Europäische Fernwanderwege E3 und E6

At the start of the hiking trail, we get to know the moated castle and the Upper Castle, where the Lords of Würtzburg once resided. From 1575 to 1922, the market town of Mitwitz, first mentioned in a document in 1266 (but probably much older), was ruled by this family. In 1575 the Lower Castle and in 1596 the Upper Castle came to the Lords of Würtzburg, who as free imperial knights were directly subordinate to the Emperor. After they died out, their son-in-law Baron von Cramer-Klett became heir to the entire estate. For centuries, the history of the village and that of the estate were remarkably closely linked. The moated castle has been owned by the district of Kronach since 2019.

We reach the end of the village via the Breitenseeweg and walk along a pleasant, sandy path together with the Burgenweg (blue cross), first along a rustic valley, past large ponds and fields, then through sparse pine forests, before we reach the hamlet surrounded by forest and the Bächlein country inn on a meadow path through beautifully landscaped meadows. The sandy ground continues to accompany us as we walk along a field to the edge of the forest and reach Kaltenbrunn through the almost pure pine forest. In Kaltenbrunn, we have to cross the St 2708 and walk through the village, which we leave in a northerly direction.

Above the quarry, the trail now leads leisurely uphill on well-maintained forest paths in a northerly direction until we turn east at Hasenberg. We then hike on various, always comfortable forest paths through pure pine forest until we can enjoy a beautiful view of the wide Haßlachtal valley with the villages of Rottelsdorf, Gundelsdorf, Glosberg and the Frankenwald heights that rise afterwards. We pass through the few estates of Rottelsdorf and take the road to the right downhill through the fields to the nearby road. The hamlet lies at the foot of the 476-metre-high Kienberg.

We walk along the little-used road towards Gundelsdorf. The village, 330 m above sea level, was first mentioned in a document in 1401. It takes quite a long time to reach the upper end of the village from the start, parallel to the B 85. After crossing the main road, we reach Glosberg with its pilgrimage church, which was built between 1730 and 1736 and is well worth seeing, on a driveway lined by a one-sided avenue across the Haßlach valley, parallel to the Glosberger Graben.

The pilgrimage has been documented since 1530. It flourished again in 1727 because the statue of the Virgin Mary is said to have wept bloody tears. This increased the number of pilgrims, so that masses had to be said several times a day, even though the church was not yet recognized as a place of pilgrimage. The Franciscans of Kronach looked after the pilgrims. Every day, they had to walk the approximately 5 km from Kronach to Glosberg in the Haßlachtal valley along the Franciscan path.

We walk along the FrankenwaldSteig trail to the upper end of the village, where we leave it again and follow the wide forest path to the left. The hiking trails meet again at the forest chapel, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a shepherd boy in 1844. Construction of the chapel, which was consecrated in 1884, began in 1848. The idyllically situated chapel invites you to linger and enjoy some quiet contemplation. From the crossroads in front of the chapel, we follow the forest path steadily up the Rauschenberg and reach the Trebesberg cross with its magnificent views of the wooded heights of the Franconian Forest.

It is located near the hamlet of Trebesberg, with evidence of deep faith and three houses. Hiking along a cul-de-sac to the left, we separate from the FrankenwaldSteig trail at the nearby Einzel Schafhut. We then walk along the narrow road and enjoy the magnificent view of the Franconian Forest from the hamlet of Steingraben at 577 m above sea level. As we continue, the forest takes us in again. Walking downhill on pleasant paths, we finally reach the village of Gifting, situated in the narrow, wooded valley of the Teuschnitz, 376 m above sea level, with numerous old martyrdoms and other evidence of Christian spirit. Particularly worth seeing is the crucifixion group, which we find a little off the main road at the lower end of the village. We cross the village, the road and the Teuschnitz valley on an old stone arch bridge. The Teuschnitz has its source in the upper part of the Teuschnitz floodplain near Teuschnitz and flows into the Kremnitz not far from here. We walk up the valley on the little-used road on the right bank of the former Kremnitz raft stream before following the valley and turning left onto a dirt track, which we also follow up the valley for a long time.

We change sides of the valley on raft footbridges and continue with a beautiful view of the few houses of Geschwend (on the eastern slope) until we reach a ford at the Waldeck of the parish forest. Immediately next to the Kremnitz, we continue on the same side to the next ford and then follow a meadow path to the new, elaborately built Pfarrsteg, a former raft footbridge. We cross the footbridge and walk along a pleasant meadow path across the fairly wide valley floor across to the Iron Bridge, a former raft footbridge. We cross the Kremnitz and follow it directly along its course, then turn right towards the middle of the valley and continue until we reach the Dobersteg.

