Floßherren-Weg

On this hike, we get to know the "real", the "deep" Franconian Forest, the Franconian Forest of the raftsmen. We can feel it as we hike up the steep forest slopes and cross or follow the former rafting streams in deeply carved valleys. Everywhere along the way and in the villages, we come across relics of the former rafting industry and evidence of the deep faith of the people of this region. We pass through wide, quiet forests and are reminded of days gone by in former rafting villages, when the raftsmen carried out their hard and dangerous work for centuries. The hike also leads over open heights with beautiful views over the vast sea of forests of our Franconian Forest home.

The destination of the hike is the pilgrimage church in Glosberg, which also expresses the deep piety of the raftsmen and the people of this region.

Rafting Trail 21 km

a) From Steinwiesen to Wilhelmsthal 10 km

The starting point is the lower end of the long, recognized resort of Steinwiesen (350 - 650 m above sea level), first mentioned as "Steinige Wiesen" in 1323, at the parking lot of the Upper Rodach Valley tourist information office. In this town, which was one of the main rafting villages, historical buildings and the parish church of St. Maria, a former pilgrimage church, are worth seeing.

We walk along the road towards Neufang, cross the old rafting stream and the valley at the end of the village and walk uphill on a slope path close to the valley to the Leitschmühle, which we reach on a path to the left downhill over the Leitsch. We walk downhill to the left again, along the factory premises to the road and uphill. At the bend, we walk straight ahead for a long time on a near-natural path in the Plösengrund and finally turn right up a "real" Frankenwald hill quite steeply. At the top, we hike with beautiful views through the fields to Neufang, 588 m above sea level between Leitsch and Remschlitz, where the Catholic St. Laurentius Church invites us to take a quiet break; it can look back on a long history.

Passing the bus shelter, we reach the end of the village, then on a farm track through the fields and on comfortable forest paths down into the Remschlitz valley. Two more steep climbs take us over hill and dale up to the road (Steinberg-Birnbaum). We cross it diagonally to the right to a narrow, unbypassable cul-de-sac, which we follow past the Steffahof farm with beautiful views of Wilhelmsthal and the surrounding countryside into the Grümpel valley.

Before reaching the Grümpel bridge, however, we turn sharp left, walk briefly uphill on a meadow path to Waldeck and then walk on a forest path parallel to and close to the Grümpel and the road for a good kilometer through the forest until we reach the road again just before the town sign. Here we enjoy the beautiful view of the picturesque, stepped Wilhelmsthal on the southern slope of the Eichsberg with the church on top. The vacation resort was one of the main points of rafting and the Schanzenbinderei (Schanzenbinderweg: Wilhelmsthal-Schwarzenstein).

Chapels, crosses and shrines along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the population. From the heights, there are sweeping panoramic views of the densely wooded surroundings as far as the Fichtelgebirge, Staffelberg, Banzberge, Veste Coburg and Thüringer Land.

b) From Wilhelmsthal over two valleys to Glosberg 11 km

In Wilhelmsthal, we walk past the Hauptmann inn and briefly up the main road, turn left into the forest on Birkenweg and hike uphill on natural paths. At the top of the ridge, we turn right and follow the forest path straight ahead. The bark beetle has also struck around Wilhelmsthal and so there is a beautiful view of the mountain village and the Grümpel and Kronachtal valleys for a long time. When we come to a tarmac farm track, we follow it to the left up to the heights to a facility with an information board and a wonderful view of the Franconian Forest.

We continue straight ahead through the meadows, then walk downhill for quite a long time before we come to a hunter's trail (watch out for the entrance!), which descends quite steeply to the right into the narrow, forest-lined Teuschnitz valley. We cross the former raft stream on a raft footbridge and arrive in the elongated church village (St. Joseph's Catholic Church) of Gifting.
Below the village, which is surrounded by many richly decorated martyres, the Teuschnitz flows into the Kremnitz, whose waters later form the Kronach at the Fehnenschneidmühle mill with the waters of the Grümpel.

We walk straight ahead over the old stone bridge and the road and continue straight ahead on a field and forest path up to the Größauer wayside cross.
We turn left and walk on a pleasant forest path with the FrankenwaldSteig, initially quite steep, then moderately ascending for a long time straight ahead to the heights, past the single Eichelberg (on the right) to the single Schafhut. From here, we reach the Trebesberg crossroads on the cul-de-sac, where we can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the Franconian Forest after hiking in the tranquillity of the secluded forest. In Trebesberg, which has three estates, wayside shrines, a picture box (in a fir tree) and beautiful chapels in the surrounding area bear witness to the faith of the people.

Without taking a detour, we turn right towards the forest and hike downhill through varied forest stands. After about one kilometer, we turn left at a spider trail to the forest chapel built in 1848 and linger briefly in this idyllic place. We walk past the grave of an unknown soldier, then follow the Way of the Cross very steeply downhill to the pilgrimage site of Glosberg in the wide valley floor of the Haßlach to the pilgrimage church of St. Maria with its slate-covered onion dome, which is well worth seeing. The raftsmen and raft lords would invite us to a quiet retreat, to marvel in awe at God's wonderful creation and to pray briefly in the pilgrimage church, which is well worth seeing.

Those who want to avoid the very beautiful, but also very steep descent on the Way of the Cross to Glosberg must walk back briefly from the chapel to the forest path and then follow it downhill on the European long-distance hiking trail (blue X) to the pilgrimage site.