LechErlebnisWeg, 5. Etappe: Roßhaupten - Füssen

After the crossing and the view into the valley as far as the lake, you walk past a campsite, then the path heads towards the Tegelberg and Säuling and comes to a sailing harbor on the Forggensee. Here you can walk along a section of the Via Claudia to the Roßhaupten bathing area until spring. The old Roman road also emerges from the largely drained lake in various other places until it is filled again by the Lech river.

A path leads to a Roman milestone with a rest area. From this promontory, around which you walk to Dietringen with its jetty and bathing bay, you have a wonderful view across the water to the Ammergau and Tannheim mountains. Next on the route is Osterreinen, with a campsite and boat harbor and a beautiful bathing beach. The hiking trail leads along the shore to the next steamer station, immediately after which you walk around Café Maria with its inviting guest garden. The path now leaves the lake and follows the Forggensee circular path around a bay with reeds, then follows the road to the Füssen Festival Theater, which opened with a musical about King Ludwig II. The romantically landscaped gardens extend to the shore, with Neuschwanstein Castle perched on its rocky outcrop opposite - a view that is a pleasure to enjoy from the restaurant terrace. Finally, a quiet footpath with views of the castle and mountains takes you into Füssen to Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz. You stroll through the old town, return to the banks of the Lech and reach the end point of the LechErlebnisWeges at the Lech Falls. Here, the Lech plunges into a narrow, deeply carved gorge. The Lechweg, a long-distance hiking trail with a European certificate, begins on the other bank and follows the river through Tyrol and Vorarlberg to its source at the Arlberg.

It makes sense to take another day or two to visit the royal castles and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings in nearby Hohenschwangau. Behind the Lech Falls, the Ziegelwies Forest Adventure Center has a 480-metre treetop walk. A boat trip on Lake Forggensee is also a great way to enjoy the beautiful landscape and views of the castles and mountains.

Author's tip: If your feet are already aching, you can also take the boat from Dietringen or Osterreinen to Füssen - including a fantastic Alpine backdrop.

Equipment:

Hiking without luggage

King service - just enjoy, no ballast. Your luggage will be transported to the hotel reserved for you by the tour operator. You can discover the magnificent Bavarian Alpine foothills without a care in the world. The LechErlebnisWeg is offered with 6 overnight stays. The package deals with accommodation, luggage transportation and hiking maps can be booked at:

Alpenland-Touristik, Postfach 101313, 86833 Landsberg a. Lech, Tel. 08191-308620, Fax 08191-4913, www.alpenlandtouristik.de, info@alpenlandtouristik.de

Further information and links:

Restaurants
Dietringen, Osterreinen, Rieden, Füssen

Accommodation in Rosshaupten
Hotel Kaufmann, Füssener Straße 44, Tel. 08367/91230
Haus am Wettebad, Wettenweg 4+6, Tel. 08367/631
Gästehaus Böck, Seeger Str. 42, Tel. 08367/250
Haus Mariner, An der Leiten, Tel. 08367/847
Pizzeria Taormina, Füssener Str., Tel. 08367/912050
Gasthaus Schwägele, Hauptstr, Tel. 08367/305
Haus Riedhofer, An der Leiten 20, Tel. 08367/264
Ferienhaus Walk, Weberweg 9, Tel. 08367/241
Ferienhaus Settele, Seegerstraße 14 b, Tel. 08367/240
Landhaus Klöck, Sameister 8a, Tel. 08367/913195

Accommodation in Rieden
Haus Bergland, Faulenseestr. 9, Tel. 08362/9117508
Gasthof Rössle, Lindenweg 2, Tel. 08362/9395395
Hostel Rieden, Osterreiner Str. 1, Tel. 0178/6037741
Haus Janda, August-Geier-Str. 5, Tel. 08362/5598
Haus Klöckner, Faulenseestraße 1, Tel. 08362/39151
Haus Bergblick, Bergblickstr. 9, Tel. 08362/922520
Ferienhaus Schnöllerhof, Seestr. 4, Tel. 08367/469

Accommodation in Osterreinen
Hotel Maria, Forggenseestr. 18, Tel. 08362/37000
Haus Sonnenlage & Campingplatz Magdalena, Bachtalstraße 10, Tel. 08362/4931
Radlerhof Forggensee, Forggenseestr. 1, Tel. 0178/4748803
Hotel Schwarzenbach, Dietringen 1, Tel. 08367/343
Haus Schweiger, Säulingstraße 4, Tel. 08362/921451