The Dober, another raft stream (in the Thuringian source area: the Dobra, in Franconian: the Dober), rises between Brennersgrün and the Wetzstein and forms the Bavarian-Thuringian border for around 2.5 km. Its waters flow into the Kremnitz after the Gehrenwaldspitze. After the Dobersteg we soon come to the end (or the beginning) of the 7 km long Gehrenwald, which separates the Kremnitz valley from that of the Dober. The Gehrenwald is a 342-hectare forest area that the Bamberg Prince-Bishop von Rotenhahn donated to the town of Teuschnitz in 1390.

Here, at the top of the Gehrenwald, we have crossed the former raft stream for the third time on raft footbridges, which lie high above the stream bed due to the rafting. We walk up the valley at the edge of the forest and cross the valley to the other side on another footbridge built by volunteers from the Effelter Horticultural Association. We continue up the valley until we come to the Effeltermühle road on the left at the bottom of the valley. We follow it and, after the sewage treatment plant, walk left into the forest on a path that is not clearly visible. We walk in a straight main direction on natural, not always clearly recognizable paths through the woods until we come to a farm track. It leads us downhill with the markings of the Fronbauern path until just before the edge of the forest. There we turn right and walk along a pleasant path in the forest, initially quite steep, then more leisurely uphill to the Effelter-Tschirn road. We follow it to the left for a short distance and then turn right into a large wooded area. Our path leads past a forest hut and a little later crosses the upper valley floor of the young Grümpel.

It rises on the plateau south of Tschirn, flows through unspoiled, pristine valley landscapes and joins the Kremnitz at the Fehnenschneidmühle (south of Wilhelmsthal) to form the Kronach. In 1223 it can be found under the name Crummen Cranacha. The second name was dropped and it remained Crummen, a winding, crooked course.

We hike through sections of forest with stately stands of trees uphill for a while, cross the Tschirn-Hubertushöhe road and hike slightly up and down in many windy bends on various forest paths until we cross the Tschirner Ködel on a footbridge in a valley depression. The former Floßbach, which has its source in the Hohe Tanne forest area near the Rennsteig, forms the Nurner Ködel together with the Nordhalbener Ködel. As the main supplier, it brings a maximum (according to Otto Knopf) of 500 liters of water per second into the reservoir of the dam. The Nordhalbener Ködel originates from the Grumbach and Rosenbaumbach streams, which join to form the Nordhalbener Ködel at the now disappeared Zweiwassermühle mill on the Bavarian-Thuringian border. 100 m up the valley, we cross the untouched valley and follow a forest path, keeping sharply to the right twice, until we reach the Reviersträßlein, a straight, almost flat and very long forest road. We continue straight ahead on various paths through the forest until we finally descend quite steeply, the last few meters together with the Seenweg, into the valley of the Nordhalbener Ködel and thus to the site of the former Fichteraschneidmühle.

The 200-year-old cutting mill, once a popular excursion destination and cozy stop for hikers, burned down in 1971 for unknown reasons and could not be rebuilt due to the Ködel dam (water protection area).

We cross the unspoilt, deeply incised valley floor and the Nordhalbener Ködel and hike, first along a steep path, then turning right up a forest path through a section of forest with mighty spruces, finally turning right into the open and to the first houses at the ski lift and the main road of Nordhalben.

The state-approved resort is located on the Franconian Forest High Road on a ridge between the Rodach and the Nordhalbener Ködel, close to the Ködel dam, at an altitude of 400 to 674 m. The castle hill offers a beautiful view of the Rodach valley. Historic buildings, martyrdoms, wayside shrines, chapels and sandstone pillars can be seen in the village and its surroundings. Between 1146 and 1154, the castle in the northern forest must have been built on a hill as a refuge for the bishop's subjects, as seen from Bamberg. The castle is first mentioned in 1154, and Nordhalden is first mentioned in a document in 1160.

On the road towards Mauthaus, we turn left before the parking lot of the Nordwaldhalle and walk on to the hamlet of Regberg and then straight downhill on a forest path to Stoffelsmühle. We walk briefly along the road towards Geroldsgrün, turn right and cross the Ölsnitz and the valley on a footbridge. It rises at an altitude of 655 m in Gerlaser Forst, takes on the waters of the Langenbach and Rothmaiselbach streams and flows into the (Zahme) Rodach at the Neumühle mill. We now hike up a short, but fairly steep, comfortable hunter's trail in the forest until we reach a forest path. We now walk along this slope path not far from the valley with some views of the valley floor, which is partly covered with butterbur, to the left until after about 700 meters the first forest path branches off at an acute angle to the right. Now we hike steadily upwards in the forest along a pleasant path with fine cover. As the altitude increases, there are more and more views of a deeply cut forest valley, the Stoffelsmühle mill and, for a while, Nordhalben. Just there, we take a sharp left onto another forest path, which we only follow very briefly. Then we turn right onto a barely visible path that leads us quite steeply uphill in the forest until it joins a comfortable, natural path, which we follow for a long time until we cross the Seenweg. Now it is not too far uphill to the slate table at a crossroads. We continue along the road that leads to the Lotharheil slate mine. It's well worth a detour and a visit!

