Archaeological Loop

The Speikern Archaeological Trail is a popular circular hike in the Nuremberg region in the municipality of Neunkirchen am Sand. The place name Speikern indicates storage and barn, because of the numerous barns with grain and hops, for example. The hiking trail with a fantastic view from the Glatzenstein follows the Speikerner Reiter for 8.5 km. This is the symbolic figure that represents the finds from the region from the Hallstatt period (approx. 800 - 620 BC). The grave find was discovered in 1962.

A lovely, relaxing hike up the Glatzenstein. Despite the gloomy weather, I enjoyed a fantastic view. And it was all mine. 😁The view is simply breathtaking every time. Happy Easter 🐇😎

The Archaeological Hiking Trail, starting at the Speikern hiking car park, is an easy circular route, well-signposted and leads over the Glatzenstein (my highlight, of course, is the summit cross) and via Weißenbach (restaurants) and Kersbach, along beautiful forest and meadow paths, back to the starting point. Along the way, signs point to archaeological finds (e.g., burial moats, ramparts, and lime kilns). At the "Zum Glatzenstein" restaurant, you can enjoy good food and a pleasant beer garden.

Since the mountain inn at Glazenstein was unfortunately closed, we ended the beautiful hike as planned, albeit hungry, at the parking lot. But: There's also a beautiful mountain inn on the neighboring mountain, "Rothenberg," with wonderful views and delicious food. We then drove there. But I forgot to end the hike beforehand, which is clearly evident from the route. 🙈 But no matter... it was great! 😃

July hike with the hiking group, archaeological trail. The starting point is at the Speikern hiking car park; it's an easy, well-signposted circular trail, with forest and meadow paths through beautiful woods. Over the Glatzenstein with its summit cross, today the visibility was unfortunately not so good, and we were caught in a shower of rain. Continue via Weißenbach with a delicious meal at the mountain inn and then via Kersbach back to the starting point.

The 572 meter high Glatzenstein near Schnaittach is certainly one of the more popular destinations in the Nuremberg region, which you could already see at the Speikern hiking car park, which is well frequented in the middle of the week. From there, the first five kilometers are almost exclusively uphill, but always with moderate gradients. Right at the beginning of the path, a whole field of goldenrod is currently blooming - a beautiful, yellow sight. The tour follows the Archaeological Trail for almost the entire route, so there are always remnants from the dim past to be admired. The first is the Schallerholz burial mound field, which was dug several times in the 19th century. The graves date from the Hallstatt period, around 750 to 500 BC. Further uphill there is a modern reconstruction of such a burial mound. It continues uphill, although some paths have already cracked due to the drought. A small detour leads to a rampart that is believed to date from the early Middle Ages (approx. 10th century). A scientific investigation of the plant does not yet exist. The path uphill offers beautiful views and some shadow play on tree-lined meadows due to the sun. However, the many gravel roads are a bit annoying (at least for me). Finally you arrive at the lookout rock, which is a special highlight due to its protruding limestone. The view of the western Nuremberg region up to Nuremberg itself does the rest and is worth every effort. On the right you can see the fortress of the same name on the neighboring Rothenberg. The descent is much faster because it is steeper. On the way you pass a bench with a particularly beautiful view. You will soon reach the small village of Weißenbach, from where you can take a road to Kersbach. Here it is worth taking a look at the Catholic church, which was consecrated in 1742 and has a beautiful baroque interior. From Kersbach it goes back to the hiking car park.

Today, we hiked the archaeological trail near Speikern again with our hiking group—this time, however, it was raining. Well-marked paths lead us past some informative information boards up to the Glatzenstein, from whose summit cross, in good weather, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the surrounding area and the Rothenberg Fortress opposite. In Weißenbach, we had another good meal, albeit at considerably higher prices than two weeks ago. I hope that was just due to the church fair, which is taking place this weekend. After dinner, we take a leisurely walk down a section of the road and along field paths and a small patch of forest back to the hiking parking lot.

Since my better half likes to go to the mountains ⛰️, I looked for a nice round on the Glatzenstein on www.mit-mama-nach.de. It couldn't be too long and not too exhausting because tomorrow the first tour of the Middle Franconia Cup 🚴🏻 ♂️ is on the agenda for him.