Local history hike around Emskirchen
Fancy a relaxing hike through rolling hills and small villages? Discover museums, historic churches and treat yourself to Franconian specialities at the "Rotes Herz" inn.
Markt Emskirchen
6 h
10 km
Emskirchen is a little off the beaten track of the tourist hotspots in Franconia. However, the relative remoteness and the location of the village in the valley basin of the Middle Aurach have their charm. Gentle hills, meadows, fields and ponds characterise the landscape. If you love solitary walks through nature, then this is the place for you. Numerous hiking trails have their starting point in Emskirchen.
This tour describes the so-called museum circular trail E3. The well-signposted route leads via Brunn and Wilhelmsdorf back to Emskirchen. In addition to old churches and some historic houses, there are also small, lovingly furnished museums to discover in the villages. There you can find out how people used to live and work in this area. However, you should definitely book in advance by telephone.
Emskirchen has a pretty town centre with a market square and town hall, St. Kilian's Church and the Hercules Fountain. You can take a look at these sights at the end of the circular route.
A hiking tour for families, nature lovers, culture vultures and explorers
Start and end station
Start station
Bhf. Emskirchen
3 tour steps
10 km / 6 Stunden
End station
Bhf. Emskirchen
Our tip: Please make sure to check your train connection and the expected capacity before you start your journey.
Schedule
Tour starts on Bhf. Emskirchen
Direction
Emskirchen railway station is located slightly above the town, which you leave heading north through the subway. You will initially end up in an industrial estate, but just a few hundred metres further on you will be immersed in the hilly meadow landscape.
The route takes you past the hamlet of Prackenhof and through small woods. You reach the romantic Emskirchen district of Weihermühle, although the mill is long gone. An ideal place for a picnic before heading up to Brunn Castle.
The castle, which is very old, can only be visited from the outside. Directly opposite is a round tower - the remains of an old moated castle.
You leave Brunn via Kirchstraße and then turn off in the direction of Wilhelmsdorf.
The map is visually optimized and not barrier-free.
Circle Museum Wilhelmsdorf
The tradition of making drawing instruments has existed in Wilhelmsdorf for 100 years. This prompted the municipality and the local history society to open a small special museum on the upper floor of the town hall in 1992, which presents numerous compasses with different functions from the period from 1800 to the present day and also their manufacture.
The special charm of the exhibition, however, lies in the anecdotal presentation by the museum guides. For example, it is said that "sitting on" was the best method of pressing on the glued-in lining material when making cases. This is said to have resulted in a particular demand for heavyweight personnel.
In another room, the history of the village is explained using photographs, documents and texts. It was founded in 1686 by Huguenots who had to flee France.
The museum is open from May to September on the 3rd Sunday of every month from 14:00 to 17:00 and by appointment.
Direction
Diagonally opposite the town hall is the Huguenot Church, which is also open on weekdays and can be visited.
You walk along the middle Aurach, which is surrounded by meadows, woods and fields. From a distance, you will notice the gigantic structure that crosses the Aurach valley just before Emskirchen.
The eleven metre wide, 40 metre high and more than 500 metre long prestressed concrete structure is a railway overpass on the Nuremberg-Würzburg line. The bridge was completed in 2016 after three years of construction.
Walking through the valley under the concrete giant, you will reach Emskirchen after just under half a kilometre.
The path to the local history museum takes you past the church, town hall and Hercules fountain as well as the "Rotes Herz" inn.
The map is visually optimized and not barrier-free.
Local history museum Emskirchen
Emskirchen and its surroundings were still predominantly characterised by agriculture in the 19th and until the middle of the 20th century. Visitors to the local history museum can find out how the inhabitants lived and worked back then.
The Heimatverein Emskirchen e.V. has been painstakingly collecting artefacts from early rural living culture as well as craft tools for decades and presenting them in the rooms of the historic building dating back to 1632.
The yellow-washed museum house is an eye-catcher in its own right. The association acquired and renovated it in the 1980s and keeps the history of the village alive with various exhibitions.
The inventory of an old pharmacy and a dentist's surgery from the 1950s are also on display. A cobbler's workshop and a zither workshop can also be visited in an extension.
The museum is open from April to October on the first Sunday of every month from 13:00 to 17:00 and admission is free.
Direction
If you want to round off your hike with a hearty meal or a sweet dessert, you have the opportunity to fulfil one - or both - of these wishes at the "Rotes Herz" inn.
The map is visually optimized and not barrier-free.
Red Heart Inn
The building is a restaurant and hotel guesthouse run by the Pometti family. Chef Aldo Pometti and his team prepare dishes from all regions of Italy, homemade pasta and risottos as well as vegetarian dishes.
The house speciality, however, is stone-baked pizzas in different variations. There is also a weekly changing menu. The dessert selection ranges from tartufo, tiramisu and panna cotta to Italian cream puffs with cream and chocolate sauce.
When the weather is fine, you can eat on the sun terrace, which borders directly on the Aurach river.
Tour ends on Bhf. Emskirchen
Direction
Well fortified, the last kilometre to the station via Wiesenweg and Bahnhofstraße is certainly only half as difficult.
The map is visually optimized and not barrier-free.
Tour map
The map is visually optimized and not barrier-free.
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