The Hessian long-distance cycle route R2 connects four rivers in Hesse, and one encounters even more. The 4 "official" rivers are Fulda, Lahn, Lüder and Lauter. Shorter stretches lead along the Ohm, the Sinn and the Schwalm. The route leads from the sense direction Fulda. After circumnavigating the Vogelsberg the Lahn is reached at Cölbe. Before that, the route crosses at Alsfeld the still young Schwalm. The R2 is part of the D-Route 9 as far as Fulda. Together with the R1, it forms the Hessian part of this German south-north route. From Neustadt (Hessen) the R2 is part of the D-Route 4 (Mittelland-Route).
Route profile
- Length: 202 km
- Signposting: good norm-compliant standard of the Hessian long-distance cycle routes
- Slopes: partly more demanding ones available. In the river valleys, however, the route is largely flat.
- Path condition: Over 85% asphalt share according to the route planner. In the Sinntal there are a few gravel forest paths, after which you rarely come across unpaved surfaces. For the Fulda section there are concrete plans for asphalting [2011].
- Traffic load: Some country roads with partly heavy traffic. To the east of Stadtallendorf there is a high proportion of public roads.
- Suitable bike: Touring bike with gearshift suitable for mountain use for the entire route
- Family suitability: - partially, e.g. on the Fulda
- Inline suitability: Kirchhain - Cölbe
background
preparation
getting there
By train
- Jossa train station
By bicycle
- Cycle route network Germany D-routes: D 9: Weser - Alps · out Gemünden am Main in Lower Franconia
In the street
Route description with sights
1st stage: Jossa - Fulda
In the first stage, you cross the Rhön mountains to switch from the Sinntal to the Fulda valley. This stage is quite demanding and (unfortunately) often leads on country roads with truck traffic, which somewhat reduces the recreational value.
- ~ ~> The official starting point is Hof Dittenbrunn on the Hesse-Bavaria state border, from Jossa train station you can get there via the road in the direction of Bavaria. Or you can also take a shortcut via the country road and get to know the town of Jossa, which you would otherwise drive around.
- Jossa (216 m) - In the small town of Jossa with 670 inhabitants, the Jossa, coming from the south, flows into the mind in a large arc. The place, wedged between the mountains of the eastern Spessart, is today characterized by the imposing viaduct of the north-south railway and is also a popular meeting point for bikers with the local country inn, which has given the place the unofficial title "World Schnitzel Capital".
- ~ ~> The official route leads along the western slope of the Grauberg. Anyone who has visited the place will find a well-developed cycle path to Altengronau.
- Altengronau (222 m) - Altengronau was the administrative seat of the von Hutten family, the former manor house is still family-owned and stands on the outskirts. Altengronau with 1200 inhabitants is the economic center in the upper Sinntal with shopping facilities and secondary school. Altengronau used to have two train stations, Altengronau North and Altengronau South, both of which were closed.
- ~ ~> The route here follows the newly built RhönExpress cycle path (older descriptions in cycle guides are out of date) on the route of the former Sinntalbahn. After crossing under the high-speed route Hanover-Würzburg under the imposing Sinntal bridge, as part of a short detour to Bavaria, you reach the town of Zeitlofs.
- Zeitlofs (242 m) - Zeitlofs in the upper Sinntal is a stop for travelers to the spa town of Bad Brückenau. Around 2000 people live in the Zeitlofs market, including all of its districts. The ruins of the abandoned Reichsautobahn "Route 46" in the area around Rupboden are particularly interesting.
- ~ ~> Now the valley of the sense will leave and the course of one of its tributaries, the narrow sense, will be followed. It goes back on the country road (moderate traffic) to Hesse and then on towards Mottgers.
- Mottgers (263 m) - The small town of Mottgers with its 680 inhabitants was once well-known beyond the region through the "Mottgers-Spange" planned by Deutsche Bahn, which would have connected the Kinzig Valley Railway in a wide arc with the high-speed line, but which was due to the organized public protests in the Place failed. In earlier times, Mottgers also had a station on the North-South Railway, which has long been shut down. There is a campsite right on the route.
- ~ ~> You will soon reach Weichersbach via a dirt road.
