Nortwaldweg

A Frankenwaldverein signpost at the edge of the tower indicates the direction to Brennersgrün. We initially walk downhill together with the Saale-Orla trail (red triangle) at the back of the tower and cross the road. Following the signs of other hiking trails, we immediately turn right and walk on a comfortable path in the forest, parallel to and close to the road, into the charming village of Brennersgrün with its original, beautifully slated houses.

From the cemetery in particular, there is a beautiful view of the rear fronts of the houses. In 1781, Albrecht Christian bought the Brandiskirchen estate, which lies 715 m above sea level, and named it Brennersgrün. There is a memorial stone in the upper rear corner of the cemetery. It commemorates the forest warden Eduard Birnstiel, who was shot dead by poachers in 1895 and who explored and marked the Rennsteig route Ziegelhütte Brennersgrün with Ludwig Hertel. Here we enjoy the beautiful view of the village and the Wetzstein with the Altvaterturm tower.

We hike along the Rennsteig from the cemetery via the refuge (in the form of a coal pile) over the former death strip into Franconian territory. We continue along the forest path, keeping to the left at a spur (this is where the several-kilometre-long Reviersträßchen begins) and now walk uphill on a natural path in the high forest. When we reach an intermediate height at an open space, we come to the Dreiwappen-Weg. It continues through the forest to the Hohe Tanne forest area, where it turns right at the edge of the forest to the upper valley floor of the Rosenbaumbach stream. We come to the Grumbacher Schneidmühle, which has existed since 1713, was abandoned in 1976 and destroyed in 1978. We walk down the valley to the (empty) silted-up pond and the forest-lined raft pond at the site of the former Rosenbaum mill.

After about one kilometer, we come across a wide spider trail in an open area. Here we turn left and follow a near-natural forest path gently downhill and soon keep slightly to the right. After a while, we can see the unspoilt valley floor of the Rosenbaumbach stream on the left, the state border and the Großer Brand forest area in Thuringia. This easy-to-walk forest path along the Bavarian state forest Haselwiese leads us to the Nordhalben-Tschirn state road. We cross it, climb slightly uphill into the forest and follow the grassy forest path in a wide arc around the ridge of the Kammleite. Even if we enjoy the view, we must pay attention to the markings when we later turn left at an acute angle. Now we follow the forest path for about 500 m downhill into the unspoilt bottom of the Nordhalbener Ködel. After the confluence with the Tschirner Ködel, its waters mainly feed the dam of the same name as the Nurner Ködel. Together with the Dreiwappenweg and the Fichtera-Weg, we cross the valley and stream on the old Tschirn bridge and walk uphill on a forest path, later on a narrow, natural forest path. We cross a small rivulet and continue up the Teufelsberg. At the top, we finally reach the outskirts of the market town of Nordhalben via Galgenberg.

In addition to the lace-making school and the (former) state forestry office, churches and other historical buildings are also worth seeing in the market town. The origins of the Catholic parish church of St. Bartholomew can be traced back to 1421. The Catholic rectory at Kronacher Straße 14 dates back to the middle of the 19th century. The Catholic chapel Mariae Heimsuchung (Mary's Chapel) probably dates back to the Middle Ages. The Evangelical Lutheran Jubilate parish church of the Heinersberg/Nordhalben Evangelical Lutheran parish is visible from afar in the Grund district in the (Zahmen) Rodach valley. The former prince-bishop's office building, Kronacher Straße 7, was a police station until around 1992. The former prison at Schloßbergstraße 6, built in 1856, also served as a forester's lodge for a time. The Hotel zur Post at Lobensteiner Straße 1 dates back to the third quarter of the 19th century and the keystone above the front door of the former Gasthof Fetthans still reads: Th. Müller 1849. It is also worth mentioning that Napoleon's war against Prussia began from Nordhalben. This can be read in the Frankenpost of October 6, 2006 (mw): Napoleon arrived in Kronach on October 8 (= 1806) coming from Bamberg ... . On the same day he gave the order to invade the Prussian principalities and the Prussian margraviate. ... Napoleon arrived in Nordhalben in the early hours of October 9th and had breakfast in the Amtshaus. The entire ridge along the road from Ködelberg to the state border must have been a single army camp.