The Lotharheil slate mine with its 35-hectare slate deposit is the only one of the once richly blessed slate mines in the Schiefer-Frankenwald that still remains. Of the more than 1000 slate mines that once existed, there are only three left in the Rhineland. In 1857, the mine was opened by Lothar von Faber for slate production. Since 1904, the slate deposit has belonged to the Teichmann family as a former hereditary fief of the Bavarian king.

We leave the road leading to the slate mine and continue left until we reach the refuge at Hopperle's Kohlstatt (formerly Kohlstatt) and the Pfeifer memorial stone on a spider trail in the forest.

Pfeifer was chairman of the OG Hof from 1898 to 1945; he rendered outstanding services to the development of hiking trails and tourism in Dürrenwaid. Descending to the right, we reach the Two Brothers, two beech trees planted in 1748, at a small stream.

We continue along the slope path along the Weißengrundbach stream downhill to the road in the Langenautal valley and enjoy the pleasant view of the surrounding countryside. 500 m along the road to the left, we come to the former Langenau forester's lodge, which has fallen into disrepair and is a listed building, and to the Max Marien fountain, which has been included in the spa facilities of the Bad Steben state spa since 1938.

In the immediate vicinity: the Eichendorff fountain, the Kämmleinsfelsen, the Burgstein, the non-accessible Rauhberg cave (also known as the Alexander von Humboldt cave) and the forester's lodge, which unfortunately has not been renovated any further due to the strict requirements of monument protection. The healing waters already enjoyed a good reputation in the 17th century. In 1851, King Max and Queen Marie of Bavaria visited Langenau. The spring was named after them at the festive baptism in 1852. Since 1908, it has been owned by the spa administration in Bad Steben.

From there, we hike steadily uphill on comfortable, natural paths, cross a forest path and continue straight ahead via a spider trail to the Geroldsgrün-Wolfersgrün road. We cross the road and walk along a forest path to a hunter's trail and follow it steadily downhill with a wonderful view of the mighty forest slopes (the Schnaidberg with the transmission mast) to the beautiful Lamitz valley at the foot of the Schlossberg, which rises 131 m from the Lamitz valley and on whose summit there are still traces of the former Hohenrod castle ruins. The Lamitz has its source 1 km south of Geroldgrün, flows through the 8 km long, quiet Lamitzgrund and shortly afterwards flows into the Wild Rodach at Schnappenhammer. We walk briefly up the valley, then turn right and walk up the slope on a comfortable forest path to a spider trail to the Schlossberg. It is worth climbing up the 150-metre-long rocky path to the hilltop of the Schlossberg, which slopes down on all sides, 150 meters above the Lamitz valley.

The hiking trail continues uphill to the road leading to Schnaid, which we follow briefly to the right and then walk downhill on a natural path to the left to the site where probably the mightiest tree in the Franconian Forest, the grandfather, a venerable, 350-year-old silver fir, once stood. In 1918, it was broken off by a storm at a height of 3 meters. Passing the Thiemitz spring, a tributary of the Wild Rodach, and the decaying remains of the Little Grandfather, a once barren spruce standing next to a mighty beech tree, we follow a long slope path through a forest with many beech trees, turn downhill twice and reach the village of Thiemitz on forest paths. On the edge of the settlement, the Frankenwaldverein runs the last coal mine in the Franconian Forest. Even though the charcoal kiln is not in operation, you can learn about the old craft from the information boards.

At the former Zum Forsthaus restaurant, we cross the Thiemitzbächlein stream, walk uphill on natural paths and finally follow the road to Sorg, 630 m above sea level. Continue along the road for a short distance, then turn right into the forest and follow steps and a forest path through a short section of forest and then a field path across the road (Straßdorf-Bernstein) to the village of Meierhof, which lies in a spring hollow. We walk downhill through the fields (views!) and the forest to the B 173. We cross the road (be careful!), but immediately turn left and walk parallel to the main road along the edge of the forest, then turn right into the forest and uphill to the heights (views!) and the building yard of Schwarzenbach a.Wald. The town with its 42 districts, the heart of the Franconian Forest, lies at the foot of the Döbraberg. Hiking, cycling and skiing are all on offer.

