Tilemann-Stella-Weg

An appealing and history-rich 11 km circular tour through idyllic valleys, tranquil forests and along several fountains around Bexbach-Frankenholz. The hiking trail is named after the Renaissance scholar Tilemann Stella, who, as a cartographer and geometer, carried out a land survey on behalf of the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken in 1563/64 and in this context also surveyed and described the Höcherberg region.

The approx. 11 km long circular hiking trail starts at the St. Josef church or the community center in Frankenholz and follows the Marienweg in many passages. From here, the trail leads to the grave monument of August Ferdinand Culmann, the founder of the Frankenholz mine and member of St. Paul's Church, then through the Buchwald forest past the new Marien-Bildstock to the romantic Feilbachtal valley and the Marien-Marterl of the Hau family. The trail then crosses the meadows in the "Toter Krieger" area with a view of the village of Frankenholz on the hill, with the church and Schiller school as the dominant landmarks, and leads to the first of a total of five fountains, the Hofwiesenbrunnen. Through the wild and romantic Klemmlochtal valley, you come to the Karlsbrunnen fountain, then to the Hollerbrunnen and Bruderbrunnen fountains and, via the so-called "Panoramastraße" with a wide view over the Ostertal valley to the Hochwald forest, you reach the "Sinnesbänke" and then Tilemann-Stella-Platz, where several plaques provide information about Tilemann-Stella and the "Stone Man", a cast of which is set up here. From here, the path leads to the Frankenbrunnen fountain and then across the village square back to the Bürgerbrunnen fountain at the civic center.</p