Odenwald-Madonnen-Radweg: Etappe 1

On the Odenwald Madonna Cycle Path from Tauberbischofsheim to Buchen!

The Odenwald Madonna Cycle Path starts in the vacation and fencing town of Tauberbischofsheim. First, you cycle through the old town, past the Kurmainzisches Schloss castle with the Türmersturm tower, the town's landmark, which was built around 1280.

Crossing the vacation region of the lovely Tauber Valley, you reach the wine village of Königheim. If you have space in your bike bag, you should definitely make a stop here at the local wineries and pack a good drop as a souvenir.

You cycle on through smaller villages such as Weikerstetten and Schweinberg and then on to Hardheim. The municipality of Hardheim lies in the picturesque Erfatal valley. In addition to historic buildings such as Hardheim Castle and the Catholic church of St. Alban, also known as Erftaldom, you can visit a replica of an Ariane V launcher (scale 1:4). Hardheim is the birthplace of aerospace pioneer Walter Hohmann.

Through the municipality of Höpfingen you reach the heart of the Madonnenländchen, the place of pilgrimage Walldürn. The pretty town of Walldürn is the largest Eucharistic pilgrimage site in Germany and attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims to the town every year. The baroque pilgrimage basilica "Zum Heiligen Blut" is particularly worth seeing. Walldürn is home to several small but special museums as well as numerous artifacts from Roman times.A few kilometers after Walldürn, you reach the first stage destination, the town of Buchen. Buchen is located at the transition from the Odenwald to the Bauland, geologically speaking at the boundary between red sandstone and white shell limestone. The townscape is also characterized by the medieval town center.