The town is certainly older than its first documentary mention from 1388 attests. In Josef-Witt-Straße, close to the road to Döbra, we leave the town and reach the summit of the Döbraberg, the highest mountain in the Franconian Forest (794 m), after a final, short and steep ascent on field and forest paths. It is crowned by the 18 m high Prinz-Luitpold tower, built in 1902. Its predecessor was a 17 m high wooden tower with a protective roof over the viewing platform, built in 1887 by the Frankenwald section of the German-Austrian Alpine Club. As we leave the Döbraberg in an easterly direction downhill in the forest, we soon enjoy the beautiful view of the Vogtland, the Fichtelgebirge and the town of Helmbrechts in the foreground, our next destination. We cross the road at the hikers' parking lot, walk along the edge of the forest and downhill on a pleasant path at Waldeck to a forest path, which we cross to a second path and follow to the right until we come to a forest path that leads us downhill to the left over a dip and further over the road leading to the Bischofsmühle. First on a path, then on various forest trails, we walk in a wide semicircle over the Rauhenberg (706 m, a mountain cone made of pebble slate) to the road leading to Helmbrechts and with it to the nearby Einzel Rauhenberg with the inn and a typical weaver's cottage next to it. We leave the road to Helmbrechts at the outgoing left-hand bend and walk in the forest over a narrow valley to a forest road, cross it and walk on forest paths and natural forest trails through various forest formations to the charming Lehstenbach valley. We cross the stream and valley and hike uphill in the forest, then on a heavily grassed meadow path uphill to Kleinschwarzenbach, where two thatched weavers' houses are reminiscent of the heyday of hand weaving.

At the end of the village, we continue along the footpath and cycle path next to the road to the church in the town of Helmbrechts, situated on the north-western edge of the Münchberg gneiss plateau between 600 and 700 m above sea level. The town, which was first mentioned in 1232 (to the Helmbrecht Hof), developed into the closet of the world, which is still documented today by the Upper Franconian Textile Museum. Past the museum, we reach the traffic circle in Münchberger Straße and walk out of town past the shopping market to the left, following the signs for the Webersteig, one of the many paths used by hand weavers to bring their products to Hof. With a beautiful view of the Selbitz valley landscape, we walk towards the forest and further uphill to the road and with it to the left into the nearby Edlendorf village.

Edlendorf and Günthersdorf are twin villages separated by the Edlendorf stream (also known as Erlenbach). On 13.02.: Commemoration of the battle between Edlendorf and Günthersdorf (=..... brawl). Here we encounter the Franconian Mountain Trail, which has been certified as a "Hikeable Germany Quality Trail" and accompanies us again and again until after Laubersreuth.

From here, the "7 villages" are also not far away. They were once one of the seven free villages whose inhabitants had to guard the Stammbach Konradsreuth section of the important old Nuremberg to Leipzig trade route. The Siebendörfer or United Villages, as they are also known, first mentioned in 1323, once included Almbranz, Jehsen, Laubersreuth, Meierhof, Querenbach and Ölschnitz as well as the main village of Ahornberg. More recent research places its origins as early as the time of Henry III (1039 - 1056). In return, the inhabitants enjoyed tax benefits and exemption from military service.

We walk straight on through the village, follow the road for a short distance and then turn right at the fire station. We walk along a land consolidation path to the heights and then with beautiful open views towards the forest. At the beginning of the forest, we turn left and then walk steadily on a soft meadow path along the edge of the forest for a long time until we reach Waldeck. We turn right and walk uphill in light high forest to the road. We cross the road to a forest path, which we immediately leave again and walk uphill to the right on a natural forest path. Our hiking trail leads along pleasant paths through the Schwarzholz forest area until we reach our familiar road again. We follow it to the left to the nearby excursion restaurant Schwarzholzwinkel. Schwarzholz can probably be interpreted as a border forest, as black and white were once used to designate borders. It would then be the border between the former Radenzgau in the west and the Regnitzland in the northeast.

We cross the road straight ahead, pass the scattered settlement of Rabenreuth, hike through the meadow to the forest and turn right into the forest after around 100 meters. There we immediately turn left and continue slightly downhill parallel to the nearby road. Shortly after the forest ends on the right, we turn left back onto the path and continue, finally on a local road, to nearby Laubersreuth, which in the Middle Ages was one of the Siebendörfer villages first mentioned in documents in 1323. They had to secure the pass road between Stammbach and Konradsreuth.

We walk past the inn, turn left and pass through the highway underpass. Shortly afterwards, we separate from the Franconian Mountain Trail at the fork and walk straight ahead through varied meadows across the narrow valley of the Herrnreuthbach stream to the forest. Through woods and meadows, with a view of the tower on the Rohrbühl (war memorial), we come to a farmhouse just before the first houses of Schlegel, a district of Münchberg. After the farmhouse, we turn right and walk along a meadow path across the ground to the Münchberg sports center. On the sidewalk we even reach the Schützenhaus of the former district town of Münchberg, where the Fichtelgebirgsverein takes care of these two long-distance hiking trails (3+6).

The next section of the E 3+6 trail leads through the Münchberg gneiss plateau (gneiss = feldspar, quartz and mica), which stretches 15 km from Bad Berneck to Hof.