We follow the markings across the village to behind the large parking lot at the Nortwaldhalle. From there, we take a dirt track to the right, past a mausoleum under a tree with a wide spreading crown and down into the forest. We walk through a spruce forest interspersed with individual fir and deciduous trees, leave the forest road leading down to the foreshore and turn left onto a slope path. We follow this pleasant path steadily. It winds its way along the narrow side valleys and offers increasingly more views of the dam and the wooded slope opposite. We pass a refuge and finally come to a small, open space with a mighty cross. There we walk straight ahead on a path and easy trail through young mixed forest downhill to the dam wall and on a footpath downhill to Mauthaus.

In days gone by, this was a bustling place on the Imperial Road, which led from Nuremberg through the Nordhalben bailiwick to the lands of Prussia and Saxony. Much to the annoyance of the carters, the road foundation was repeatedly damaged by the many heavy carts on the very steep ascent. They voluntarily agreed to pay a bridge and road toll. In 1864, Nordhalben made a commitment to the Bamberg Abbey to maintain this stretch of road. To finance this, they were allowed to levy tolls on every harnessed wagon. This changed when the toll bridge became the property of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1881. In 1855 there is talk of customs in Mauthaus, as the village is still called today. (According to: Chronicle of Nordhalben)

We first walk along the road to the left and cross the open valley and the Rodach to the right to the forest at the bottom of the Kaugelbach stream. Near its mouth, we keep left until we get close to elevation 585. Shortly afterwards, we leave the forest path and continue uphill on near-natural forest paths until we reach the Geroldsgrün-Neuengrün road. Schlegelshaid, 633 m above sea level, is on the top right with wonderful views.

We briefly follow the district road and soon turn right again to continue in the direction of Schlegelshaid. Nevertheless, we soon have to return to the little-used road if we want to reach Neuengrün, with its small pilgrimage church dating back to 1794 in the middle of the village green.

The typical Rundangerdorf (forest village), whose paths and fields radially diverge from the lower-lying Anger, is described as deserted from 1323 to 1327. It was rebuilt in the middle of the 14th century. We leave the village and walk downhill through the fields to the idyllic hamlet of Schindelthal, with a magnificent view of the Döbraberg on one side and Neufang, Birnbaum and the water tower on the other. After the Grund, we walk uphill along the edge of the forest and, far away from any traffic noise, continue uphill over the 545 m high Hoppelesberg through the silence of the vast forests and can appreciate that 85% of the urban area of Wallenfels is covered with forest and that the district of Kronach is the most densely wooded in the whole of Bavaria. Finally, we walk downhill with views of Neufang, Haid and Dörnach and later of nearby Wallenfels. Shortly before the edge of the town, we take a detour straight ahead to the Schlossberg with its chapel and memorial for fallen soldiers. We continue downhill on the road to Wallenfels.

From 1195 to 1803, the Bamberg bishops were the lords here. Waldenfels Castle stood on the Schlossberg. The name of these lords first appears as a place name in 1248. In 1549, Waldenfels became an independent parish (previously: Steinwiesen). In 1588, the village was granted town rights. In 1633/34, the Swedes plundered the settlement, burned it down and tortured many of the inhabitants to death. The Rodach Valley Railway (Wallenfels station in Erlabrück), inaugurated in 1900, no longer runs regularly along the entire route. However, the line from Nordhalben to Steinwiesen has been reactivated for tourism.

We follow the main road briefly to the right, then turn left and cross the Wild Rodach on a stone crossing to the left bank. There we turn left and follow the former Floßbach uphill to the Willi-Schreiber-Haus and the Floßlände. This is where the raft trips from Schnappenhammer end. After the nearby underpass, we follow a road to the left parallel to the new B 173 to the forest, which was created during the construction of the bypass. On a forest path, accompanied by the muffled noise of the nearby main road, we walk past several free-standing fir trees, along the Rodach and the Schwarze Wand, until we reach an open space near the road leading to Presseck. Before reaching the road, the forest path on the left leads us uphill again, keeping to the left, until we reach the Frankenweg after about 1 ½ km. We follow it on a path steeply downhill to the Köstenschmölz hiking lodge in the valley of the Köstenbach stream.

