The Grimmsteig is an 84 km long circular hiking trail through the Söhre, the Kaufunger Forest and about the Hohen Meissner. It runs both over wooded ridges and through agriculturally shaped valleys with a total of 2,049 meters of altitude, which is why the name component "Steig" has its justification. The nature of the path also requires good footwear in some cases, as the Grimmsteig only runs over a few paved paths.
Route profile
- Length: 80 km. There are other feeder roads and branch routes with a total length of 43 km. These also allow, for example, early exits as well as extensions or cross-entrances to the route of the Grimmsteig.
- Altitude meters: 2,049 meters in altitude. Sometimes you can save meters in altitude by walking individual stages in the appropriate direction to go downhill. This makes sense especially for mountain bikers, but also for normal hikers.
- Stages: 5 stages with an average of 15.4 km. The length of the stages is roughly in the middle range, but the stamina should not be underestimated due to the many meters in altitude.
- Mark: The entire Grimmsteig is marked with a white G on a green background, which contains the silhouette of the Brothers Grimm. In some cases, however, the hiking route is only marked with a simple white G.
- Signposting: Theoretically, the signs for the Grimmsteig can be described as good, as they have been placed in many places. In practice, however, there are a few isolated markings due to vandalism; It is therefore definitely advisable to take a hiking map with you.
- Suitable footwear: Ideally, ankle-high hiking boots, with which you can also walk well over longer asphalt or gravel sections. The choice of shoes also depends on the stage.
- Family suitability: Yes, continuously.
- Mountain bike suitability: Yes, but to protect nature, it is better to push in some passages. You should also always note that the Grimmsteig was designed for hikers and not for mountain bikers.
- Best season: Accessible all year round. Not passable for mountain bikers in wet weather or in snow.
background
The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in 1785 and 1786 respectively Hanau born. They are known worldwide as linguists and collectors of fairy tales, as well as the "founding fathers" of German philology and German studies. Some of their fairy tales are said to have their origin in Werra-Meißner-Land or other North Hessian regions to have.
On December 29, 2011, the Grimmsteig was recognized as a quality hiking trail by the German Hiking Association. It thus fulfills strict criteria, such as that a maximum of 10% may run on busy roads and a third of the route must be natural. More information about the criteria in the Wikivoyage article Hiking trails with a seal of approval.
The Grimmsteig Days take place annually. Actions include a hike over the entire Grimmsteig in one day and a marathon hike from Hasselbach over around 40 km; a new addition to the program was a family hike. The start and finish is Königsalm at Sneezes.
getting there
By car
The Werra-Meißner-Land is relatively well connected to the federal highways 
, 
and 
, the 
is currently being built. There are also several German holiday routes, like that German fairy tale route, through the area.
With public transport
On the Lossetalbahn between kassel and Hessian Lichtenau perverts the Tram line 4 with connections to the national bus routes in Kaufungen, Helsa and Hessian Lichtenau, with which you can usually reach the Grimmsteig easily. All stops on the Grimmsteig or in the immediate vicinity have been linked with a photo. In addition, all tram and bus routes operating there are listed, the timetables can be downloaded directly as PDF.
By plane
The new Kassel-Calden Airport started operations in April 2013. From there you can reach the Grimmsteig with the Bus route 100 over downtown kassel and from there with the Lossetalbahn. Other nearby airports are the Paderborn Lippstadt Airport, the airport Frankfurt and the Hanover Airport. From both of the latter you can take the ICE within 1 1/2 hours Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe.
Route description
- The Grimmsteig is divided into 5 stages, which are on average 15.4 km long. This means that you can comfortably hike the Grimmsteig in half or day tours. When planning the route, an attempt was made to lead the hiking trail over roads as little as possible, which is why the hiker sometimes has to accept longer detours and so the Grimmsteig does not take the most direct route. The hiking route also runs a lot on natural paths, which are often overgrown with the exception of a small path, especially in summer, and give the impression of not being particularly well cared for. For a detailed hiking map, please simply click on the POIs, which will immediately lead you to the position described.
