Discover Gerolfingen: Hesselberg Trail and Church

Exploring the Hesselberg Trail

The Hesselberg Trail passes the Wilhelmsstein on the Hesselberg. It also introduces hikers to the mountain’s nature, history and geology, and leads to its most beautiful spots. The Gerolfingen bathing pond is another distinctive point along the local route. This lets you plan around a trail that takes in both the mountain and places in Gerolfingen.

The walking route from the car park by the warehouse is suitable for pushchairs. This is a practical point of reference when planning your holiday days with a pushchair. The route description identifies the starting point in town and the bathing pond as landmarks, without requiring you to plan for a particular walking time.

St. John’s Church in Aufkirchen

St. John’s Church, dating from 1514, stands in Aufkirchen, a district of Gerolfingen. It is visible from far away and features a Baroque altar and one of the oldest organs in Bavaria. Its construction date, altar and organ give the church its own historical and cultural character. The church is a striking landmark in Aufkirchen even from the outside; visiting the interior is not necessary.

These local attractions can help you choose a holiday apartment in Gerolfingen: if you want to spend your days mainly hiking the Hesselberg Trail, the route is the main attraction; if you are interested in historic architecture, the highly visible church offers a different focus. You can also include both interests in your holiday plans.

More experiences in the wider Ansbach travel destination

In the wider Ansbach travel destination, the Frankenhöhe Nature Park offers a broad perspective on the landscape. It covers around 1,100 square kilometres and lies within the districts of Ansbach and Neustadt a.d. Aisch–Bad Windsheim, as well as the independent city of Ansbach. The nature park is also the source area for the Altmühl, Fränkische Rezat and Zenn rivers. Information on hiking and cycling routes, as well as ranger tours, adds to the opportunities for local recreation.

A literary alternative is the Literature Trail of Franconia in Wolframs-Eschenbach. The 2.2-kilometre, accessible circular trail runs around the town fortifications. Fifteen information boards feature authors from the Middle Ages to the present day whose works focus on Franconia. The route, its length and the information boards combine a walk with literary history.

The Löhe and History Trail in Neuendettelsau focuses on the 19th century and the period when pastor Wilhelm Löhe worked there. Its stops lead through Neuendettelsau and to the churches in Reuth and Wernsbach; each stop has an information board. This gives the trail a different focus from the Literature Trail: it centres on a specific historical figure and the places associated with his work.

The museums in the wider Ansbach travel destination also cover a range of topics. The “wiegen & messen” (weighing and measuring) museum in Königshofen displays more than 4,000 exhibits, including historic scales and weights, measuring rods, folding rulers and containers for measuring grain. The German Brush and Broom Museum in Bechhofen a.d. Heide explores household tools as well as specialised brushes and paintbrushes from the craft and industrial sectors. At the LIMESEUM in Wittelshofen, the focus is on the World Heritage Site of the Limes; it is the district’s central museum on this subject.

The cloister in Feuchtwangen and the Löhe and History Trail offer further cultural experiences. Since 1949, the Romanesque cloister has served as a venue for the Feuchtwangen Cloister Plays; its arcades form an open-air theatre space. The Löhe and History Trail links its stops in a journey through the 19th century. This gives you a range of themes to choose from when planning your holiday: nature and geology, literature, crafts, history or theatre architecture.

The Krummweiher pond, southeast of Königshofen a.d. Heide, is another option for an excursion in the wider Ansbach travel destination. From the Dorfstraße bus stop, the pond is about a 15- to 20-minute walk away. The approximate walking time can help you plan your day if you are considering a visit to the Krummweiher.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Ornbau, Wettringen, Petersaurach, Mönchsroth, Aurach, Unterschwaningen, Buch Am Wald, Gebsattel.

Go to the overview of the wider travel destination: Ansbach.