Tobogganing without snow

Where Kronach and Haßlach flow together, you cross the rivers on two bridges to reach the first highlight of your hike, the Plessi Tower "Waterfire".

The Plessi Tower is the world's first video installation for outdoor use. Fabrizio Plessi created the sculpture, which bears the name "Waterfire". Plessi is world-famous for developing video sculpture as a new art form. The tower was inaugurated on 21 June 2002 and marked the entrance to the State Garden Show from afar. Until 2015, 30 built-in tube televisions created the illusion of flowing fire or fiery water. It was not possible to switch everything to LED until 2022. Exactly 20 years after it was first put into operation, it was set in motion for a second time and has been shining with its original vibrancy ever since. The installation is intended to unite opposites such as water and fire, without one destroying the other and causing it to go out.

After crossing the River Rodach, you pass an old residential and craft centre. A grinding and cutting mill, the Hammermühle, was operated here at the end of the 18th century. Today there is a caravan site and a school hostel here. The route that follows is characterised by slightly hilly forest paths. But watch out! Not only black and red deer have their habitat here, but also sporty mountain bikers feel at home in this terrain.

In 1880, only a large pile of stones served as a lookout point on the Kaltbucher Knock. The wooden tower that was then erected was destroyed by a storm. The Franconian Forest Association, founded in 1911, collected donations and organised the construction of the 22-metre-high viewing tower. It was inaugurated in 1913 and has since been thoroughly renovated. The parapet and the orientation boards on the viewing platform, which is 18 metres high, are also new. 88 steps lead up to the top.

Where the beautiful mixed forest offers a wide view of the landscape and fields, your path leads past an old boundary stone. The small hill with the clearing island of Kaltbuch also has a history. You have already looked down from the Cranach Tower onto the former residential area, which is now a wasteland. As recently as 1987, it was inhabited by a single person. No more than 16 people have lived and worked here since the 18th century, practising agriculture and forestry.

In Fröschbrunna, young and old can go tobogganing all year round in dry weather. To get to the appropriate height of 250 metres, visitors are pulled up in the bobsleighs using a drag lift. The view of Kronach's old town is already a pleasure during the ride. And then there's the descent - fun for the whole family! Once you've done it a few times, you're a pro on the bobsleigh. If you've hiked and tobogganed a lot, you're sure to be hungry. The "Fröschbrunna" inn offers a good selection of homemade dishes made from seasonal and regional produce.

Opening hours of the toboggan run:
from the Easter holidays until the end of October: daily from 10:00 - at least 17:00 (in dry weather)
from the beginning of November until Easter: Saturday & Sunday from 13:00 - 16:00

Opening hours pub
Daily except Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 am to 9 pm

And once again you cross a river confluence, this time the Haßlach flows into the Rodach. You can watch the whole thing at your leisure from the Rodach bridge. You then walk northwards along the banks of the Haßlach, approaching Kronach's Landesgartenschaupark from the south. Part of it is already the labyrinth on the left-hand side of the river meadow and the district educational garden on the right-hand side. If you want to get up high again, you can venture up the climbing tower of the German Alpine Club, which offers hikers an external staircase to the viewing platform. Nearby is the Seebühne with the HöBi-Café Seebühne. The café (tel. 09261 5049860) is open daily until 8 pm from Easter to October, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the cold season.

When the State Garden Show opened in Kronach in 2002, the town had successfully completed the largest clean-up of contaminated sites in the history of Bavaria. Where the rivers Haßlach and Kronach join the Rodach, there was previously an unsightly and heavily polluted industrial estate.

Twenty years ago, a spacious 14-hectare park was created on this site against the backdrop of the Rosenberg fortress. Today, the Landesgartenschaupark attracts people of all ages. Sports enthusiasts can let off steam at the adventure and water playground, volleyball court, skate park and climbing tower. Those who want to unwind can take a look at the sculptures, meet up at the lakeside stage or take a stroll through the educational garden.

The way back takes you past the Plessi Tower again and from here to Kronach railway station, where your train will take you home in comfort.