Today, the 5 houses in the hamlet belong to only two municipalities (Presseck, Wallenfels) and two districts (Kulmbach, Kronach). There used to be three municipalities (for four houses): Heinersreuth, Reichenbach and Wallenfels! The name is a reminder of the mining industry that once operated here with a smelting works. In 1803, a house was built on the site of the smelting works, which belonged to a slater in 1893, a family of weavers until 1934 and then to the Stahlhelmbund. It was acquired by the FWV in 1940. With two interruptions, it was used as a hiking home. This approximately 500 m long and 50 m wide middle section in the area of the hiking home in the approx. 6 km long, unspoilt Köstenbach valley is also affectionately known as the green room of the Franconian Forest.

We take the road to the left to the lower house, cross the Köstenbach on a bridge to the right and walk uphill keeping the small stream to the right until we reach a hillside path. We follow it close to the valley through the forest, climbing slightly and enjoying the view of the houses in the hamlet of Schmölz. Gradually, our path leads quite steeply uphill and then slightly downhill until we reach the road shortly before the Elbersreuther Mühle mill.

At this junction, we leave the other hiking trails and follow the road uphill until we take a sharp right turn, climb the slope and soon reach the Presseck plateau.

Continuing across the meadows and fields, we reach the main road of the market town of Presseck, 650 m above sea level at the foot of the 690 m high Pressecker Knock with its observation tower.

300 m differences in altitude in the municipality with its steep wooded slopes and narrow valleys characterize the landscape. The Holy Trinity Protestant parish church is worth seeing, as are the veteran trees in the surrounding area. We turn left at the town hall on the main road and soon turn right onto Lautengrundweg. Now we walk straight ahead on a comfortable path through beautiful meadows and then downhill in the forest at the top of the steep slope to Lautenbachgrund. After several turns of the path, past individual fir trees and stands of deciduous trees, we come to a cul-de-sac, which we follow for about another kilometer downhill to the slag mill. In the valley, the waters of the Lautengrundbach stream and the Schlackenmühlbach stream join to form the Rauschbach stream.

The Schlackenmühle mill was abandoned as a flour mill in 1914 and the sawmill in 1931 (after a fire). We hike around the mill, which is now only used for agricultural purposes, follow the road to the forest and descend on beautiful and comfortable paths in the quiet seclusion on the edge of the nearby Rauschbach valley to the paper mill, whose mill wheel rattled for paper production until 1890. When it burned down in 1906, the coat of arms was reattached to the side of the house facing the Rauschbach stream.

On the other side of the valley, we hike along beautiful forest and meadow paths, crossing the Rauschbach stream twice (finally on a raft footbridge), slightly downhill to the narrow valley road. Over in the valley, the waters of the Rauschbach and the Großer Rehbach join to form the Steinach. We walk to the right, now in the Steinach valley, to the nearby Neumühle mill and further down the valley to the romantic Steinachklamm gorge.

The Steinachklamm gorge is a wild and romantic rocky section at the foot of the Wildenstein castle ruins. Over millions of years, the Steinach (in the legend it was Thor) sawed its way through the rock bar, creating towering, rugged rock faces. The passageway was only blasted open a good 100 years ago.

We hike back up the valley over the rocks of the Steinachklamm gorge on a beautiful path, discover the Neumühle mill again below our path and turn right in front of the small house. We continue straight on uphill to a meadow area (beautiful views) and on the meadow path up to a single track. There we turn right and continue uphill in the forest along the road leading to the single track. We soon reach Triebenreuth through the meadows, accompanied by a beautiful view.

In 1961, it was recognized as a model village for redevelopment by the Bayer. Landessiedlung was awarded. According to Richard Seuß, a castle estate is mentioned in the settlement in 1355, a whale, which is a simple medieval fortification. Three crosses on the short path bear witness to the piety of the inhabitants.