Accommodation in Füssen
FILSER Kurhotel, Säulingstr. 3, Tel. 08362/91250
Hotel Schlosskrone, Prinzregentenpl. 2-4, Tel. 08362/930180
Hotel Hirsch, K.-Maximilian-Pl. 7, Tel. 08362/93980
Luitpoldpark-Hotel, Bahnhofstr. 1-3, Tel. 08362/9040
Hotel Sommer, Weidachstr. 74, Tel. 08362/91470
Hotel Sonne, Prinzregentenpl. 1, 8, Tel. 08362/8000
Villa Toscana, V.-Freyberg-Str. 28, Tel. 08362/91370
Hotel "Zum Hechten", Ritterstr. 6, Tel. 08362/91600
Hotel Ludwigs, Kemptener Str. 23, Tel. 08362/91480
Gasthof "Bräustüberl", Rupprechtstr. 5, Tel. 08362/7843

Accommodation in Bad Faulenbach

Hotel Schweiger, Ländeweg 2, Tel. 08362/91400
Kurhotel Wiedemann, Am Anger 3, Tel. 08362/91300
Hotel Jakob garni, Schwärzerweg 6, Tel. 08362/91320
Gästehaus Sankt Ulrich, Alatseestr. 1, Tel. 08362/9000
Hotel Frühlingsgarten, Alatseestr. 8, Tel. 08362/91730
Ruchti's Hotel, Alatseestr. 38, Tel. 08362/91010
Ferienhotel Berger, Alatseestr. 26, Tel. 08362/91330

Info address
Tourist Information Füssen, Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz 1, 87629 Füssen, Tel. 08362/93850, tourismus@fuessen.de, www.fuessen.de

Weg description:

The last stage begins at the Tiefentalbrücke bridge. After crossing over and looking down into the valley to the lake, you walk past a campsite, then the trail heads towards the Tegelberg and Säuling and comes to a sailing harbor on the Forggensee. Here you can walk along a section of the Via Claudia to the Roßhaupten bathing area until spring. The old Roman road also emerges from the largely drained lake in various other places until it is filled again by the Lech river.

The Forggensee was created in 1950-54 as Barrage 1 near Roßhaupten. The 12 km long and up to 3 km wide lake serves as a head reservoir for the downstream power plants and is the largest reservoir in southern Bavaria with an area of around 16 square kilometers. Many farmsteads and hamlets sank, including Forggen, from which the lake got its name. Today, the expansive body of water is a leisure paradise in front of the high mountains.

A path leads to a Roman milestone with a rest area. From this promontory, around which it goes to Dietringen with its jetty and bathing bay, you have a wonderful view across the water to the Ammergau and Tannheim mountains. Next on the route is Osterreinen, with a campsite and boat harbor and a beautiful bathing beach. The hiking trail leads along the shore to the next steamer station, immediately after which you walk around Café Maria with its inviting garden.

Now the trail leaves the lake and follows the Forggensee circular trail around a bay covered in reeds, then along roads to the Füssen Festival Theater, which opened with a musical about King Ludwig II. The romantically designed gardens extend to the shore, with Neuschwanstein Castle perched on its rocky outcrop opposite - a view that is a pleasure to enjoy from the terrace of the restaurant.

Finally, the route follows a quiet footpath with views of the castle and mountains into Füssen to Kaiser-Maximilian-Platz. You stroll through the old town, return to the banks of the Lech and reach the end point of the LechErlebnisWeges at the Lech Falls. Here, the Lech plunges into a narrow, deeply carved gorge. The Lechweg, a long-distance hiking trail with a European certificate, begins on the other bank and follows the river through Tyrol and Vorarlberg to its headwaters on the Arlberg.

Füssen is considered one of the oldest settlements on the northern edge of the Alps and is full of sights that are best explored on a guided tour of the town. The High Castle occupies the site of a former Roman fort and was for a long time the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Augsburg; today it houses the State Gallery.

The Benedictine monastery of St. Mang was built around 840/850 from the missionary cell of St. Magnus. Magnificent baroque rooms have been preserved and the convent buildings house the museum of the town of Füssen. A special collection of historical plucked and stringed instruments by Füssen masters is a reminder of the cradle of European lute and violin making, after the first lute makers' guild was founded here in 1562. The oldest of its kind in Bavaria, the "Füssener Totentanz" from 1602, is preserved in the Annakapelle chapel.

It makes sense to take a day or two to visit the royal castles and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings in nearby Hohenschwangau. Behind the Lech Falls, the Ziegelwies Forest Adventure Center has a 480-metre treetop walk. A boat trip on Lake Forggensee is also attractive, where you can enjoy the beautiful landscape with views of the castles and mountains.

Hiking map of Pfaffenwinkel, scale 1:40,000, HW-Verlag, nominal fee EUR 1, available from the Pfaffenwinkel Tourist Office, www.pfaffen-winkel.de