Kaltbucher Weg KC 12

Kaltbuch refers to the hamlet with three houses at the foot of the Knock of the same name. The Lucas Cranach Tower, built in 1913 and named after Kronach's most famous son, is enthroned at its height (496 m). Karl Loy, the former, meritorious chairman of the Kronach local group, attached numerous distant view signs to the parapet. Anna Zeuß, who looked after the tower for almost 50 years (!) from 1913 onwards and reliably collected the entrance fees, once lived in one of the Kaltbuch properties, which is currently a closed hikers' inn. Sweeping views, tranquil forests, valley landscapes, a long ascent and refreshment stops characterize this circular hiking trail.

If you start the hike in Kronach, all you have to do is follow the Frankenweg or FrankenwaldSteig through the town and the grounds of the 2002 State Garden Show. The two paths accompany us all the way to Weißenbrunn and again later.

Other than that, the hiking trail begins in Fröschbrunn. Before the inn, we follow the markings of the two main hiking trails steadily uphill along the forest path until it begins to descend again. There we take a narrow forest path uphill to the left, past an old sandstone quarry. It brings us close to the hamlet of Kaltbuch.

Before we cross the access road and walk around the few houses in the forest in a right-hand bend, it is worth stepping out into the open on the little road to enjoy the wonderful view. If we then follow the forest path, we have to take a downhill right-hand bend in the path and climb steeply up a path in the forest to the Lucas Cranach Tower.

We continue along the natural path on the height, turn right after the transmission mast and reach an old road on a soft path through beautiful woodland. It once led from Kulmbach to Kronach and crossed another old road at Samelstein (Bamberg-Burgkunstadt-Hof).

Walking downhill on the historic road, we reach the Weißenbrunner Spinne. Continue straight on downhill or on the path next to it to the beer village in the Franconian Forest. It was first mentioned in 1350, but is certainly much older. Opposite, near the church, we notice a stone beauty as a fountain figure, the Maid Kättl, the symbol of the village. Water gushes from her breasts (and beer once a year).

We turn left from the main road (B 85) into Sandstraße and walk to the forest on the edge of the village. From here, a path leads us quite steeply uphill in the forest. We pass the edge of a gravel pit filled with water and come to a forest path, which we follow for about 100 meters to the right, but immediately turn left again in the forest and walk steeply uphill in a straight direction to the tree at a spider.

While the circular hiking trail 8 leads right to Wötzelsdorf, we walk straight ahead in the forest over the heights. After leaving the forest, we are greeted by a charming view of the scattered settlements of Wüstbuch and Staibra and the surrounding countryside. We walk a short distance along a field path through the meadow to a road on the outskirts of the scattered settlement of Wüstbuch and continue to the right to the first house in Staibra. Before this property, we leave the road on a short paved and grassy path to the left into the forest and walk straight ahead for a short distance. After a slight bend to the left, we reach the Hetzenbrunnen, where we turn right, and shortly afterwards the forest exit.

Here we follow the road to Fischbach on the right. We walk past the castle and church in the village down the road, always in a straight main direction over the Fischbach and always on the road towards Seibelsdorf out of town. After a short distance, we come to the main hiking trail "Fränkische Linie". We walk uphill on the land consolidation path past a small parking lot on the left. At the top, we leave the farm track in its right-hand bend, keep left and walk along a hunter's trail with beautiful views of Fischbach and the Fischbach valley along the slope and finally left downhill in the open to the Obere Allern hill. A land consolidation path leads us slightly downhill to the right past the Schützenhaus to the main street of Vogtendorf. This is the birthplace of Johann Caspar Zeuß and Willi Schreiber.

We walk through the elongated village until we reach the road coming from Fischbach. We walk to the right, past the parish hall with its half-timbered upper floor and ridge turret, over the Rodach bridge and immediately left along the Rodach to the Gänsmühle mill. We walk past the estate on the right, across the meadow to the Rußmühle mill and on to the weir and Detschramühle mill. If we continue walking, we soon reach the outskirts of Kronach. If we want to return to Fröschbrunn, we have to turn left at the first set of traffic lights to Hammermühle. After the estate and the parking lot, the path leads us past the sports grounds, always along the Rodach until we reach the B 85 after the car dealership.

There we turn left and at the next junction we can already see the access road to Fröschbrunna with its 830 m long summer toboggan run with seven steep bends.