Gibachtrundwanderweg

On the initiative of the Gibacht mountain landlord and glass artist Ralph Wenzel, a hiking trail around the "Gibacht" mountain was created in 2005 with the help of the Furth im Wald mountain rescue service. The average length of 5 km, the manageable walking time of 2 hours, the relatively small difference in altitude of around 100 m, the succession of sights and the magnificent viewpoints have turned it into a premium hiking trail. The hiking trail starts to the left of the Gibacht mountain inn (845 m) and leads in a northerly direction through slightly ascending terrain to the so-called Pfennig rock (904 m). There, a small movable door is attached to a rock, behind which hikers insert coins in the hope that they will always return to this place in good health. From here, there is a wonderful view down to the town of Waldmünchen and the Ulrichsgrün valley, over to the high-lying mountain village of Herzogau (679 m), to the more distant Schwarzwihrberg (706 m) near Rötz and to the Schneeberg (765 m) and Frauenstein (865 m) above Tiefenbach. After the Pfennigfelsen rock, the trail creeps along an old smugglers' path to the state border and the Unterstellhütte hut at the Drei-Wappen rock (901 m). The coats of arms of the Electorate of Bavaria (CB), the Kingdom of Bohemia (KB) and the Duchy of Palatinate (HP) with the year 1766 are carved into the rock from the left, reminding us of the demarcation of the border between Bavaria and Bohemia at that time. The basis for this was the border treaty of March 3, 1764, with which the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa (who was also Queen of Bohemia at the time and acted as such) and the Bavarian Elector Max III Joseph put a bloodless end to centuries of disputes over the exact course of the border. From the Drei-Wappen rock, the hiking trail follows the ridge line in a southerly direction, gradually ascending to the Kreuzfelsen rock (938 m), the highest point of the Gibacht mountain range. The Furth im Wald mountain rescue service erected a summit cross on this rock in 1952. Since then, a summit book has been kept there, in which tourists like to immortalize themselves. After the cross rock, the trail continues until it finally reaches the southern dominant feature of the Gibacht, the Reiseck (902 m). From the glass summit cross there, a wonderful panorama opens up over the Upper Bavarian Forest: the town of Furth im Wald in the valley, surrounded by the municipalities of Arnschwang, Eschlkam and Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut with their associated villages, hamlets and hamlets, framed by a ring of mountains: the Osser (1293 m), the Hohenbogen (1079 m), topped by the Arber (1456 m), the highest mountain in the Bavarian Forest, the Kaitersberg (1192 m) and the Haidstein (742 m). The trail now turns west and leads over to a rugged rocky ridge, the Tannenriegel (910 m). At its highest point is a 3.5 m high tower, the "Lighthouse of Humanity", dedicated to reconciliation between peoples and their different religions. Stones from all over the world have been walled into the tower. From this place there is a fantastic view to the west into the almost endless expanse of the Upper Palatinate hills, down to Gleißenberg (also known as the Bavarian Meran), to the villages of Lixenried, Bogen, Gschwand, Ried and Döbersing, into the Chambtal valley and over to the Hienerberg (780 m) with the Rosshof and its meadows. After catching your breath, you return to the Gibacht mountain inn, where you can stop for refreshments.