Return to the home page Home         Emergency Services Directory for Schweinfurt Emergency Services        Contact a member of Team Schweinfurt Contact
1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry 630th MP Company 172nd Support Battalion 18th Engineer Brigade 12th Chemical Company 9th Engineer Battalion 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery 15th Engineer Battalion 72nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion 7th Theatre Tactical Signal Brigade

Directorate of Family & MWR » Army Community Service » Information & Referral »

Driving Tours

Romantic Road (Scenic Drive)

The Romantic Road is the name given to highway B 19 from Würzburg all the way to Fuessen on the Austrian border.  You can drive to a specific town for a day trip, or spend several days traveling the entire route.  The Romantic Road takes you through a dozens of towns and villages with medieval walls, castles, cathedrals and palaces.  Wherever you stop you’ll discover something stunning, charming or romantic.  Some highlights include the Würzburg Residence Palace , the Roman remains of Augsburg , and Neuschwanstein, the dream castle of King Ludwig II.  An unexpected highlight is to be found in Nördlingen’s Ries Krater, the place where American astronauts trained for their moon walk.

Directions:

Follow B 19 from Würzburg into the directions of Tauberbischofsheim.  The Romantic Road stretches along B 19 all the way to its end in Fuessen.

Website: http://www.romanticroad.de/

Kloster Banz

Some of the most beautiful jewels of German Baroque are only 100 km away.  Begin this day tour by taking A 70 toward Bamberg .  Take the Hallstadt exit and stay on the priority road through Hallstadt.  Follow the road to Breitengriessbach.  From there take B 173 and follow the sign toward Lichtenfels.  Exit at Staffelstein Ost. Stay on the priority road and go straight at the light until you see the sign “Kloster Banz”.   The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.  In the Baroque period (17th century), the Banz Monastery was rebuilt as we see it today.  The church’s foundation stone was laid in 1710 but it wasn’t finished until 1770.  With its beautiful stuccowork, the frescoes and altars at this church make it one of the finest works of German Baroque architecture.

As you go through Staffelstein, you will see some great framework houses.  One is the birth house of Adam Riese, famous for his books on mathematic.  He was born here in 1492 and you can see his birth house to your left as you go through the light.  The house is in its original state and is now a guesthouse.

Vierzehnheiligen

To go to Vierzehnheiligen, drive back down the hill and take a left to Staffelstein.  Stay on the priority road until you see the sign Vierzehnheiligen. Follow the signs and it will take you up the hill after your turn.  Vierzehnheiligen is one of Germany ’s famous pilgrimage churches.  It is a pilgrimage destination because of several miraculous visions. Vierzehnheiligen is a magnificent piece of architecture, mixing Baroque and Rococo styles.  When you leave this church, you will be able to buy souvenirs and candles at the many souvenir stands around the church.  A favorite restaurant is Gasthaus Goldener Hirsch, right across from the Cathedral.  It’s the oldest building in the area, built in 1458 and offers great food at reasonable prices.

To return back to Schweinfurt , drive back down the hill.  Follow the signs to Bamberg and then to Schweinfurt .

Website:  http://www.Staffelstein.de has limited information, in German only.

Die Fränkische Schweiz Scenic Drive (Little Switzerland)

Directions to Little Switzerland:

Take A 70 toward Bamberg and then A 73 toward Nürnberg.  Take the Forchheim Süd exit (you will see Mc Donald’s on the left ).  Follow this road and the signs towards “Fränkische Schweiz”.  They will lead you to the three following sights:

Göbweinstein

Göbweinstein, located on a hilltop, is famous for its beautiful pilgrimage church, which is a wonderful example of Baroque architecture and one of the most beautiful churches in Franconia .  It is built on a restored castle, first built in the 11th century.  You can also enjoy an impressive view from this lookout point, 500 feet above the valley.

Website:  http://www.Goessweinstein.de

Pottenstein Fortress

This preserved fortress perched high on a cliff overlooking the Wiessent Valley in Little Switzerland.  It is open May to October from 1000 to 1700. Tours are offered for a small admission fee.

Website:  http://www.pottenstein.de and select English

Teufelshöhle Pottenstein (Devil’s Cave)

This is the most famous of many caves in the area, with stalagmites and many other ancient rock formations. There’s a café as well as several souvenir shops.  If you have small children, note that you cannot take strollers on the cave tour.

