From Winterhausen to Sommerhausen

From the railway station, turn left via Schützenstraße and Fuchsstadter Straße into Hohlweg.

Now always follow the markings with the yellow EU boat. After a slight incline, you reach the vantage point with the station "Kulturlandschaft Würfelleite".

At the "Mondguckerin" viewing platform, the change in the cultural landscape over the centuries is illuminated. Continue in the direction of Grossmannsdorf - with luck, you will meet a shepherd with his flock at the remains of a canteen of the Grossmannsdorf quarry.

The stonemason's path leads down to Goßmannsdorf in a romantic setting on both sides of the Schafbach stream and with an almost completely preserved village wall.

Shortly before leaving the village, we come to the former synagogue.

From 1510 until the spring of 1938, Goßmannsdorf had a Jewish religious community with a synagogue built in 1765, a community hall with classrooms and a ritual bath, the mikveh. The interior of the synagogue and the ritual objects were destroyed in 1938. Shortly afterwards, the congregation bought the building. Today, fragments of the synagogue at Zehnthofstraße 29 have been preserved and it is privately owned - converted for residential purposes. Some original parts of the walls, remains of walls and windows are still visible from the outside. The Jewish writings of the synagogue from the 16th to 19th centuries are now on permanent loan to the Ochsenfurt municipal archives.

The synagogue is privately owned and can only be visited from the outside.

Directly opposite the synagogue, at Kapellengasse 1, corner of Zehenthofstraße, stands the Kreuzkapelle - a Gothic jewel.

There is evidence of the Chapel of the Cross since 1451, but in the 17th century it was altered and refurbished. The chapel consists of a nave with a gable roof and a recessed choir with a three-sided end in the east. In the choir there are still parts of the original furnishings, such as the iconostasis made around 1400 and the Gothic choir stalls. Most of the furnishings, however, date from the Baroque period. The high altar with Jesus on the cross and Mary Magdalene was made around 1750, the two side altars, on the left with the image of Our Lady and on the right with St. Valentine, were made a little later in the Rococo period. On the floor there are three gravestones worth seeing from the years 1519 to 1707.

The key to the chapel is administered by the Düll family, Domherrenviertel 3a.

You now cross the Main. Heading uphill on the Sommerhausen Panorama Trail, you can enjoy the view over the Main.

Above Sommerhausen, turn off to the former "Residenzdorf" with castle at Hauptstraße 25.

In the centre of the village lies the impressive Sommerhausen Castle and Winery. The present manor house was built between 1546 and 1575. Above the entrance portal to the snail tower and the relief with the Limpurg and Rhine Count's coat of arms, you can probably see the image of Karl Schenk von Limpurg, the builder of the castle, who was married to Adelheid, the daughter of the Wild- und Reingraf Hans.

However, the winery was founded as early as 1435 by Schenk Konrad IV von Limpurg (1396-1482). As the "Kellerey" of the hereditary donors of the Holy Roman Empire, the coronation wines of German kings and emperors were produced here for centuries. The Steinmann family acquired the old castle estate in 1968 and renovated it true to the original. Today, Martin Steinmann is the 15th generation of the Steinmann family to run the estate. Around Sommerhausen, the wines of the winegrowing family grow on shell limestone soils, with a focus on the classic grape varieties Silvaner, Riesling and the Burgundy family. Wine lovers can purchase the fine wines in the castle, and when the weather is nice, the cosy tavern garden invites you to take a pleasant break.

Open in good weather: Thursdays 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sundays and public holidays 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

You cross the Main again and walk along the Mainlände, a recreational area on the river, in the direction of Mauritiusplatz.

We walk through Wehrweg past a charming ensemble of houses, including the hipped-roofed house of a 19th century merchant at Fährweg 3 and the two-storey half-timbered house from 1747 at Fährweg 14. We follow Wehrweg to Mauritiusplatz.

The Mauritius Church with Romanesque and Gothic elements was built around 1300 as the parish church of the village. No area of Winterhausen has been exposed to such great changes in its history as its old centre around Mauritiusplatz. Situated directly on the Main River, flanked by the parish church, rectory and schoolhouse, and unprotected as an episcopal property outside the town walls, it was particularly exposed to flooding and was abandoned in 1463. The parish rights were transferred to St. Nicholas Chapel, but the bells remained in the tower of St. Maurice's Church until 1737.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the former nave was converted into a single-storey, plastered residential building with a mansard crippled hipped roof. The vicarage became an inn; the name Zum Goldenen Löwen can still be found on the spacious new building. The former schoolhouse with stepped gable was built in 1493, but was abandoned in 1510 when the Kantorat was built near the town hall. The former Mauritius Church is currently being renovated and converted into a residential and office building.

From Mauritiusplatz, walk through the old town and then turn right along Hauptstraße to Rathausplatz.

The town hall square offers a beautiful backdrop with a view of the town hall and cantorate, guarded by the steeple of the elevated St. Nicholas Church. After the parish church and school were moved from Mauritiusplatz to the town hall, the new centre was built here. In 1738/39, the town hall was built in baroque style on the site of the previous building from 1558. The Kantorat (Kantorate) from 1510 with its neat half-timbered façade served as a replacement for the previous school building on Mauritiusplatz and housed two classrooms on the ground floor. In 1542, with the introduction of the Reformation, the church became Protestant.

Inside, St. Nicholas holds numerous treasures: a late Gothic carved altar from the school of the important Franconian sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, an octagonal baptismal font from 1571 and an 18th century confessional worth seeing.

Via Bucksweg a little way along the tracks you will reach the station again.