the Kraich in Ketsch can be reached by bike in about 30 minutes from Schwetzingen train station (bike path 6.8 km).

There are connections to rail traffic on the Kraichradweg in Hockenheim, Bad Schönborn, Kronau, Ubstadt, Unteröwisheim, Oberöwisheim, Münzesheim, Gochsheim, Flehingen.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pforzheimer Zeitung . July 21, 1995.
  2. ↑ Mühlacker Tagblatt . July 21, 1995.
  3. ↑ Württemberg Wine Cycle Path
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au theme cycle path des Kraichgau-Stromberg-Tourism e. V.