1st stage: Wellerode - Hessisch Lichtenau 16.7 km
- Even the first stage of the Grimmsteig can be regarded as demanding, as it is quite steep uphill or downhill in some places. Of the
church (Line 37) in Sohrewald-Wellerode, you first walk along the Fahrenbachstraße along the Wahlebach and the Diebgrabenstraße uphill (marking M) to 1 Sports field Wellerode 1 , where you can find a large overview board of the Grimmsteig and also the first stage begins. You follow the marking of the Grimmsteig into the forest and soon turn right past a small BMX track back to the edge of the forest, before you walk over graveled forest roads 2 Rodeba pond reached. Its inlet, the Rodebach, you follow a bit before you cross it and reach a path of a gravel forest path, which you follow to the left and shortly afterwards turn into another path to the right. Later, the Grimmsteig turns south again and after the end of the path you reach a small grove with young trees via another gravel forest path, which you cross and at the end to the left to the 3 Wattenbach forest cemetery wanders. If you walk from here to the west along the state road 3460 you will reach the Forester's house (Line 37), but the Grimmsteig runs to the east on asphalt and gravel farm roads to the edge of the forest and across a meadow along this. Shortly afterwards we continue on a gravel path to the 4 Wind turbines before the Grimmsteig turns left into the forest after a while. At the end of this path to the right and a short time later again to the left on a forest path that was still pretty broken at the beginning of April 2014 downhill along the slope until you get back on track 5 Branch in the forest to a more solid path reached. You then follow this to the south into an ever-widening valley, partly along the edge of the forest downhill to the state road L3228 into the Mühlmisch valley not far from the 6 Grundmühle campsite . Now it goes uphill again in an easterly direction on a gravel farm road, at first only a little, but later in parts very steeply up to the 7 Baumartenallee by Quentel, who is interested in the forest, in 2011. All kinds of trees have been planted here. Continue along the Franzosenstraße (F) down to the Schwedenkreuz, a medieval stone cross, and over gravel forest roads with a view of Quentel 8 State road 3228 . Who to Quentel for Village community center (Line 209.1), just follow Franzosenstraße instead of the Grimmsteig.
Continue along the edge of the forest to one 9 small forest crossing with benches, where you meet again on the Franzosenstraße (F) from Quentel, and then to the east on the Sälzer Straße, a gravel economic or forest road in slight curves and past small forest clearings to the 10 Fire extinguishing pond. From this then together with the Riedforstweg (R) also on a gravel forest path slightly uphill through the forest to above the forester Goldmann's Born, a nice little rest area with a fountain, and steeply uphill to the 11 Günsteröder height at Landesstraße 3147, where you can relax on a bench. Now you continue on a path through the forest and later again on a paved forest path downhill to the edge of the forest, where the 12 Christoph Hansen Hut stands, from which you have a beautiful panoramic view Hessian Lichtenau, the milestone. This can also be reached after having made a detour along dirt roads beforehand. From the big one 13 Information board, the actual stage destination, is then a good 1.5 km on an asphalt farm road to Hessian Lichtenau into the 
Community center (Lines 4, 200, 205, 206, 207, 290 and 400).
2nd stage: Hessisch Lichtenau - Hoher Meißner 17.8 km
- The second stage includes the largest and longest ascent, namely from Hasselbach up to Hohen Meissner. Of the 1 Information board of the Grimmsteig Wüstung Oberndorf: Start of the 2nd stage hike downhill on a typical semi-graveled dirt road to the B487 federal road, which is carefully crossed. Passing a few gardens you will then come back to the Franzosenstraße (F) hiking trail, which runs from Hessian Lichtenau comes and runs up to the Reichenbach castle ruins in the same way as the Grimmsteig. But first you run across the 2 Former training site through a valley to Glimmerode; the houses are still reminiscent of the former Glimmerode colliery. If you follow the residential area road here you will reach the In the Bruchbach (Lines 206 and 209.3). Uphill through the forest you can then continue on the Grimmsteig to reach the last remnants of this, before you can take another unmarked path 3 Off to Hellkopfsee do. It then continues uphill, first right, then left through the forest to the ARS Natura work of art. Visit to Ms. H. From here it is not far via a staircase to the keep of the 4 Reichenbach castle ruins with several seats.
After enjoying the beautiful view from the covered keep, you continue hiking with the 5 Premium hiking trail P10 partly along the edge of the forest on unpaved roads slightly downhill to a parking lot just before Reichenbach, a district of Hessian Lichtenau with the monastery church and Reichenbach (Lines 206 and 209.3), from which you go uphill to 6 Juniper heather wanders. A partially narrow path now leads over the 524 m high Kindelberg with beautiful views, before you walk back a short distance at the edge of the forest and then hike down a meadow. Here the Grimmsteig branches off again 7 Premium hiking trail P10 and leads hilly over a plateau in a curve to the opposite 8 Forest area, into this and on a stony path downhill and uphill to a small clearing, from which it is not far to the 9 Elevated tank with several bench seats. Downhill with a beautiful view of the hamlet of Waldkappel walk through Lessingstrasse, Schillerstrasse and Goethestrasse near the Hasselbach (Line 200) to federal highway 7, behind which the new Autobahn 44 is currently being built.
