FrankenwaldSteig Etappe 7: Kulmbach-Stadtsteinach

Look back and experience something new, admire what you have already achieved and discover new horizons. Kulmbach's old town and Plassenburg Castle invite you to linger and stroll. The view of the town from above: let go, shed your burdens, let your gaze wander.

We walk along the flood plain of the White Main towards the east. At Pörbitscher Weg, we cross the bridge and walk under the B289 to cross the railroad line after another 200 m. After the "Pörbitscher Weg" parking lot, we turn right into the Mainpark and cross it. At the Dr.-Stammberger-Halle, we keep left and walk around it to the east. We soon reach EKU-Platz (central parking lot), leave it on the right and continue straight ahead until we finally turn left into Langgasse and reach the market square. Our route leads around the town hall and across the Obere Stadt into Rentamtsgässchen. We follow this to the Langheimer Hof, which we circle around to turn right into the street "Röthleinsberg". A path leads us further uphill to Obere Buchgasse, which soon joins the Festungsweg. We follow this uphill, reach the gate of Plassenburg Castle and cross the castle in an easterly direction. We follow this uphill, reach the gate of Plassenburg Castle and cross the castle in an easterly direction.

Behind Plassenburg Castle, our path branches off to the left and runs down the slope for a long time until we reach the Buchhaus, a former detached house on the edge of the Main Valley. At the Buchhaus, we follow a narrow path that leads us to a footbridge. Here we cross the White Main and walk towards the B 289. When we reach the cycle path, we follow it to the left. After approx. 700 m, we come to a crossroads next to the railroad line. We cross the tracks and continue straight ahead to reach the district of Aichig. Here we meet the Baumgartener-Weg (KU 43) for the first time. We walk uphill through Aichig, say goodbye to KU 43 for the time being and leave the village via a tree-lined path to the north.

Walking downhill again, we follow our path to Grundhaus, where we cross the Kesselbach stream to hike back up the other slope to Eggenreuth. On the road, we turn right and then immediately turn left again at the next opportunity. The paved farm track heads west and we soon come to a crossroads, which we follow briefly to the left, but turn right again after a few meters.

We approach Oberpurbach along the edge of the forest, where we meet the Baumgartener Weg (KU 43) again.

At the end of the village, we turn right and leave the road to the right of a large barn. Once in the forest, we continue uphill and finally reach the parking lot at the Kulmbach airfield. We bypass the airfield on the eastern side and continue north to reach Neufang. There is a beautiful view of the Franconian line and the Franconian Forest.

The Neufang individual farm is now a large equestrian farm, which we leave in an easterly direction via the access road, turning half-left onto a field path 350 m after the end of the village. We soon come to a small road again, which we follow to the left. The village of Baumgarten is already ahead of us, but after the first house we turn half right and circle the village as the KU 43 leaves us. The Heckenweg (blue diagonal) now accompanies us to the end of the stage, and its name is no coincidence. We head north through the hedgerow landscape on the shell limestone and soon come across the Bergfeld path (KU 32) and from now on head east. With its numerous hedgerows, the Bergfeld between Baumgarten and Stadtsteinach offers welcome nesting and sheltering opportunities for birds and other field dwellers.

We follow the Lehentaler Weg in the village until we reach Knollenstraße, which we follow to the right until we reach the B 303 (Kulmbacher Straße) at the Schübel brewery (brewery tours on request). This is the location of the Stadtsteinach town museum, which shows the history of the former district town (only open at weekends). We walk uphill along this road and, passing the baroque Catholic parish church of St. Michael, soon reach the market square, our stage destination.The romantic Steinachtal valley with the impressive Steinachklamm gorge (stage 10), which is accessible via numerous hiking trails, is well worth seeing. The Nordeck castle ruins are located at the entrance to the valley and illustrate the medieval history of the town of Stadtsteinach.