We enjoy the wide, impressive view as we walk along the cul-de-sac on the slope of the Torkelberg past Schwärzleinsdorf (left) and the Einzel Torkel (right) on an access path to the right to the Einzel Messengrund. We walk past the farmstead on a field path along the edge of the forest through changing fields over the small hill with beautiful views down to Guttenberg.

The history of the village is closely linked to the von Guttenberg family, whose forefather Heinrich von Blassenberg built the castle in 1315 and henceforth called himself Heinrich von Guttenberg. After an eventful history, the Lords of Guttenberg still own and live in the castle today.

In the village, we turn left immediately and walk until just before the castle. There we turn left and follow a path down the steep slope of the castle hill through beautiful beech trees into the narrow, deeply incised valley of the Wolfsbach stream. There we come across the Three Bridges, mentioned as early as the 14th century, with a beautiful view of the castle enthroned on the hill. We hike up the narrow, romantic Streichengrund on a natural forest path to the left and cross the valley shortly before the first house in Streichenreuth.

This is the source of the so-called Streichergraben, which flows into the Liesbach after merging with the Wolfsbach. The manor house once stood on the site of house no. 1; the former shepherd's house (no. 2) was demolished in the early 1970s.

On the other side of the valley, follow a path through the mixed forest to a forest path, keep left and walk uphill in the forest until you reach the top. From the rest area (Plassenburgblick), there is a beautiful view of Stadtsteinach and the Plassenburg in Kulmbach.

We read about this once important site on a tableau: The current path to Straßenwirtshaus (= near Einzel) was part of the former Geleitstraße, which led from Kulmbach, Untersteinach, Pressecklein, Straßenwirtshaus, Neuensorg and Helmbrechts to Hof. ... Carters and merchants were often attacked by robbers on this road. By paying, they received military escort protection along the entire route from Kulmbach to Hof. It only remains to add that the Pressecklein refers to a landscape near the Guttenberg quarry. Today, the name is only familiar to locals. The name of the individual roadside inn also makes it clear what an important function this house once had for carters.

Keeping to the right, the beautiful view accompanies us along a country lane to the beginning of the former mining town of Kupferberg. We leave the road right at the beginning and walk straight ahead, briefly down a meadow path that is not easily recognizable, past the fire station, keeping to the right, into the center of Bavaria's smallest town.

The rich copper finds caused the town to flourish rapidly as early as the 12th century, with a population of 3000 at the time. Prince-Bishop Heinrich II granted the town charter and brewing rights in 1326. When copper mining ceased in 1940, stone mining and wood carving provided the inhabitants with work and bread. The mining museum and the mining history trail with 23 stations and other reminders of these bygone times are still there today.

We cross the main road straight ahead, walk over to the church and continue along the (main) road uphill towards Wirsberg, turn right at the sharp bend onto a footpath and follow it to the mining museum at the end of the village on the hill. Shortly after the village sign, we walk slightly downhill to the right on the cul-de-sac to Unterbirkenhof. Shortly before the hamlet, we leave the road, go straight ahead and then immediately turn right again. The natural path leads us along the edge of the forest, then uphill in the forest for about one kilometer. When we reach a forest meadow on the left, we turn left and cross the meadow uphill to the forest. There we walk uphill to a forest path that leads us out into the open to the right. The impressive distant view increases as we walk up the field path to the heights. This view of the valley of the White Main with the villages and the wide hinterland and soon also of the Ochsenkopf and Schneeberg in the Fichtelgebirge would be even better if we took the field path up to the cross (without markings). However, we continue straight ahead along the field path slightly downhill to the road in Neufang and the beautifully designed center of the pretty village.

The original stone block, which served as the base for the anvil in the last forge in the village, adorns the beautiful site. Until 1890, the dull thuds and ringing blows of the blacksmith's hammer from the Neufang forge rang out across the countryside. Gone since then are the hissing of the glowing iron in the water barrel, the flickering of the fire in the forge and the squeaking of the bellows. The familiar anvil melodies are also a thing of the past. Andreas Rosenberger was the name of the last village blacksmith in Neufang. He emigrated to the Richsbahn in Nuremberg in 1890. What remained was the old blacksmith's cottage with stables (house no. 15), the Schmiedsäckerlein, the Schmiedswieslein and the Schmiedsholz in the Kosertal valley. In 1942, the municipality of Neufang built apartments in the smithy. In the end, a family of 14 lived in the building. It also housed the cattle scales and the Kliereiber (= von Klee). From 1975, the era of the Eifinger Schmiedn finally belongs to the past. Due to its poor structural condition, the building fell victim to the pickaxe. The demolition of the old village smithy was also intended to improve the blind bend in the KU 20 district road to Kupferberg.

