The Burgenstrasse

One of the beautiful valleys of the Fränkische Schweiz


Christoph and family took us on a journey through the Fränkische Schweiz (Frankonian Switzerland) along the Burgenstrasse. The road winds through deeply forested hills and follows an idealic stream with gentle waterfalls and quiet pools. Yep, it is a little bit of heaven. Most remarkable, however, is that the apparent hobby of the medieval times seemed to be castle building. Around nearly every bend it seems the gentry built yet another castle. Some have been restored and are in use as residences or museums, others are ruins ravaged by time and salvaging. Coming from a largely castle deficit U.S., the Burgenstrasse is trip into fantasy land.

Our first stop took us through the quaint and beautiful town of Streitburg. The houses are traditional construction, well-cared for, and quite lovely. Like many of these small towns, there are Gasthofs (guest houses) which are like small hotels with a beer garden attached. One would not go far wrong to spend a month or so hopping around the Gastofs of each town for a month or so!

The Entrance to Streitburg Ruins

After driving up a steep hill we parked in a parking lot and walked behind a private residence to be greeted by the entrance to old castle The home owner has a lovely garden populated by....wait for it...... garden dwarves. O Tolkien my Tolkien! I fully expected Bilbo Baggins to pop out and ask me if I might have a bit of second breakfast on hand for wandering hobbit.



The Village of Streitburg


There is very little left of the old castle, but one can not help but be impressed with work that it must have taken to cut stones and lay them for so huge an enterprise. Myra told us that castles like Streitburg fell into disuse and the stones were salvaged by townsfolk to build homes far below. Recycling rules. The photo above is taken from the Streitburg ruins and is a castle across the valley. The castles were built close enough that they might be able to signal each other.


A bit late we went on to the Castle von Stauffenburg. You may recognize the name from the movie "Valkyrie" starring Tom Cruise. The family is very old and still resides in the Castle. The character from the movie never lived in the castle, but did stay there occasionally. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in the castle. The ancient rooms are very impressive as is the HUGE collection of weapons and armament from the middle ages through WWII. Pistols, swords, canon, pikes, rifles, bombs, uniforms, armor, and pennant from every age adorn the walls of the first three rooms.


We await our Guide at von Stauffenburg


von Stauffenburg Castle


The Courtyard

In the photograph above you will notice a small nook where the well is situated. The well is, of course, hand dug and took over 100 years to finish. It is 93 meters (305 feet) deep. At one point, the laborers encountered deadly gasses in the pit and had to light a log on one side of the hole to draw fresh air enough to continue working. The guide poured water into the well and it took a LONG TIME to hit the bottom.

The rest of the tour was equally fascinating. Suffice to say there are LOTS of antlers, boar hides, weapons, and stuffed birds. The gentry had a lot of time to pursue their favorite passion, hunting.


Our next stop took us to a Höhlenruine Reisenburg. The area is full of caves and beautiful rock formations. Jean, Christoph, Nika and the kids scrambled up a million steps to get the photos you see here. Myra and I wisely relaxed in the car below. My torn up knee will only tolerate so much.







Along the way we enjoyed the fantastic sites of castles everywhere. It was time for coffee and cake (a daily ritual) to avoid Myra and I revolting.


Another town, another castle


Another town, yet another castle


The Train

We finished our tour overlooking this incredible ruin. A small train, usually pulled by a steam engine winds its way along this valley picking up and dropping off hikers. Kids were hanging off the caboose and having a great time. Next time we come we will definitely ride the train.

The Burgenstrasse is an amazing area with activities for just about everyone. We saw kayakers, hikers, bikers riding down the valley on a dedicated trail, fly fishing and site seeing. All these activities are punctuated with nice little beer gardens serving excellent German beer at every turn. Not a bad way to spend the day.