Nibelungensteig

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Waymarks
Route of the Nibelungensteig including feeder paths
Elevation profile of the Nibelungensteig

The Nibelungensteig is a 130 km long quality and main hiking trail (HW 72) run by the Odenwald Club in the Odenwald - in Hesse , Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg .

The trail leads over heights and through valleys of the Odenwald from Zwingenberg an der Bergstrasse to Freudenberg am Main . For the most part, it leads along natural paths. Around 4,000 meters of altitude have to be overcome. In 2008, the climb received the award "Quality Trail Wanderable Germany" from the Association of German Mountain and Hiking Associations .

From the Nibelung city of Worms, which is one of the thematically most important scenes of the Nibelung saga, three feeder routes lead over the Hessian Ried to the Nibelungensteig. These are a “North” and a “South” cycle route as well as a hiking trail.

Since 2015, an almost 28 km long variant via Erbach has been signposted. The entrances are in Hüttenthal and Erbach-Bullau.

Waymarks

The waymark ( waymark ) of the Nibelungensteig is a red N on a white background. The signposts for the feeder routes show a green N on a white background.

cities and communes

The Nibelungensteig runs in the area of ​​the following cities and municipalities (along the path; viewed roughly in a west-east direction):

Directions

The Nibelungensteig can be hiked in seven stages with a length of approx. 13 to 28 kilometers.

  • 1st stage (Zwingenberg – Lindenfels): from Zwingenberg it goes steeply uphill to Melibokus and on through the Balkhäuser valley to the Felsberg . On its southern flank, the path leads through the Felsenmeer to Reichenbach , from there over the Knodener Kopf and through the villages of Knoden and Schannenbach to the highest point of the Nibelungensteig, the Krehberg . On its eastern flank it goes downhill to Schlierbach and from there uphill again to Lindenfels.
  • 2nd stage (Lindenfels – Grasellenbach): from Lindenfels the path initially runs in an easterly direction, later in a south-easterly direction to the Fürth district of Weschnitz . Here follows a steep serpentine path to the Walburgis Chapel. It continues past the Kahlberg and through the Gassbachtal to Grasellenbach.
  • 3rd stage (Grasellenbach – Erbach-Bullau): southeast of Grasellenbach, the path leads past the Siegfriedbrunnen and over the Spessartskopf to the Olfener Moor. From there it goes past the Olfener Bild via Güttersbach to Hüttenthal and further along the Marbach reservoir to Ebersberg . To the south of the village you cross under the Himbächel Viaduct and further east to the Ebersberger Felsenmeer. Shortly after Gebhardshütte you reach the stage destination Erbach-Bullau .
  • Variation - Hüttenthal via Erbach to Erbach-Bullau: As a variant of the 3rd stage, you walk north from Hüttenthal and reach the old town of Erbach via Elsbach . East of the city, it goes to the Erdbachschwinde over to the recreation area Three Lake Valley and further through the Bullauer udder due to Erbach-Bullau.
  • 4th stage (Erbach-Bullau – Oberzent-Hesselbach): from Bullau the path leads southeast to Schöllenbach and from there on to Hesselbach .
  • 5th stage (Oberzent-Hesselbach-Amorbach): east of Hesselbach, the route runs over the Hohe Langhilder to Breitenbach and Ottorfszell . We continue to Preunschen and the Wildenberg castle ruins , before reaching Amorbach behind Beuchen in the valley of the Morre and Billbach .
  • 6th stage (Amorbach – Miltenberg): from Amorbach the route leads north over the Gotthardsberg with the Gotthard ruins and from here on to Reuenthal and the Miltenberg district of Monbrunn . On the further way it goes over the Greinberg with the ring wall Greinberg and on its northeast flank down to the Mildenburg and the daily destination Miltenberg.
  • 7th stage (Miltenberg – Freudenberg / Main): from Miltenberg the path leads up the Main to the mouth of the Erf and from here to the neighboring town of Bürgstadt. In the further course you come to the ruins of the Centgrafenkapelle and a ring wall on the Bürgstadter Berg. When descending over its northern flank, you reach Freudenburg and finally Freudenberg, the destination of the Nibelungensteig.

Attractions

Sights on the climb are:

  • The Melibokus ( 517.4  m ) near Auerbach (Bensheim) is the highest point on the Hessian Bergstrasse.
  • On the southern flank of the Felsberg ( 514  m ) near Lautertal-Reichenbach is the legendary sea ​​of ​​rocks .
    Lautertal sea of ​​rocks
  • The Hohenstein and Kleiner Hohenstein near Lautertal-Reichenbach is a quartzite rock that is often used for climbing. A legend tells of a fight between two giants who threw stones at each other.
  • The Krehberg ( 575.7  m ) is one of the highest elevations in the Odenwald.
  • Schlierbach (Lindenfels) is one of the most beautiful villages in the Odenwald due to the neat half-timbered houses. A specialty of the place are the Calvinist "stickel boards" in the church cemetery.
  • The Burg Lindenfels is a ruined castle, which is located above the eponymous town Lindenfels and out to a wide view into the Weschnitztal has.
  • Above the village of Fürth-Weschnitz is the Walburgis Chapel , which is said to have been built on the site of a sanctuary from pre-Christian times.
  • Of the many Siegfried Fountains in the Odenwald, where Siegfried von Hagen von Tronje is said to have been murdered, the Grasellenbacher Siegfried Fountain is the most famous. Another is the Zittenfelden spring .
    Siegfriedbrunnen near Grasellenbach
  • The Marbach reservoir (22 ha) is located near Ebersberg and is used as a bathing lake.
  • The Himbächel viaduct belonged when completed to the highest and boldest of railway construction in Germany thus far made.
  • The red sandstone rocks of the Ebersberger Felsenmeer near Pfaffen- and Schanzenfeld are a maximum of 5 m wide and a little more than 2 m high.
  • The spring church, a former pilgrimage site, is located in Schöllenbach .
  • Hesselbach has a pilgrimage church consecrated to Saints St. Luzia and St. Odilia and the remains of a Roman fort .
  • The oldest half-timbered house in the Odenwald, the Watterbacher Haus, which now houses a forest museum, is located in Preunschen .
  • On Burg Wildenberg to Wolfram von Eschenbach be knight epic "Parzival" have written.
    Palas of Wildenberg Castle
  • In the baroque town of Amorbach there is an abbey church with its impressive organ .
  • The Gotthard ruins near Weilbach on the Gotthardsberg ( 298.8 m ) are the remains of  a 13th century nunnery. It is a three-aisled pillar basilica with a stair tower used as a lookout tower .
  • The Keltenschanze on Greinberg, southwest of Miltenberg , was probably built in the late Bronze Age. In 1878, near the ring wall, Wilhelm Conrady found the mysterious Toutonenstein , the inscriptions of which have not yet been deciphered.
  • In Miltenberg, the historic market square, the so-called Schnatterloch and the old town with its half-timbered buildings are particularly worth seeing.
    Schnatterlochtor Miltenberg
  • The Martin's Chapel is located in Bürgstadt , and its furnishings include the so-called "Picture Bible". On its walls, 40 medallions depict scenes from the Old and New Testament.
  • The Centgrafenkapelle on the Bürgstadter Berg (Eichenbuckel) near Bürgstadt is the relic of a building that was never completed as a result of the Thirty Years War.
  • The ring wall on the Bürgstadter Berg is believed to have been in the Neolithic around 3000 BC. BC originated. On the way there you pass numerous unfinished workpieces that were processed here in the Middle Ages and that are reminiscent of the Roman stones from the sea of ​​rocks near Reichenbach in the Lautertal.
  • The foundation stone for Freudenberg Castle ( 252.1  m ) near Freudenberg was laid in 1197.

Nibelungensteig marathon

For the second time, an ultramarathon was held on the Nibelungensteig on October 3, 2009 . The organizer of the run on 53 km long route was the "Endurance & Dog Sports Nibelungenland" in cooperation with the "Tourismusmarketing GmbH, Kreis Bergstraße".

Parallel paths

The four-country route runs from Albisheim in the Palatinate via Worms, Bensheim-Auerbach , Michelstadt, Miltenberg to Wertheim . It has significantly less altitude and gentler inclines than the Nibelungensteig. His signpost is a yellow square. The Vier-Länder-Weg was called the Nibelungen weg until 2013 , which led to frequent confusion with the Nibelungen climb .

The northern variant ( Donnersberg - Lautertaler Felsenmeer - Königstuhl ) of the European long-distance hiking trail E8 mostly runs together with the Vier-Länder-Weg or in its vicinity. It is marked with a black E8 on a white background or a white E8 with yellow European stars on a blue background.

literature

  • Rainer Türk : On the Nibelungensteig . Hiking book. Verlag Hubert Brunnengräber, Lorsch ISBN 978-3-9811444-2-0
  • Rainer Türk: On the Nibelungensteig . Hiking book. 2nd expanded edition. Verlag Hubert Brunnengräber, Lorsch ISBN 978-3-9811444-4-4
  • Bettina Rothenträger, Lars Gölz: The Nibelungensteig - A journey through pictures through the Odenwald . Illustrated book. Worms Verlag, ISBN 978-3-936118-32-2
  • Andrea Preschl: OUTDOOR - The journey is the goal - Nibelungensteig . Edition 2015. Conrad Stein Verlag, ISBN 978-3866864146

Hiking maps

Hessian State Office for Soil Management and Geoinformation:

Tourismusagentur, Wirtschaftsförderung Bergstraße GmbH (folding maps available from tourist information centers):

  • Total climb:
    • Nibelungensteig 130 (Zwingenberg to Freudenberg am Main)
    • On the Nibelungensteig - an Odenwald hiking experience!
  • Climbing section:
    • Nibelungensteig 40 (Zwingenberg to Grasellenbach)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Nibelungensteig , on nibelungensteig.info
  2. ↑ Quality hiking trails - Nibelungensteig (HW 72) on the website of the Odenwaldklubs eV
  3. ↑ “… Nibelungensteig” extended to 124 kilometers / official inauguration on April 16 , 2009, accessed on April 15, 2010, on region-bergstrasse.de
  4. ↑ Renewed accolade for "Nibelungensteig" , accessed on 29 March 2016 on kreis-bergstrasse.de
  5. ↑ Dreiklang der Natur ( Memento from July 28, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  6. ↑ Variant of Erbach. Retrieved March 29, 2016 . , on nibelungenland.net
  7. ↑ Nibelungensteig - hiking stages on nibelungenland.net, accessed on March 29, 2020
  8. ↑ The four-country road - stage planners , accessed on 5 November 2014 on regioausflug.de
  9. ↑ The Great Falk Atlas - Germany Detailed Maps , M = 1: 200,000, 2004/2005, ISBN 9783827903815

Web links

Commons : Nibelungensteig  - collection of images, videos and audio files