From here the longest climb of the Grimmsteig follows up to the Hohen Meissner. First you hike along an asphalt farm road to a {{marker | name = refuge | type = area | lat = 51.17548 | long = 9.83815 | image = past leisurely uphill. Later you reach a small lake, from which you now continue uphill on gravel paths. While the hiking trail -22 runs straight up the slope, the Grimmsteig branches off again in between 10 East from time to time at a clearing near Rodebach again uphill to the north. The first gravel path turns into a meadow path over time and when you step into the forest it finally becomes a path until you get back on track 11 paved forest path reached. This is then followed to the west and later again with the hiking trail -22 together now on smaller forest paths uphill to the north. Shortly afterwards, the Frau-Holle -pfad (X4) is added, and all three hiking trails run together over a nice path with small stone steps up to the 12 Sea stones . Now the ascent is soon made, you continue to walk slightly uphill on a finely graveled forest path until just before the 13 Ski lift, where, together with the premium hiking trail P1, you come to the paved winter hiking trail on a narrow path in serpentines uphill. The last part of the 2nd stage then runs to the 14 Berggasthof Meißner: destination of the 2nd stage With Hoher Meißner (AST stop) (Lines 209.2 and 229.1); There is also a large information board for the Grimmsteig at this stage destination. The Large car park (Line 290) can be reached by following the Frau-Holle-path (X4), the Mountain inn (Line 290) by continuing to follow the paved access road to the mountain inn.
3rd stage: Hoher Meißner - Wickenrode 17.5 km
- The third stage of the Grimmsteig runs as far as possible downhill, provided you walk it in the direction described below, while larger climbs have to be mastered if you walk in the opposite direction. Of the
- 1 Information board at the Meißner mountain inn
- you first hike down a meadow path to NaturFreunde Meissnerhaus With NaturFreunde Meißnerhaus (Line 209.2) and on another meadow path down to a now overgrown sports field. To the west of this, keep to the right and branch off into the forest together with the premium hiking trail P1, and shortly afterwards turn right again onto a path and cross a small stream through a ford. Here you can get a short 2 Detour to the Kitzkammer do. (Legendary and remarkable crevice). The Grimmsteig itself does not run past this but on a narrow forest path downhill to Wissenborn with a refuge at the entrance to Hausen. After you have walked down the Meißnerbergstraße a bit, you follow the marking of the Grimmsteig to the left into the Kaiserstraße and shortly afterwards to the right again down the street to the Hausener Hute. If one were to follow this further, one would come to Goose market (Lines 205 and 209.2), but instead you continue on the Grimmsteig and the paved paths to the reeds and Gelengenweg downhill to a wooden signpost, where you finally reach the state road L3249. Instead of continuing downhill on this for a short time, the Grimmsteig is marked over an overgrown and very difficult to walk path (there is a risk of kinking), and a few meters later it is back on the 3 State road 3249 hold true. But after a curve you leave it for good; the hiking trail leads uphill on an initially graveled, then unpaved farm road to the Langen Steinberg. Once at the top, turn right and continue on an asphalt path, imperceptibly downhill, then later at a wooden signpost on the Grimmsteig steeply to the left and shortly afterwards again on a gravel path downhill. From here you have a beautiful view of Velmeden, which you can finally reach via the streets Auf dem Bruchland and Auf dem Schlage. Now follow Hausener Strasse on Country hotel Hubertus over to the 4 Velmeden Churchchurch (Lines 205, 209.2 and 290), where you turn left, cross Witzenhäuser Strasse and turn right over Gilsbergstrasse uphill and leave Velmeden, the district of Hessian Lichtenau leaves.
After the former Walburg-Großalmerode West, follow the Grimmsteig to the north past the GrimmSteigRast (several benches) along the railway line. After a while, the initially gravel farm road turns into a meadow path and you walk along the edge of the forest with a beautiful view of Laudenbach. Then the hiking route branches off north of the 5 Gülsbergs to the right and follows the next paved path back to the west. You then follow this gravel farm road past some gardens to the old one 6 Railway bridge over the Wohratal south of Rommerode, that of the Grimmsteig together with the Gelster cycle path is crossed under. If you continue on Walburger Straße you will come to both of them school and center (Lines 205 and 210), follow the Grimmsteig and continue uphill above the former Steinholz-Hirschhagen railway line to the edge of the forest, a small vantage point from which you can walk over the Hessian-Lichtenau basin looks. It continues uphill through the forest and shortly after its end to the right to one 7 Friedrichsbrück refuge, from which it is no longer far across the Lindenallee to Friedrichsbrück Friedrichsbrück (Lines 207 and 209.1) is.
