W11: Frankenhöhe–Lindleinsee–Steinbachtal

4:35 h 243 hm 239 hm 15.6 km Moderate

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

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The loop trail leads us up to the Frankenhöhe to the so-called “Lug ins Land,” where a sweeping view of the city, all the way into the Hohenlohe region, awaits us.

The trail leads north along the edge of the hillside through mixed forest. It then descends to the bird sanctuary at the Lindlein Lakes and into the wild and romantic Saubach Valley, and from there back to the city.

The trail starts at the market square and leads past the Ratstrinkstube (tourist information office) on the right toward Georgengasse. Here we turn right and walk directly toward the White Tower. Through the gate, we enter Galgengasse, which we follow to the Galgen Gate or Würzburg Gate. We walk through the gate on the sidewalk on the left side of the street and see the remains of the old city moat on the left. We cross the street ahead of us, walk past the old linden tree, and follow the street to the traffic-light intersection, which we cross straight ahead. We walk along the sidewalk on the left side of Schweinsdorfer Straße, past the fire station and THW, until we reach Königsberger Weg. Here, we cross Schweinsdorfer Straße and turn diagonally left onto Weidleinsweg, which leads us out of town to a railroad crossing. Here, we turn left onto a paved dirt road heading toward the Frankenhöhe, passing the runway of the Rothenburg airfield until we reach the connecting road to Schweinsdorf, where we turn right onto the parallel dirt road. The path leads under the highway. Immediately afterward, our path veers left downhill toward the Schafhof, which today houses a horse and dog training school. Now we head steeply uphill to the left, through nutrient-poor grasslands up the Schafsteige trail, to the “Lug ins Land.” After the final steep ascent, a bench awaits us. We then pass a picnic area and continue along the edge of the slope through a beautiful beech and mixed forest. The initially narrow path becomes a forest road and, after one kilometer, turns back into a trail, which can be quite overgrown in the summer. We come to a forest road, which we follow to the left for 200 meters, then turn left again just before the source of the Schweinsbach, onto a steep ravine path along the Schweinsbachklinge. The trail crosses a forest road and we arrive at a meadow, where our route leads us to the left along the edge of the forest. We come to a dirt road, which we follow to the highway underpass; we cross it to reach the paved dirt road leading to Schweinsdorf. We continue along the village street, lined with its beautifully restored old half-timbered houses, to the Schweinsdorf train station. After the railroad crossing, a small paved road begins across open fields; we follow it—along with the Blaukreuzweg—for about 900 meters up to a small hill above the Großer Lindleinsee, then turn left onto a smaller dirt road. We continue to follow the trail markers along a narrow path through dense shrubbery. To catch a glimpse of the Großer Lindleinsee, we follow Path 10 to the left for 100 m at its junction. 

Together with the Franconian Way of St. James, we now continue to follow the W11 trail markers along the Kleiner Lindleinsee to State Road St 2419. The trail crosses the state road (caution!) and we arrive at the Chausseehaus. We turn left at the Chausseehaus, walk briefly along the road, and then immediately turn right onto a dirt road. Turning right again, our Trail 11 follows a narrow path together with the Way of St. James through the wild and romantic Saubach Valley to the old stone bridge in the Steinbach Valley (see also Alternative Route 2). Before the bridge, the trail turns left and climbs steeply uphill to the Steffeleinsbrunnen. The paved Gattenhofer Weg continues uphill toward town, past an expiatory cross to the outskirts of town. At Paul-Finkler-Straße, we turn right to the roundabout, then left onto Ernst-Geißendörfer-Straße. We follow the street to the traffic lights on Würzburger Straße. Now take the sidewalk along Würzburger Straße toward the city, past the Turmseelein, whose bridge we pass in a wide arc. This former outpost was built around 1400 under Heinrich Toppler; it featured a tower with a drawbridge and was protected on both sides by an artificial pond. We follow the sidewalk in a right-hand curve to the Galgentor gate into the city, walk straight through Galgengasse, past the White Tower, and down Georgengasse to finally reach the market square .

  • Ascent: 243 hm

  • Descent: 239 hm

  • Length of the tour: 15.6 km

  • Highest point: 512 m

  • Difference: 152 hm

  • Lowest point: 360 m

Difficulty

Moderate

Panoramic view

Moderate

Seasonal suitability

suitable weather dependent not suitable unknown

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Features trail

Circular route

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