We turn right along the village road and turn left at the end of the village and walk along a field path over to the ruined wall of the Heilingskirche, a pilgrimage church probably built in the 13th/14th century.

When news of the death of Jan Huss (burnt at the stake as a heretic in 1415) reached Prague, a wave of fire began to engulf first the Fichtelgebirge and then the Franconian Forest. Before that, the monastery and pilgrimage church of Marienweiher were also reduced to ashes. The sacrificial courage of the inhabitants to save the Heilingskirche from the onslaught of the Hussites was in vain. Soon a bright glow of fire in the dark night sky heralded the demise of the Heilingskirche, where so many pilgrims had received comfort and help in their distress. It is said that axes and crowbars would bounce off it without effect.

We turn right, pass a birch grove, along the edge of the forest (view), through woods and meadows to the site of the former pilgrimage church of St. Leonhard auf dem Hag.

Documents show that the church was dedicated to St. Leonhard, who died in 569 and was the patron saint of horses and miners (copper mining in nearby Kupferberg). The rest area with memorial stone and information board on the 456 m high Buchleite invites you to linger. The church was demolished around 1600 and its origins are unknown.

We hike down a fairly steep path through a young forest to the state-approved climatic health resort of Wirsberg, situated in a protected valley basin on the Franconian Line with the old town hall, which is well worth seeing.

We learn from Raimund Schramm (Heimatkalender 2005 p.138) that the Wirsberg council had been searching in vain for a suitable plot of land for a representative building in the area of the market square since 1597. It was not until 1692 that the citizen Georg Volfrath sold his house to the municipality. In 1701, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated after the renovation, and in 1702 the councillors held their first meeting in the new town hall. Schramm also provides us with a piece of old case law. In 1703, the new pillory at the front of the town hall was inaugurated with the unmarried Barbara Kraus. She had given birth to her eighth illegitimate child. She had to endure an hour with the rod in her hand and was then banished from the country forever. The child's father got off scot-free. For the safety of the citizens, a storm bell was installed in the town hall tower in 1883 to warn residents of fires or danger. The 300-year-old building, which has been renovated several times, is not only the oldest but also the most beautiful in the spa town. The terraced tower hill on the 449 m high Theresienhöhe northwest of Wirsberg, which is still partially surrounded by a moat, is also interesting to hike. An information board provides historical information.

We walk quite far uphill on the road towards Marktschorgast, then turn right onto Laubenweg and follow it to its end. We walk straight ahead on a natural path through beautiful deciduous forest, initially parallel to the road, then to the railroad line, until we come to a road in the open. We walk through the railroad underpass to the right.

This is roughly the start of the inclined plane built by King Ludwig I between 1844 and 1848, the first steep railroad line in Germany. We can learn a lot of interesting facts about the history of the construction on the 8 km long educational and information trail on the inclined plane with 16 objects, which was inaugurated in 1991. It is a nice addition to the steam locomotive museum.

Once we are outside, we walk to the right, across the B 303 to a road and use it to reach Himmelkron in the valley of the White Main, accompanied by beautiful views.

We should take advantage of the short detour to take a quiet break in the monastery church, which is well worth a visit, or if there is more time available, to take a guided tour (parish: 09227/9310). The time-honored stone slabs date back to the 15th century. Another special feature of Himmelkron is the Baille-Maille-Lindenallee, replanted in 1992 (first planted in 1662/63, cut down in 1792), which was once used by the nobility for courtly ball games. In the castle courtyard, a memorial stone commemorates the victims of euthanasia in 1941.

