To castles, streams and pickle hunters

The round tour starts at the station.

There is bicycle parking in the immediate vicinity of the station.

From here it is only a stone's throw to the Tourist Information with e-bike rental. The short 600-metre walk also takes you relaxed through the city park to Marktredwitz's market square.

The Tourist Information Marktredwitz offers a special service:an e-bike rental for all those who want to explore the town and the hilly surroundings by bike. From April to October, 17'' and 19'' mountain e-bikes as well as trekking e-bikes are available.

Registration is requested.

Well-equipped with e-bikes, you cycle towards the station, this time crossing the tracks and heading north-east out of town. On the cycle path you pass through Lorenzreuth, Leutenberg, Wampen and continue northwards through Thiersheim, past the wind turbines to Thierstein.
It is steadily a little uphill. But the view is worth the effort. This stage also takes you through the idyllic Eger valley and through the forest pond landscape near the Blumental estate.

Thierstein Castle rises on a basalt rock above the village of the same name. Up here you look out over the landscape from a height of 615 metres.

The castle was built in 1340 by Albrecht XI, who had his official residence up here as the Reichsforstmeister in the Egerland.
The castle also served the later and frequently changing lords as an official residence, as a military stronghold and, during the Thirty Years' War, as a place of refuge for the population. There was also a large granary in the castle.
In 1725, the entire village, including the castle, was ravaged by fire. The castle was not rebuilt afterwards and is now preserved as a ruin. Only the keep has been preserved. From its vantage point you have a wonderful view.

The castle ruins can be visited from the outside at any time. Enquiries in this regard should be made at the town hall on telephone 09235 232.

The Thierstein Castle Summer is held every year from May to September. In 2023, the festival will only take place from August due to renovation work. For 2024 they are planned again on a regular basis.

Continue in a westerly direction. Shortly after crossing the A93, you will come across a large granite sphere at the side of the path. It was found during the construction of the motorway and is of natural origin. About 300 million years ago it solidified during a melt deep inside the earth. The Variscan Mountains, which were here in prehistoric times, were eroded over millions of years, so that the granite layer now lies just below the surface, though mostly only as a thin layer of weathering. Such a sphere is a rare find, but not an erratic boulder.

In Höchstädt, directly on the cycle path, you will find the Peter and Paul Church open for you.

In 2012, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of its existence, the Peter and Paul Church in Höchstädt was designated a "cycle route church". Since then, it has been open daily during the cycling season. There is a special devotional corner in the church for cyclists and visitors. They can write down their worries and needs in an intercession book and be sure that the congregation will pray for them during the services.

The church was built in 1886/87 in neo-Gothic style to replace the smaller and plain old church, which had become dilapidated.
The outline of the original church is still visible in the lawn in front of the present church building. It is said that the old church was so small that the peasants could hold hands on the opposite galleries.

The interior of the Peter and Paul Church has been renovated several times. The warm, light tone it now radiates is due to the last renovation in 2005. In the decades after 1945, four new bells could be purchased, thanks to donations from the population. During the Second World War, the old bells had been melted down for war purposes.

Through gently rolling fields and forests, past idyllic ponds, you cycle past Rügersgrün. Now head south to Göpfersgrün. From here you cycle west parallel to the Göpfersbach stream to Wunsiedel and here directly onto the Katharinenberg.

The Kellergasse in Wunsiedel is a collection of a total of 53 beer and potato cellars that were driven into the Katharinenberg from 1832. The invention of bottom-fermented beers (e.g. Pils) provided the impetus for this. These beers need low temperatures to store them. When refrigeration machines were invented in 1876, the construction of beer cellars ended in most areas, except in Wunsiedel. It was not until the dissolution of the communal brewery in 1918 that the beer cellars came to an end here too. During the Second World War, the cellars were used as air raid shelters, and in the years up to 1990 as storage cellars for potatoes and turnips.

The cellar alley on the Katharinenberg is the largest in Bavaria and is a listed building. Bat species such as the pug bat, the greater mouse-eared bat or the Bechstein's bat hibernate here.

Stay on the Katharinenberg for your next excursion destination and keep more to the right, then you will come to the Birds of Prey Park.

Over 50 birds of more than 20 different species live in the Bird of Prey Park on the Katharinenberg. The birds of prey are kept in spacious aviaries and individually cared for. Visitors can walk through the enclosures and immerse themselves directly in the world of the falcons. A media room conveys knowledge about the wide field of falconry. The rearing of the birds of prey can be experienced live on monitors.

Flight demonstrations are held every day from 3 p.m. onwards, provided 20 spectators come together. When do you ever get to see buzzards, eagles and falcons perform their flying skills so directly? The petting zoo is popular with children. Goats and pigs romp around there and are trusting.

Opening hours from the first day of the Bavarian Easter holidays to the last day of the Bavarian autumn holidays. Flight demonstration daily from 20 people at 3:00 p.m.

It is only a few metres to the last highlight of the tour. You now keep to the left and come directly to the ruins of the former pilgrimage church on the Katharinenberg.

The church ruins on the Katharinenberg are the oldest building in Wunsiedel. The exact age of the church is not known. The pilgrimage church was dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was first mentioned in 1364. The former mountain chapel housed an allegedly miraculous image of Saint Catherine, which pilgrims from all over sought out. In Wunsiedel's town archives, there is a report from around 1500 that tells of miraculous healings.

In 1462, the church was destroyed by a Bohemian army. It was rebuilt and the tower completed. Since the Reformation, the church has fallen into disrepair.
In 1979 the ruins were renovated.

You now cycle south-east back to Marktredwitz. The route mostly leads back to the town on a cycle path parallel to the B 303. Once you have dropped off your bike at the market square, you are sure to find a place to stop for refreshments. Most restaurants in the area open from 5:00 p.m., so you can end the day with a fortifying meal before boarding your train and heading back home.