Mitwitzer Runde KC 34

This circular hiking trail, which takes us around Mitwitz, offers numerous sights along the way. It touches many villages, hamlets and individual hamlets, runs through valley landscapes, secluded forest sections and over open heights where there are wonderful views. The hiking trail from Häusles to Mitwitz divides this beautiful circular route. It is advisable to hike this trail in two sections

Details for the sections

From Mitwitz to Lochleithen (3.8 km)

Before the hike, we should look for the plaque in honor of Sir Edmund Lyons, a relative of the von Würtzburg family. The text lists his numerous high honors and decorations. The plaque also contains the motto of the Order of the Bath (TRIA JUNCTA IN UNO = THREE UNITED IN ONE) and the Lyons family motto (NOLI IRRITARE LEONES = Do not irritate/irritate a lion?).

We walk past the Kernschloss, over the Steinachbrücke bridge, through the Aumühle mill and continue along a pleasant path to Steinach. We walk along the Kirchsteig past the boundary stone towards Gestungshausen and over the railroad line to the left up to the heights. The initial, beautiful view of the vineyard, the Steinach valley and Mitwitz with the first heights of the Franconian Forest and Horb and Leutendorf on the horizon expands at the top into an impressive panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, the Franconian Forest and the Thuringian Forest.

We leave the path onto a well-maintained path that leads us past hedges on the heights. Immediately behind the boundary stone standing on a low hilltop, we turn left (straight ahead: Gestungshausen, Klausenquelle) and follow a path downhill to the former engine shed and station of the former (circular) railroad line (Coburg - Sonnefeld - Hofsteinach - Fürth am Berg - Neustadt - Coburg).

We continue past an old lime tree (natural monument), across the B 303 and the railroad track through Hof a. d. Steinach. We walk through the village, cross the tracks of the former Steinachtalbahn again, keep left and after about 100 meters we turn right at the Habelitz sawmill onto a field path. It leads us slightly uphill through the open fields to the nearby hamlet of Lochleithen.

From Lochleithen to Leutendorf (4.5 km)

We leave the hamlet at Berghof Doris and continue uphill towards the Hall (ridge) and see the 449 m high Kostberg on the right and the 410 m high, cone-shaped Gubel in front of us. We continue along the ridge, soon turning left at the edge of the forest and enjoying the beautiful view back to Mitwitz and the Steinachtal valley. A logging trail leads us up through the high forest through the Hall. Before the end of the forest, we turn left and walk along the slope of the Gubel on pleasant paths and trails through the forest until we reach a dirt track in the open. It leads us first to the right and then downhill in a left-hand bend.

On this section of the trail, the magnificent views outdo each other: to Banz Castle, the Steinach and Rodach valleys, the Main valley and the Kleiner and Großer Kordigast and to the right to the village of Schneckenlohe. At the old limestone quarry at the orchard meadow, we leave the path and turn right onto a soft field edge, which forms the boundary here, and hike downhill to a road near the new B 303. Before we reach Leutendorf parallel to the road, we see a railroad bridge on the left that crosses the Steinach from days gone by.

From Leutendorf to Häusles (4.4 km)

We cross the main road in the direction of Rotberg, keep right after leaving the village and walk straight ahead on the Rotberg access path uphill in the open until we reach the heights (view of the Gubel). At the top, it is worth taking a detour (100 m) to a panoramic view: Upper Main Valley, Rodach Valley (to the mouth of the Main), Steinach Valley, Franconian Jura in the background; Banz Castle, Staffelberg, Mannsgereuth, Trainau, Marktgraitz, Redwitz in the background.

We soon come to the two estates of Rotberg, keep left through a mixed forest until we come to a fork in the path after about 200 meters. We take the right-hand path in the forest up the slope until we come to a firm forest road again after around 150 meters, which we follow to the right. If we now turn sharply to the right again to walk almost in the opposite direction, we must pay close attention to the markings. Here, a unique view opens up through the trees over the Thuringian Forest and the Franconian Forest: Sonneberg on the horizon, Neuhaus-Schierschnitz to the right, Kaltenbrunn and Burggrub in the foreground to the right.

Walking on for about 100 m, we pass close to the memorial stone with a cross (detour: about 30 m), which commemorates Wolf the Mad, the eponymous legend set in Häusles. We first go straight ahead, then turn left into the forest and downhill again through a hollow path. We come out of the forest, walk through the meadows, along a mixed forest and soon reach the hamlet of Häusles with the Schäferstubn.

From Häusles to Bächlein (5.2 km)

We once again enjoy the view of Rotschreuth and the Heunischenburg and walk on a meadow path in the open to the forest and there on a near-natural forest path past a historic boundary stone, downhill to a forest road. We enjoy the beautiful view once again before the forest takes us in.

We walk along the paved forest road to the right to the B 303. We keep to the right, walk past the Black Lake (a natural monument separated from other lakes together with the adjoining moorland area), walk about 50 m (take care!) on the road, which we then cross to the left into the forest. When we emerge from the forest in front of the Mitwitz district of Neubau with its four houses, the view of Mitwitz, the Steinach valley and the vineyard opens up.

We cross the state road to the listed former estate of Schloss Mitwitz and the Lindenhain. We continue straight ahead and then cross the dam between the lower and upper mill ponds, cross the next junction straight ahead and after about 100 m have the opportunity to take a detour (200 m) to the Keilstöcks-Teiche biotope. The paved forest road leads us to the next crossroads, where we turn right to Bächlein with its country inn.

From Bächlein to Mitwitz (6.1 km)

We walk to the road and follow it to the left towards Neundorf and leave it again at the height of the last three houses to the right into the forest, where the pine trees continue to accompany us on the sandy ground. At the first crossroads, we cross the birch path leading to the right to the former border, and at the second crossroads we continue straight ahead through the pine and spruce forest in a left-hand bend to the Regina Lake nature reserve on the right of the path, one of the most valuable wetland biotopes in Upper Franconia. It is part of the extensive Mitwitzer Wustungen nature reserve. We entered it when it was newly built and will hike to the Breitensee lake on the outskirts of Mitwitz. Our path joins a forest path leading to Schwärzdorf.

We leave our hiking trail about 100 m to the right and come out of the forest onto the Schnitzers Wustung, with a wonderful view of the Steinach and Föritz valleys, Neundorf and Mitwitz. If we follow the detour to Schwärzdorf, we come to the birthplace of Prof. Karl-Heinrich Bauer in the village inn. He is the founder of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and was Rector of Heidelberg University for many years.

But we walk back the 100 m or so and turn right onto our path, which runs parallel to the Föritz, which flows into the Steinach at the moated castle. As we walk in an arc past the Gampertsteich pond, the forest opens up several times with beautiful views of the valley landscape and the surrounding villages. We come out of the forest, walk along a meadow path to the beginning of Neundorf, cross the road at the garage and follow a path along the Föritz that leads us directly to Mitwitz. It leads past rock cellars, is left by the Burgenweg, runs through a charming birch avenue, narrows and after the forest comes to a bridge over which several hiking trails lead.

We walk along the banks of the Breitensee (known for its carp farming) to the Breitenseeweg, which leads us to the B 303 into the center of Mitwitz. If we then walk along Freiherr-von-Würtzburg-Straße to the moated castle, we pass the old forester's lodge (junction with the B 303). However, we also pass the historic town center with its listed buildings (church, vicarage, the Häublein and Frankenbräu inns) and the Wasserschloss inn.

Note: If we follow the Häusles trail (KC 31) or the Heunischenburg trail (9) from Mitwitz to Häusles, the 24 km circular trail splits into two circular trails of 15 and 17 km in length.