You leave Friedrichsbrück via the street Am Walde, at the end of which the Grimmsteig turns into one 8 unpaved and poorly accessible forest path across the undergrowth. As an alternative to this, you can also use Friedrichsbrücker Straße. Once this has happened, you continue on an asphalt farm road through the fields, mostly without any major inclines, to another 9 Refuge west of Rommerode, on which an information board provides information about the local FFH area Hirschberg- and Tiefenbachwiesen, the only known place where the mock ant (Methocha ichneumonoides) was found in Hesse. This can then be reached via a hilly gravel forest path, partly through the forest, partly through the open landscape southwest of the Hirschberg. After a while 10 The Grimmsteig then turns with further hiking trails to the north and leads over another gravel forest path, partly provided with potholes, along the edge of the forest steadily downhill Helsa-Wickenrode. At the entrance to the village you first walk on Hirschbergstraße, then later on Raiffeisenstraße past the volunteer fire brigade to the Protestant church, half of which you walk past several beautiful half-timbered houses on the street Kirchplatz, before you get to Berliner Straße (Bundesstraße B451) , as well as the 11 Berlin street (Line 210) reached.
4th stage: Wickenrode - Nieste 12.0 km
- On the fourth stage of the Grimmsteig you walk almost exclusively through the Kaufunger Forest, far from streets or towns, but through the beautiful Gläsnertal. Of the 1 Berliner Strasse in Wickenrode
Berlin street (Line 210) you first walk east on Berliner Straße before turning north onto Giesenberg street. You walk this partially paved road then steeply uphill, then keep left and reach Torstraße via Weinbergstraße. Together with the Märchenlandweg, it continues in a serpentine up into the forest to a few weekend houses, behind which there is another steep ascent on a gravel forest path. Once at the top, you can relax on a few benches before continuing, now only gaining a moderate amount of height, to the 2 Helserborn with refuge wanders. At this one keep sharp to the right and walk south again along the slope. Finally you have reached an altitude of around 520 meters, the highest Point of the fourth stage of the Grimmsteig. Shortly afterwards you also reach a crossroads in the forest with a signpost. The Grimmsteig continues straight ahead along the partially overgrown forest path down a clearing and turns left into the next paved forest path, which turns into a slightly hidden one 3 Schwarzbach refuge leads. In front of this you keep to the right and walk downhill on a gravel forest path, passing a small pond in between before you arrive in Gläsnertal.
In this one crosses the Nieste and arrives at the station via a very coarse gravel path 4 Big Niestehütte (Information board) of Eco path archeology Gläsnertal, which will run identically to the Grimmsteig up to the Buntebock forester's house. Now you continue on a nice, partly narrow path along the edge of the Gläsnertal, on which a large number of roots have to be overcome, especially in the central part. Finally you come back to a paved forest path and follow this mostly downhill at the stations Glashütte 1 (Information board) and 5 Glass guild (Information board) past to the Glashütte 2 station (Information board). Behind this you have to walk uphill again briefly before the Grimmsteig and the other hiking trails that run here turn left onto a path that first crosses a coniferous forest, then later through a deciduous forest past the station 6 Glass factory in the Kaufunger Forest (Information board) south of state road 563 to a re-paved forest road. Here you meet the Kaufungerwaldweg (from Hedemünden), which now runs along with the Grimmsteig along a fence and then crosses the Endschlagbach over a bridge.
If you follow the Märchenlandweg here you come to Final settlement (Line 34), if you follow the Grimmsteig you will come to one Hiking parking lot with a wooden glass blower sculpture and finally turn right at the former Buntebock forester's house. You now hike on an unpaved path westwards through the Niestetal above a few ponds and past a refuge until you reach the 7 Park Bleichwiesen at the entrance of Sneezes reached. If you want to go further into the center of Nieste, follow this from here KaufungerwaldwegIf you want to go to the Königs-Alm, continue on the Grimmsteig to the south, up the paved road to the Blankschmiede until it turns into an unpaved meadow path. This is then only followed to the west above Sneezes along dead straight to the 8 Königsalm: destination of the 4th stageKönigsalm, to which the Königsalm (Line 34) is located.
5th stage: Nieste - Wellerode 13.0 km
- On the last stage of the Grimmsteig there are a few more meters to conquer, especially in the Söhre. It starts above Sneezes at the
- 1 Königsalm. Tel.: (0)5605 9290628.