Website:  http://www.pottenstein.de and select “Zur Teufelshöhle” (this section is only in German)

Pottenstein and the local area

The city of Pottenstein with its nearly 1.500 inhabitants, is a nationally acclaimed climatic health-resort.  Tennis courts, Golf courses, “ Schöngrund Lake ” with row and pedal boat rental, the "summer bobsled slide" and the "Felsen Pool" (between the rocks) are just a few highlights of recreational activities offered.

Feengrotte in Saalfeld in Thuringia Scenic Drive (Passing through Lauscha & Neustadt)

Saalfeld is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most colorful grotto in the world. Thuringia was behind the Iron Curtain until 1989 and is unknown to most Americans.  If you decide to visit the Feengrotte, take the route described below.  It takes you through picturesque villages and shopping areas famous for glass and crystal.

Start this trip on A 70 to Bamberg and exit at B 303 to Coburg .  Entering Coburg , follow the sign to Erfurt (B 4).  Then go towards Rödental, where you will pass the Göbel Factory with a large Hummel figurine in front.  At the furniture store “Möbel Hofmann,” take a left and stay on the main street toward Sonneberg.  You will pass Neustadt, which is famous for its glass factories and a year round Christmas Market.  Follow the sign to Sonneberg and in Sonneberg turn right at the sign for Kronach. 

Now watch for signs to Lauscha and Steinach.  You’ll drive through Lauscha, which is a wonderful town with a glass museum (Glasmuseum) and toy factory (Spielwarenfabrik).  Lauscha is also famous for glassware and Christmas ornaments made of glass and wood.  The Christmas Market there is larger than Käthe Wohlfahrt’s in Rothenburg, and the shops are open on Sundays.

Continue on to Stadt Neuhaus (also famous for its glass shops) and follow the priority road toward Schmiedefeld on B 281.  Continue on B 281 to Saalfeld.  In Saalfeld, look for the sign to Feengrotte on your right.  The Feengrotte is well worth a visit.

To go back to Schweinfurt , return to the main road and then turn left toward Neuhaus.  Follow 281 to Eisfeld, and then follow signs to Hildburghausen on 81.  From Hildburghausen follow the sign to Königshofen, where you will see signs to Schweinfurt .

http://www.Saalfeld.de/ click “tourist-info” and then “Feengrotten” (German only)

http://www.lauscha.de click “tourist information” (German only)

http://www.dieglasstrasse.de  has information and directions to the many glass factories and shops in the area (German only)

Rhön Mountains Scenic Drive

This Day Trip is about 185 kilometers.  Take B 303 through Euerbach to A 7.  Take A 7 toward Kassel .  Exit at Bad Brückenau/Wildflecken.  Follow the sign to Bischofsheim/Wildflecken.  Stay on the main road until you see the sign Oberwildflecken/ Kreuzberg.  Turn right at the priority road and follow the sign to Kreuzberg.  Almost up the hill, you’ll have to park your car in the designated area. (There is a small fee for parking).

You are now in the middle of a nature park, which is famous for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.  Follow the walkway up the hill.  If you walk up the stairwell to your left, you will come to the three famous crosses. These were erected in the Middle Ages and gave the hill the name Kreuzberg (Cross-Mountain).  If you follow the walkway rather than going up the stairs, you’ll come to a beautiful church built in 1700.  There are also several restaurants and beer gardens here. Try the beer, which is still brewed by the monks of the Kreuzberg Abbey and is famous with beer drinkers throughout Germany .  There are also plenty of souvenir stands in this area.

To continue the tour, walk back down the hill and drive toward Bischofsheim, a quaint little town famous for their woodcarving school.  Follow B 279 to Gersfeld.  At the yield sign, go left toward Fulda .

Turn right at the sign for Wasserkuppe/Abtsroda and follow the road until you see the sign Wasserkuppe to your left.  The Wasserkuppe is a favorite spot for European tourists.  There is a paragliding and hang gliding school there.  You can purchase tickets to take a tour over the Rhön Mountain in gliders.  If you walk past the two big containers that are behind the souvenir shops and beer gardens, you will come to one of Hitler’s monuments, still fully preserved with a Third Reich Eagle on top. A main attraction at the Wasserkuppe is the "summer bobsled slide", the “Rhönbob”.

 

Website: http://www.sommerrodelbahnen-wasserkuppe.de/

Leaving the Wasserkuppe, go back down the hill and turn left toward Tann.  Go through Ehrenberg to Bischofsheim.  Before you enter Bischofsheim, take a right toward Bad Neustadt/Fulda and at the yield sign take a left toward Bad Neustadt.  In Bad Neustadt follow the sign to Würzburg.  You are now on B 19, which will take you back to Schweinfurt. Website: http://www.rhoen.de  select “English” and then “Tourism”