Historical Karlstadt

Karlstadt railway station is directly adjacent to the old town. Walk straight ahead a few steps into Neue Bahnhofstraße and turn left into the pretty green area by the town wall. Stroll through this until you reach Alte Bahnhofstraße.

You are now entering the centre of the old town. You will notice the so-called "Arche" on your right. This pretty half-timbered house from the 16th century used to be the German School of Karlstadt and is now used by the Order of the Knights Templar as a monastery and guest house.

You probably don't feel like resting at the start of your hike and you have probably already spotted your first destination: the parish church of St Andrew.

The historic town hall dominates and adorns the market square in the centre of the old town. Built in 1422 as a council, merchant and dance house, it epitomises the archetype of a German town hall. The market hall on the ground floor has three naves and the citizens' hall on the first floor is still the largest of its kind in Franconia.

The façade with its stepped gable facing the market square gives the otherwise rather plain exterior its unmistakable character. The double flight of steps originally provided the only access to the upper hall.

The little bell tower of the town hall clock crowns the ridge. Above it, in a niche, stands the "Schwedenmännle", created in 1718 by the Karlstadt sculptor Kilian Schüßler. Five times a day, it sounds its lansquenet tune "From the beret the feather sways".
It can be heard every even hour from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the Old Town.

The view across the market square down to the Main Gate with the ruins of Karlsburg Castle in the background is a popular photo motif for good reason. For you, it is also a preview of the literal highlight of today's tour.

You cross the market square, walk towards the river and pass through the gate.

The Main is now directly in front of you and Karlsburg Castle appears on the opposite side of the Main.

You walk along the left bank of the Main until you come to a large, cobbled square with the mill tower and the historic Rossmühle mill just before the subway through the town wall.

The old horse mill behind the south-west corner of the town wall has been rediscovered thanks to the redevelopment of the old town centre. Horses once ensured that the mill was set in motion and kept going in a ground floor vault made of quarry stone. This meant that even in times of war, when the people of Karlstadt were unable to have their grain ground in Mühlbach on the other side of the Main, they had the flour they so urgently needed.

Since its abandonment in the middle of the 17th century, the vaults of this gin mill have formed the foundation for a house garden. New construction work as part of the renovation of the old town enabled the walled-up mill room to be uncovered and restored in 1991.

The wooden mill was reconstructed by volunteers between 1998 and 2004 and can be set in motion by visitors themselves during a tour - due to a lack of suitable horses.

On your last stage in the old town, leave the Mühlturm behind you and follow Untere Spitalgasse towards Hauptstraße to another tower, your fourth stop: the Oberer Torturm. The Türmerstube inside the tower is accessible as part of a guided tour of the town.

The Upper Gate Tower forms the southern entrance to the town and was the seat of the town tower until the beginning of our century. It is popularly known as the Cat Tower. This name goes back to a legend, according to which the last tower keeper survived a fall from the penultimate floor onto a large pile of brushwood completely unscathed - like a cat.

The construction of the Upper Gate Tower - incidentally one of the tallest in Franconia - dates back to around 1350. During the renovation of the old town in 1990/1991, it was repainted with its 16th century colours. On the land side is the large coat of arms of Prince-Bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt.

To the side, next to the modern pedestrian passageway, a crucifixion relief from the 15th century is walled in. It was once the last stop for those condemned to death on their way to the place of execution in the gateway as a so-called confession altar.

After the tour of Karlstadt's old town centre, you now set off on the hiking stages of today's tour.

You cross the Main on the Old Main Bridge. On the other bank, a small flight of steps leads you down from the bridge on the right.

Follow the signs until you reach the Burgweg, which takes you through a species-rich high forest and past the Schlössle, a villa built in 1910, to the highlight of your short circular tour: the ruins of Karlsburg Castle.