Swabian-Allgäu hiking trail

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The Schwäbisch-Allgäu hiking trail is a long-distance hiking trail that crosses the Bavarian administrative district of Swabia in a north-south direction . The main path connects the cities of Augsburg and Sonthofen and is marked with a blue St. Andrew's cross . The length is 145 km (according to another source 157 km), the hiking time - depending on your condition - 4 to 7 days. The Schwäbisch-Allgäu hiking trail provides a direct connection to the two long-distance hiking trails E4 and E5, making it the gateway of the administrative district of Swabia to the wide world.

The hiking trail was set up in 1978 at the suggestion of the Oberallgäu District Administrator Theo Rössert and its route was essentially explored and determined by Hans Schmidt, who also wrote the first hiking guide. The aim of the route was to connect the two cities of Augsburg and Sonthofen as straight as possible away from streets and larger settlements, so that at the same time a scenic route with many distant views of the Alps is created, which also includes some art-historical sights.

The character of the route is shaped in the northern part by long passages in the forest, while in the southern part the alpine character is increasingly evident. Most of the route runs on unpaved field and forest paths without technical difficulties, in a few places short trails have to be tackled. Apart from the final section at the foot of the Alps, the path can be walked at any time of the year. The signage in the northern part is exemplary and designed for both directions, from the Eibsee sometimes incomplete and only in the south, so that a hiking map is required to find the way reliably. The original route was changed in places by the district offices responsible for the signage, v. a. In the area of ​​Markt Wald, St.-Anna and at the Eibsee, today's course deviates significantly from the route established in 1978. The two "more alpine variants" in the area of Oy-Mittelberg through the Wertach valley or over the ridge at Faistenoy with simpler variants over forest roads are already intended by the path maker Hans Schmidt . Due to the somewhat unkind signposting in Oberallgäu, which spoils the canonical running of the route, experienced hikers have the opportunity to reach Sonthofen directly via the summit of Grünten instead of the official route .

The start is in Stadtbergen - Leitershofen or at Wellenburg Castle . The official starting point of the route is the parking lot for hikers in both places. In the northern section you cross the Augsburg-Western Forests nature park via Burgwalden , Reinhartshofen , Schwabegg and Markt Wald . Via Tussenhausen and Dorschhausen you get to Irsee with its famous monastery . The path avoids the cities of Bad Wörishofen and Kaufbeuren . From Irrsee the character of the path changes, which increasingly offers distant views of the Alps and offers an alpine-looking landscape. West of Kaufbeuren it goes over a ridge to Ruderatshofen and then hike through the undulating hilly landscape created by the glaciers of the Ice Age via Geisenried , Oberthingau and Görisried to Oy-Mittelberg . The final stage climbs the ridge of Elleg and finally leads through the deeply cut valley between Grünten and Wertacher Hörnle to Berghofen, a district of Sonthofen. The official end of the route is the strikingly hilltop church in Berghofen. The two long-distance hiking trails E4 and E5 cross in Sonthofen.

In addition to the main route, there are connecting routes with the starting points Neu-Ulm , Günzburg , Dillingen , Bad Wörishofen , Kaufbeuren-Neugablonz and Kempten , if they are still signposted .

literature

  • Hans Schmidt, Schwäbisch-Allgäuer hiking trail Augsburg-Sonthofen and its connecting routes Dillingen, Günzburg-Krumbach, Neu-Ulm, Kaufbeuren, Kempten and Oberstdorf ( ISBN 3-928934-13-9 ), Franz-Brack-Verlag Altusried 1993 (only antiquarian to Respectively).
  • Helmut Dumler, Fernwanderwege Voralpenland, Deutscher Wanderverlag [Kompass Wanderführer] ( ISBN 3-8134-0222-3 ), Ostfildern 1997, pp. 79–165 (only available as an antiquarian).
  • Christel Blankenstein: The Bavarian long-distance hiking trails , Stöppel-Verlag ( ISBN 3-89987-223-1 )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schmidt, Hand: Schwäbisch-Allgäu hiking trail . 4th edition. Franz-Brack-Verlag, Altusried 1993, ISBN 3-928934-13-9 , pp. 18 .
  2. ↑ Dumler, Helmut: Fernwanderwege Voralpenland . 3. Edition. German hiking publisher Dr. Mair & Schnabel (Kompass Wanderführer), Ostfildern 1979, ISBN 3-8134-0222-3 , p. 80 .
  3. ^ Schmidt, Hans: Schwäbisch-Allgäuer hiking trail . 4th edition. Franz-Brack-Verlag, Altusried 1993, ISBN 3-928934-13-9 , pp. 8 .
  4. ^ Schmidt, Hand: Schwäbisch-Allgäu hiking trail . 4th edition. Franz-Brack-Verlag, Altusried 1993, p. 53; 57 .