We walk up Häfnershügel (Himmelkroner Heime on the right), cross the main road at the top, walk down the cemetery wall and then, keeping to the right, follow Maintalstraße out of town. We cross the railroad line, walk along the road to the left past an atonement cross and finally along the Main to Lanzendorf, which rises in terraces from the White Main. The Main bridge made of sandstone (two arches) dates back to the 19th century. In nearby Heidholz, a burial mound field from the Hallstein period was discovered - 62 mounds over a length of 250 m. We cross the White Main on the old stone bridge and walk left along the other bank to nearby Kremnitz. We walk through the village and leave it straight ahead and then walk uphill to a farmstead. Now we follow the washed-out field path slightly uphill, pass a pond in a hollow and then continue along the field path until just before the heights.

There we turn left at a hedge and walk along a natural, level path, still in the open, along the edge of the forest to the Lindenhof individual farm. The view of the varied landscape, interspersed with hedges, of Himmelkron and the beautiful surrounding countryside and of the wooded ridges of the Franconian Forest becomes increasingly attractive and impressive as the altitude increases. This view of the Franconian Forest is now joined even more clearly by the distant view of the nearby Fichtelgebirge mountains. We pass the Harsdorf wind power plant on the Bamberg highway near the A9.

It generates electricity for around 1000 households. The imposing 131-metre-high wind turbine with its 33-metre-long rotor blades, which went into operation in the summer of 1999, greets us from all sides. They describe a circle with a diameter of 66 m as they rotate. The tower alone weighs 850 tons, together with the foundation it has a total weight of 1850 tons! The costs of almost DM 5 million were raised by 24 limited partners from the surrounding area. Before the construction work, a medieval sandstone cross, popularly known as a knight's stone, stood at the highway junction. The site was on the edge of a former rest area, around 100 m from the single customs house. Despite its age, the relief of a person with head, body and legs can still be seen; it could represent a knight. There are several legends surrounding the stone cross. According to one version, a knight who had been seriously wounded in battle died or was buried here. The 1.60 m high stone cross was brought to safety during the extensive construction work and found its new place near the old location.

After a few meters on the paved road, we have to pay attention. After the wind turbine, the Nortwaldweg turns right onto the first field path, leads to the single tree, then left downhill to the few properties in Oberalbenreuth and then straight ahead in the forest. Now we hike on near-natural paths through sparse pole forest and change direction, first to the left and then to the right. On pleasant paths, we come across the Wolkenbrunnen fountain, which was renovated by the horticultural association in 1981. It served as a source of drinking water for the villages of Oberaltenreuth and Zollbrunn until 1968. We now continue along a forest path through a forest mostly covered with pine trees. Our hiking trail leads us along the edge of the forest slightly downhill to the edge of the village of Ramsenthal until just before the road. We cross the narrow valley there, walk briefly uphill to the left and then follow a field path to the right as far as the road, accompanied by a view of the beautifully landscaped Trebgast valley. We walk along the road briefly to the left and turn right again towards Crottendorf.

Shortly after the village, we are already in Gemein, which we walk through in its entirety and continue uphill to the right at the end of the village. Immediately after the solitary house on the edge of the forest, we turn left into the pine forest. The forest path continues in a straight main direction. Eventually, we do not follow the path, but keep left along the same path uphill to the road. The footpath and cycle path leads us briefly to the right. At a sports facility, we cross the Euben-Bindlach road and continue in a straight line through the forest, which is mainly planted with pine trees, but also with spruce and small stands of beech, until we come to a paved road on the left at the Schupfenschlag allotment site. This brings us, quite steeply, to the outskirts of Bayreuth.

We follow the road to the right up to the Hohe Warte hospital, along the new entrance building, onto a paved forest path through the St. Georgen forest and turn left after meeting the Markgrafenweg (blue line). We continue downhill via the street "An der Bürgerreuth", Festspielhaus (public toilet), footpath through the Festspielpark, Bürgerreuther Straße, Bahnhofstraße and reach the train station after about half an hour.

From there 5 minutes downhill to Annecyplatz am Roten Main.

(signpost for the long-distance cycle paths, kiosk, public WC). Our Nortwaldweg ends here and we reach the Rotmainweg, which now leads to Creußen together with the Jakobusweg.