Nibelungensteig

The Nibelungensteig is a hiking trail in the Odenwald, a mountain range in the southern part of Hesse, Germany.

The trail starts in Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) and ends in Freudenberg (Main). However, it can be hiked in both directions. The trail is 124 kilometers long, and overcomes 4,000 meters of altitude. The Nibelungensteig leads mostly over naturally made paths.

The Nibelungensteig is labeled along the entire trail with a red “N” on a white background.

In 2007 the Odenwaldklub was instructed to create a new hiking trail, the Nibelungensteig. The first 40 kilometers of the trail lead from Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) to Grasellenbach (Odenwald). That first section is put together out of local loop trails and was officially opened in October, 2008.

In April 2010, 84 kilometers were added to the first 40 kilometers of the Nibelungensteig. The now 124 kilometers make up the complete trail, leading from Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) to Freudenberg (Main).

In January 2012, the Nibelungensteig was certified as “Qualitätsweg Wanderbares Deutschland” (“Quality Walking in Germany”) by the German Mountain and Walking Clubs Association.

Three feeder paths lead from the Nibelungenstadt Worms, which belongs thematically to one of the most important locations of the Nibelungensage. The paths then lead through the Hessian Ried to the Nibelungensteig. The three feeder paths include two biking routes (the biking route “north” and the biking route “south”), and one hiking trail.

The first section of the Nibelungensteig was divided into three legs that are between 12 and 15 kilometers long. The first leads from Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) over the Melibokus Mountain and the Felsberg Mountain. At the base of the Felsberg lies the “Felsenmeer” (“rock chaos” or “sea of rocks”) to Reichenbach. When hiking the second leg one passes by the Hohenstein, a quartzite rock on which many people climb, and Lindenfels, a town known as the “pearl of the Odenwald”. From there the third part leads to one of the fountains of Siegfried („Siegfriedbrunnen“), near Grasellenbach. Out of all the fountains of Siegfried in the Odenwald, on which Siegfried von Hagen was supposedly assassinated by Tronje, the one near Grasellenbach is the most famous. Another of the fountains is the „Zittenfeldener Quelle” (spring of Zittenfeld).

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Wikipedia