- which you leave in a westerly direction and over the street Tannenhütte to the parking lot Königsalm (Line 34) goes. From here you hike along the edge of the forest with a beautiful view of Kaufungen, and in between comes the from the forest Kaufungerwaldweg added to the courtyards 2 In the grove and from these on gravel paths first a short bit uphill again before you walk along the edge of the forest to the first houses of Kaufungen reached. Follow the street Am Wolfsberg for a short time before turning left and walking down the stairs that lead into the street Am Roßgang. You pass what is worth seeing 3 Rossgang Mining Museum and continue walking on Freudentalstraße in an arc back to Am Wolfsberg street, where you turn left and first the bus past the brickworks museum with sensory walksrailway station (Line 34) and then the tramrailway station (Line 4) reached. Here the Grimmsteig crosses the tram tracks and follows Niester Straße past the St. Heinrich church and over the Losse into the 4 Kaufungenwhere the Bürgerhaus Niester Straße (Line 34) is located.
We continue through the partly narrow streets of Kaufungen past the Regional Museum Alte Schule and across Schulstrasse to the collegiate church, where you can join the Kassel-Steig west past and over the Tränkegasse and the Dautenbachstraße uphill to the federal highway B7. First along this a bit, then under it and past the brick hut past the edge of the forest uphill. Behind the 5 RuhForst Stiftswald Kaufungen you finally reach the Eduard-Dilling-Hütte at a large intersection, from where you now hike together with the Fulda-Gelster-Weg (M) on a gravel forest path uphill towards Belgerköpf. While this path is fairly straight at the beginning, later you go uphill in curves on this before you leave it and on unpaved roads above the 6 Youth home continues uphill. This path is also very beautiful for mountain bikers, as it usually does not run over large roots. After entering the municipal area of Sohrewald Once you have come, you hike downhill again until you come out at a refuge. Very close to this is the old motorway bridge in the middle of the forest, which is definitely worth a short detour. You can reach it by going behind the refuge 7 do not follow the Grimmsteig an unpaved path, but first the Franzosenstraße (F) and then left along the clearing. If you keep to the left on paved paths behind the old bridge, you will finally come back to the Grimmsteig, which now runs along a graveled wide forest path to the southwest along with local circular paths. After a short time, the Grimmsteig branches off to the south again and you walk over a small wooden bridge and behind this to the right to the 8 Drive brook ponds with refuge. At the middle, a jetty invites you to linger a while.
From the Fahrenbach ponds you then go downhill on paved gravel paths, follow the markings of the Grimmsteig at the next crossroads uphill to the left, before you turn west again together with the Fulda-Gelster-Weg (M) and cross a clearing created by storms runs downhill on a meadow path. Finally you reach the 9 Sports field Wellerode: destination of the 5th stageon which a large information board marks the end of this stage. From this it is a good kilometer on the Fulda-Gelster-Weg along the Wahlebach to the center of Wellerode, where the church (Line 37) is located. Or you can start a new lap on the 80 km long Grimmsteig ...
trips
Söhre
Stellbergsee
The Stellbergsee (also known as Mondsee) is a 1.4 hectare open-cast mine about 6 km from the Wellerode sports field. Although the water quality can only be classified as satisfactory, it is a popular excursion destination, which is also popular with bathers who find space around the lake on large lawns. But also anglers and model boat owners use the lake. Parkplätze findet man ungefähr 100 Meter westlich vom See, die nächste Haltestelle ist die Forsthaus (Linie 37), von welcher es allerdings immer noch rund 3,5 km zum Stellbergsee zu Fuß sind.
Söhrebahn
Die Söhrebahn verkehrte von 1912 bis 1966 zwischen Kassel and Söhrewald-Wellerode Wald. Heute findet man auf der ehemaligen Bahntrasse einen schönen geschotterten Fuß- und Radweg. Folgt man diesem über Lohfelden bis zur Bundesautobahn 7 und von dort der Wildbahn (X3), einem Teilstück des ARS Natura Wanderwegs, kann man über schöne Wege abseits größerer Straßen bis in die Karlsaue of Kassel wandern. Die Streckenlänge beträgt einfach gut 12 km, ist also eher für Mountainbiker empfehlenswert.
literature
- Der Grimmsteig Gesamtkarte - Rad- und Wanderkarte - Erschienen im GEO-Verlag Kaufungen.
- MK Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Südliches Leinetal - Topographische Freizeitkarte 1:50 000, ISBN 978-3-89446-318-2 , 9,50 €, gemeinschaftlich herausgegeben von Werratal Tourismus Marketing GmbH und dem Hessischen Landesamt für Bodenmanagement und Geoinformation (2012).
Web links
- Offizielle Website des Grimmsteigs.
