Nordeck-Weg HRW 7

The tour starts at the parking lot at the Waldschänke in Steinachtal. We follow the valley path up the valley for almost four kilometers until we reach the Engerbach stream. There we turn left and hike first along its left, then along its right, narrow course uphill on a pleasant forest path. We leave the Engerbach to the left and walk uphill in the forest until we cross a rivulet in the upper part of a narrow, upper valley floor. We immediately turn right and walk straight uphill on a soft, natural forest path until we come out into the open at the top. With beautiful views, we soon reach the hamlet of Schöndorf, a district of Presseck, which was first mentioned in 1510. 300 m west of the village is a renovated wooden chapel and next to it a 2.10 m high wayside cross made of light-colored marble on a wide base, erected in 1950. The 70 cm high figure of the crucified man is made of bronze.

We walk out of the village on the road towards Presseck, turn right at the edge of the forest and walk on the (somewhat grassy) fallow land to the forest and there over the depression of the young Engerbach stream on pleasant forest paths to the road, which we follow to the left uphill into the market town of Presseck. At Pressecker Hof, next to the town hall, we turn right and walk straight ahead along the parking lot of the inn and then on a beautiful forest path lined with deciduous trees, slightly downhill and finally moderately uphill into the open meadow. There we turn sharp left and walk through various forest formations back into the open and enjoy the beautiful far-reaching views of the heights of the southern Franconian Forest. We now walk straight downhill along the edge of the field until we come to a meadow path after about 200 meters, which we follow to the right through the fields to Premeusel. We follow the road briefly to the left, leave it on a field path to the right and walk in a wide left-hand bend in the forest back to the small parking lot on the same road. Before reaching the road, we turn right again through the forest, then through the open fields to the heights. As the altitude increases, the view becomes more beautiful and more extensive: at Tannenwirtshaus, on the slope of Weidme, the Steinach valley and its wooded heights. Walking downhill in the open, we come to a crossroads.

Detour to the chapel: We keep to the right and walk along the field path until we reach a field barn. Before it, we turn right and soon come to the chapel of Margaretha Pöhnlein from Wildenstein at the edge of the forest. She built it in gratitude for the recovery of her seriously ill son before the Second World War. After the Second World War, the statue of the Virgin Mary, which had been destroyed by soldiers, was donated by her again for the happy return of the same son from the war.

The hiking trail now continues downhill in the forest and we soon reach the idyllic village of Wildenstein above the Steinachklamm gorge. Even though the hiking trail leads to the left to the road leading to Neumühle, we make a detour to the site of the former Wildenstein castle. We also enjoy the view of the valley there, with the distant sound of the Steinach in our ears. A plaque provides information about the Wildenstein castle that once stood on this rocky outcrop. We then follow the signposts down the little-used road to the Neumühle mill in the Steinach valley. Before reaching the mill, we turn sharp right and walk along the road through the open, wide valley to the Steinachklamm gorge and on to the Waffenhammer. A home of the Eulenspiegel has been created here with a work of art depicting the Erzschelm. The bedrock of this section of the path, which led here via the open area, is formed by the rock of the blasted away section of the cliff, which only made it possible to continue the path through this once narrow rock gate almost 100 years ago.

The Steinach and its headwaters and tributaries once powered 25 mills. These were grinding, cutting, paper and powder mills. A legend tells the story of the gorge's origins. At the foot of the Teufelsstein (594 m), we change sides of the valley after the Waffenhammer. We cross the Steinach on a footbridge to the edge of the forest. We first walk uphill for a while on a natural, narrow forest path in a narrow side valley along a small stream. We then turn right and soon come to a forest path high above the Steinach. If we pay attention, we may be able to recognize one of the so-called copper holes, which are reminiscent of the ironstone and copper mining areas. The sound of their rushing water gets closer and closer until we reach the open valley landscape and its alder-lined banks at the mouth of the Engerbach stream as we walk downhill. However, we continue down the romantic valley on the banks of the Steinach along the pleasant path lined with rocks, past the tunnel entrances of past mines, valley meadows, rushing side streams and always with a view of the other wooded valley slope. The valley is closed off by alluvial forests, mainly made up of ash trees. In a wide right-hand bend, we move away from the Steinach a little, but it soon accompanies us again to the Pegel parking lot, where we cross over to the road and soon reach the Waldschänke.