Between Altmühl, Wieseth and Mönchswald

After a short walk from the railway station, you can hire bikes for this tour. But please book your bikes in advance.

From the station it is approx. 750 metres on foot via Bahnhofstraße. At the end of Bahnhofstraße, turn left into Fichtenstraße and you will reach the bike hire shop.

Bicycles, e-bikes, children's bikes and some child seats can be hired from Rudolf Krüger. Bicycles and e-bikes can also be repaired here.

Now we cycle to our first destination, which is still in Muhr am See.

Culture and nature come together at the AIZ in Muhr a.See. Since 2004, the Altmühlsee Festival has been held on the open-air stage every year from the end of June to the end of July. The audience can look forward to family theatre, modern interpretations of classical texts and plays that are critical of the times.

In the environmental centre of the Bavarian Bird Protection Association (LBV), a permanent multimedia exhibition provides information about the special habitat of the Altmühlsee. Many bird species, some of which are highly endangered, can be observed on the lake and the bird island. An overview of current sightings can be found on the Internet. The LBV offers guided tours of the bird island nature reserve on the Altmühlsee. (Tel. 09831 4820)

Now you're probably curious to see the Altmühlsee for yourself. To do so, cross the Altmühl and cycle between the river and the Nesselbach tributary to the western shore, which is also very close to the 200-hectare Vogelinsel nature reserve. On this section, you follow the "Tore-Türme-Schlösser" circular cycle route. It leads along the lakeshore and then along the Altmühlzuleiter, which you cross at the beer garden near Mörsach.

You cycle towards Arberg, where the cycle path leads to "die Heide", one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Franconia. From here, the route continues to Burgstallmühle, where you leave the Tore-Türme-Schlösser cycle path and cross the Wieseth to Voggendorf.

Now you cycle through a peaceful landscape of fields, forests and meadows, past a frog pond to Großenried and over the Altmühl to Kleinried.

You are now back on the Tore-Türme-Schlösser cycle route. Another kilometre along the edge of the forest and you will reach your second destination: the moated castle in a small village with the beautiful name of Sommersdorf.

The moated castle in Sommersdorf looks back on more than 600 years of history. It was built around 1400 for the lords of Sommersdorf. In the following centuries, extensions were added, such as the outbuildings, upper storeys in half-timbered construction and a farmyard. The corner tower was given a canopy roof in 1722 and at the end of the 19th century the old drawbridge was replaced by a stone bridge.

The humanist Albrecht von Eyb was born in the moated castle in 1420. 130 years later, in 1550, Wolf von Crailsheim zu Neuhaus acquired the castle. The von Crailsheims were one of the most important imperial knightly families in Franconia, and their descendants still live in and look after the moated castle today, which they converted into holiday flats in parts from the 1990s onwards.

From Sommersdorf, you cycle along the Tore-Türme-Schlösser cycle path via Irrebach to Weidenbach. Cycle westwards through open fields. In Triesdorf, the cycle path then takes you to your third destination: the White Castle.

The Margraves of Ansbach adorned their summer residence in Weidenbach-Triesdorf with numerous magnificent Baroque and Rococo buildings, including the White Palace. It was built in 1682 by extending the old castle estate and was extended several times up until 1776. The two-winged complex includes a simple main building with a hipped roof and stepped tower, a front garden with a fountain, a main garden to the north and an ice cellar in the nearby state forest.

The White Castle served the Margraves of Ansbach as a hunting lodge for the numerous hunting parties in Triesdorf. Today, it is used for domestic science and nutrition, as the Bavarian State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has housed parts of the State Academy for Agriculture in the castle.

The next stage takes you westwards on the Tore-Türme-Schlösser cycle path and northwards from Merkendorf.

After Weidenbach-Triesdorf, which is characterised by Baroque and Rococo, Wolframs-Eschenbach awaits you with a townscape shaped by the Gothic and Renaissance eras. For over 600 years, the Teutonic Order ruled over the small town, which was then still called Obereschenbach.

Around the time when the Counts of Wertheim handed the town over to the Roman Catholic Order, Eschenbach's most famous son died and the town was renamed Wolframs-Eschenbach in his honour in 1917.

Wolfram von Eschenbach is the most important German-language poet of the High Middle Ages. He enriched Middle German literature with some of its most important lyrical poems and epic works. First and foremost is his main work Parzival, which is the first German-language work to take up the motif of the Holy Grail. Richard Wagner used it as the source for his opera Parsifal. The medieval poet also appears as a character in his opera Tannhäuser.

A museum is dedicated to Wolfram von Eschenbach in his place of origin. Scenes and motifs from his great works "Parzival" and "Willehalm" as well as from his songs are visualised here. The result is an unusual documentation of the work, thoughts and personality of a poet. The tour through this museum is designed as an enjoyable journey through literature.

Head out of the town in a southerly direction, cycling through the slightly hilly Mönchswald forest and along the Nesselbach stream until you arrive back at your starting point in Muhr am See.

If you fancy a bite to eat, you have the opportunity to savour a special treat at the beginning and end of this last stage. The "Alte Vogtei" (Hauptstraße 21, 91639 Wolframs-Eschenbach, tel. 09875 968880) in the former seat of the Teutonic Knights in Wolframs-Eschenbach serves world Franconian cuisine made from regional products with a variety of international influences.

In the traditional Franconian inn "Zum Hirschen" in Muhr am See, you can expect Franconian specialities with seasonal products from the region around the Altmühlsee and from the Altmühltal (Ansbacher Straße 4, 91735 Muhr am See, Tel. 09831 3940).