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Bavarian & Franconian Castle Fortnight
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Slow travel route through Germany
Castles
You ride the castle belt of Bavaria from Aichach's medieval market at the Wittelsbach family seat north to Leitheim's baroque Donau-Ries schloss, then into Franconian Switzerland at Kirchahorn, the pilgrimage hills above Scheßlitz near Bamberg, and Ahorn's moated Wasserschloss in Coburg country.
Duration
9 days
Stops
5
Best time
Late spring to early autumn — open castle hours, long hiking days
Stops on the Route
Aichach
Germany
Small Bavarian market town northeast of Augsburg, birthplace of the Wittelsbach dynasty and home to the ruins of the castle that launched one of Europe's most powerful royal houses.
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Leitheim
Germany
Tiny Danube hamlet in Bavarian Swabia with a superb Baroque castle directly above the river, now a spa hotel on the Romantic Road and gateway to the Altmühl Nature Park.
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Kirchahorn
Germany
Tiny Franconian village in a forested valley of Franconian Switzerland, home to Burg Rabenstein — a medieval castle hotel with a limestone cave, falconry and beer garden.
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Scheßlitz
Germany
Small Upper Franconian town beneath the Giechburg castle ruins, surrounded by the rolling hills of Franconian Switzerland and remarkably home to five working breweries.
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Ahorn
Germany
Quiet Franconian village near Coburg with a compact 16th-century castle that served as an administrative centre, set in gently rolling agricultural landscape.
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Route Map
Each numbered stop connected in order along the journey
Highlights
- •Aichach's medieval market and Wittelsbach heritage
- •Baroque Schloss Leitheim overlooking the Donau-Ries
- •Franconian Switzerland castle rocks around Kirchahorn
- •Pilgrimage Jurassic hills above Scheßlitz near Bamberg
- •Moated Wasserschloss and Coburg country at Ahorn
