The Nibelungensteig is a hiking trail in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It traverses the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

, a hill range or '' Mittelgebirge'' located between the rivers Rhine and Main. The trail starts in Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) and ends in Freudenberg (Main). It is 130 kilometers long, and features elevation changes totaling 4,000 meters. The ''Nibelungensteig'' mostly follows natural paths. It is named for the legendary

Nibelungen The term Nibelung ( German) or Niflungr ( Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''nebel'', meaning mist. The ...

Waymark

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

History

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, around 90 kilometers were added to the first 40 kilometers of the ''Nibelungensteig''. The now 130 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.

Route

Three feeder paths lead from Worms, which is a central setting of the '' Nibelungensage''. The paths 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'' is divided into three legs that are between 12 and 15 kilometers long. The first leads from Zwingenberg (Bergstraße) over the Melibokus hill and the Felsberg hill. At the base of the Felsberg lies the ''Felsenmeer'' (“rock chaos” or “sea of rocks”) to Reichenbach. The second leg passes by the Hohenstein, a quartzite rock popular with rock climbers, and Lindenfels. From there the third leg leads to one of the so-called Siegfried's spring (''Siegfriedbrunnen''), near Grasellenbach. Out of all the Siegfried's springs in the Odenwald, at which

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

was supposedly assassinated by

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

, the one near Grasellenbach is the best known. Another of the springs is the ''Zittenfeldener Quelle'' (spring of Zittenfeld).Der Nibelungensteig
last accessed on 15 May 2012. The extension of the ''Nibelungensteig'' from 2010 leads through towns like Amorbach and Miltenberg. It also passes landmarks like the , the , and the ''Ebersberger Felsenmeer'' (rock chaos of Ebersberg). Furthermore, the trail passes the ''Quellkirche'' (wellspring church), a former pilgrimage site in Schöllenbach, and a pilgrimage church in Hesselbach (Hesseneck), which is dedicated to St. Luzia and St. Odilia. Other notable sites along the route include: Burg Wildenberg Fenster 1

* Wildenberg Castle, where Wolfram von Eschenbach supposedly wrote his knight epic '' Parzival'' * the so-called ''Dreiländereck'' in Hesseneck where the three German states Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse meet * Amorbach Abbey in the Baroque town of Amorbach * at

Bürgstadt Bürgstadt is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community) of Erftal. Bürgsta ...

, the ', whose furniture includes the so-called ''Bilderbibel'' (picture bible) and * the ''Centgrafenkapelle'' (tithe counts’ chapel), a ruined building which was never finished as a consequence of the Thirty Years' War *

Nibelungensteig-Marathon

The Nibelungensteig-Marathon is a so-called

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

, i.e. its distance of 53 kilometers is longer than the usual distance for marathons. The marathon has been taking place once a year, mostly in the fall, since 2008. The runners have to overcome approximately 1,400 meters elevation gain.„Nibelungensteig“-Marathon am 1. Oktober
retrieved 7 May 2012.

References

External links