- Weichersbach (282 m) - Weichersbach has 830 inhabitants and an above-average range of inns for its size, also with bicycle parking spaces. The southern portal of the Landrückentunnel is located in Weichersbach, the longest tunnel in Germany with almost 11 km.
- ~ ~> Again you have to switch to the (lightly traveled) country road. After a steep ascent on the slope of the Stoppelsberg, it goes downhill to Oberzell.
- Oberzell (343 m) - The place Oberzell with 980 inhabitants grew as a parish village around the parish church in the village center, which is well worth seeing. Oberzell is surrounded by the so-called "Seven Mountains", of which the Hague is the highest at 585 meters. In the distance you can see the Grenzwaldbrücke, on which the motorway crossed the valley of the narrow sense. There is also a campsite on the route here.
- ~ ~> With the construction of the Oberzell bypass (still missing in most of the cycle guides), the cycle path was completely paved. Here you leave the valley of the Schmalen Sinn and you go uphill on the moderately traveled country road to the top of the pass at 500 meters, where the Rhine-Weser watershed is overcome and you can take a break. Downhill you come to the valley of the Schmidtwasser and the next town.
- Heubach (431 m) - The small Rhön town with its 690 inhabitants offers another campsite.
- ~ ~> Again it goes on the road to Uttrichshausen.
- Uttrichshausen (386 m) - The place Uttrichshausen with 850 inhabitants was formerly the last place in the district of Schlüchtern and is still today the last evangelical place on the route. The place is today by the viaduct of the divided in half; the Uttrichshausen gas station and rest area is mainly known to motorists.
- ~ ~> The motorway is crossed under and after a short detour to Bavarian terrain you reach the next Hessian town via the country road.
- Thalau (380 m) - The state-approved resort Thalau with 1200 inhabitants is climatically favored in the Rhöneben between the high mountains. Originally a scattered settlement typical of the Rhön, Thalau now has shopping facilities.
- ~ ~> You can reach the Fulda valley and the first town of Schmalnau via a dirt road.
- Schmalnau (349 m) - With 1100 inhabitants, Schmalnau is already shaped by the Fulda conurbation. Here the R2 meets with the R1 coming from Gersfeld (Fulda cycle path). The town has a train station on the Fulda-Gersfeld route, and other facilities such as a supermarket and pharmacy can be found here.
Corner points of the route
- Jossa in the Sinntal (Bavarian / Hessian border)
- demanding mountain ridge in the Fulda valley (European watershed)
- Ebersburg · Inflow from the Hess. Long-distance cycle route R1: Fulda cycle route
- Fulda - the cathedral is well known
- Bad Salzschlirf - a piece on that Volcano bike path to
- Lauterbach (Hesse) - hilly route over
- Wallenrod to
- Renzendorf - Route along the Schwalm to
- Alsfeld - After the half-timbered town, a very attractive route around the Antriftsee (photo). It remains nice, but unfortunately it goes for 10 km on the country road
- Neustadt (Hesse) - Largest half-timbered building in the world: Junker-Hansen-Turm.
- Kirchhain - worth seeing detour to Amöneburg possible. The bike path is now very good and suitable for inline skiers.
- Cölbe near Marburg - detour to Marburg definitely worth it. From Cölbe it works Lahn valley up to
- Biedenkopf. The R2 ends 1 km after Wallau on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia about 7.1 km west of Biedenkopf. The route continues to be signposted in NRW as the D4 route and Lahntal cycle path.
Whoever wants can Lahn to follow to their source.
Note: If you are familiar with the route, remove the heading "Key points of the route" and replace this section with a detailed route description with stages. It is best to simply work the place names into the stages. You can find instructions on how to do this here .
trips
- Lahn valley cycle path
- D4 - Mittelland route
- D9 - Romantic Road
References to literature and maps
- Zoomable map with route at OpenStreetMap - Zoom in strongly, then the route becomes visible.
- Route in the Hesse cycle route planner
Web links
- Hesse cycle route planner - official website of the state of Hesse. The route is in the menu on the left below "Themed routes" to find.
- Route
- official information about R2 on www.hessen-tourismus.de