Floßteich-Weg OS 18

We walk from the parish church of St. Jakobus Maior on the road "Am Mühlgrund" to the end of the village, cross the district road with a beautiful view of the Döbraberg and walk along the edge of the forest and then downhill in a dark high forest to a small stream, which we follow to the left downhill to a forest path. On this we leave the forest to the left and, walking down a rustic valley, reach the Bischofsmühle mill after a fish pond, where a (smaller) mill wheel has been rattling at the entrance again since summer 2006 after a 40-year break. You should definitely pay a visit to the raft pond on the young Rodach and the nearby "Radekke" castle stables.

We continue along the road until shortly before the start of the raft pond and turn left into the forest. At the edge of a narrow forest valley with a small rivulet, we walk steadily on an always pleasant, natural path, sometimes quite steeply uphill, cross a forest road and now follow the forest path further uphill to a road on the heights. We continue straight ahead for a short distance and then turn right onto a natural, pleasant forest path.

Our hiking trail immediately turns left again and follows very comfortable paths and tracks through the natural tranquillity of the forest slightly uphill to the heights, finally on a path through a young forest somewhat steeper uphill, and soon into the open. The occasional vistas widen out into beautiful views of a charming forest landscape when we reach the cul-de-sac in front of the "Brax", before the wooded hamlet of Unterbrumberg, on a dirt track in the open at the uppermost estate of Unterbrumberg. The settlement formerly known as "Brunnberg" is now a district of Helmbrechts and once belonged to the episcopal office of Rodeck/Enchenreuth. The wayside chapel on the edge of the village is well worth a visit. In the "old days", there were charcoal piles and a lime mine in the area.

From here, a wide forest path leads to the Rauschenhammermühle - the Bärenweg. We know from the (now deceased) senior landlady that she remembered stories from her grandmother that bear drivers once came up the "Bärenweg" from the Rauschenhammermühle. They would tie their (dancing) bears to the chestnut trees and, after a refreshment, move on again to demonstrate the art of their bears at markets and in the villages. She was also able to explain the common name "Brax", which today applies not only to the inn, but also to the entire (lower) hamlet: an ancestor of her family was called Cordula Braxetis Hildner.

On the little-used cul-de-sac, we now walk from an altitude of 632 meters up to 700 meters, with the view of the Döbraberg massif and the densely wooded surroundings becoming ever wider and more impressive with increasing altitude. Right at the end of the village, the Helgerth family chapel invites you to linger. After about one kilometer, we come to an old wayside shrine near Oberbrumberg. A detour to nearby Oberbrumberg is a good idea.

Before we cross the state road downhill after the chapel, we enjoy the fantastic view of the 714 m high Bugspitze, the highest point of Enchenreuth, and the hinterland. The gallows tree used to stand here as an outward sign of "neck jurisdiction" - visible from afar as a deterrent.

Via Rützenreuther Straße and Ganghoferstraße, we return to the starting point in the village at the parish church of St. James the Elder (maior). The place name goes back to a Reut (clearing) of Enico and belonged to the Bamberg office of Radeck. After Radeck Castle fell into disrepair, Enchenreuth became the seat of the Halsgericht in 1530 with an episcopal bailiff (until 1802).</p