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- MOTORCYCLE on the way: Palatinate Forest / Northern Vosges Foray through the Middle Ages
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MOTORCYCLE on the way: Palatinate Forest / Northern Vosges
MOTORCYCLE on the way: Palatinate Forest / Northern Vosges
Foray through the Middle Ages
Endless forests, bizarre rock towers, spectacular castles, winding roads and fighting knights? All this and more can be experienced up close on a tour through the Palatinate Forest and the northern Vosges.
Sylvia Lischer
08/13/2008
Wieslautertal, seven o’clock in the morning. The early morning mist creeps over the meadows, two deer graze on the banks of the stream, there is a crackling and rustling of the bushes. At this time of day, the robber barons of the Middle Ages prepared their surprise attacks on the surrounding rock castles and dragged their weapons of war on winding paths through the woods. Today most of the paths are paved and a sign with a castle symbol provides quick orientation: “Altdahn castles on the left ”.
I start my Dominator and drive through the village of Dahn following the signs. With their chambers, corridors, ladders, stairs and honeycomb-like red sandstone structures, the Altdahn, Grafendahn and Tanstein castle ruins, huddled together on a rock rib of over 200 meters, are among the most striking rock castles in Germany. The single cylinder thunders past orchards and forest passages. Even if I wanted to, I could hardly succeed in a noiseless surprise attack on the nearby, spectacularly towering group of castles.
A labyrinth-like ascent leads to one of the defense towers, from which at sunrise there is a wonderful view of the red shimmering rock walls of the huge castle complex. And on fog fields in the valley and a mountain world that extends in soft, green waves to the horizon. The Palatinate Forest is Germany’s largest contiguous forest area. And almost every summit of the low mountain range ends in bizarre red sandstone rocks, from which around 500 rock castles were hammered in the Middle Ages. 80 of them – or at least their remains – still exist today. Witnesses shattered by wars and erosion, interwoven with a well-signposted network of small winding roads.
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After the morning spectacle is over, I curve from Dahn over the winding B 427 to Busenberg, where the next medieval wall is already enthroned on a hill: Drachenfels Castle, a notorious robber baron’s nest in the 14th century, today another prime example of a medieval rock castle. Two corners further, near Erlenbach, lies Berwartstein Castle, the 15th century residence of the robber baron Hans von Trott, who made a name for himself with spectacular raids, feuds and raids. Today the Wadle family lives here as the owners of the only inhabited castle in the Palatinate. She can only dream of the peace and tranquility of the surrounding ruins. Crowds of visitors explore the underground secret passages, rock vaults, armory and torture chambers, a horde of schoolchildren marauders across the courtyard with wooden swords, morning stars and crossbows, and in the knight’s hall “Burggeist ”–coffee and cake are served.
Richard the Lionheart would certainly not have had any objection to the lively activity on the Berwartstein. Via Vorderweidenthal and Volkersweiler we go to Trifels Castle, enthroned high above Annweiler, where the English king was held captive for a while after his crusade through the Holy Land. Around 800 years ago, there was probably not much to see through the windows of his apartments. Today he could look directly at the Lionheart Tunnel, which was built on Bundesstrabe 10 in honor of the prominent prisoner.
After a stroll through the former Kaiser fortress, I rush west over the B 10. One last monumental view of the Trifels, then the road twists through several tunnels. As soon as the route steps outside, the view meets rock giants in the form of towers, columns and tables – if the mountains were not wrapped in green cloaks, the impression could arise of traveling through a canyon landscape in the southwest of the USA.
At Munchweiler an der Rodalb I turn off the now four-lane B 10 and dash to Merzalben, where the streets are still narrow and motorcyclists can dream of the Middle Ages. The outlines of Grafenstein Castle stand out on a ridge. Tempting. But even more tempting are the motorcycle routes that lead via Leimen, Clausen and Rodalben to Pirmasens: narrow, non-slip surface, narrow and wide curves, framed by forests from which bizarre rock figures peek. No hectic overtaking maneuvers, no truck stress, no traffic jams. I take a deep breath, let myself be carried through the curves and enjoy the pure pleasure of driving.
Behind Pirmasens, the road plunges down into the Rodalb valley, only to climb again steeply to Lemberg. The view sweeps the contours of a castle ruin, then it goes in an exuberant dangling into the next valley and from there in fantastic left-right-left combinations to Salzwoog. Behind the place, whose name still reminds of the salt transport in the Middle Ages, I get over a small pass into the valley of the Wieslauter and turn left to Hinterweidenthal.
When looking at a sign “Encampment in the style of the year 1475 ”I long into the iron. “Not open to the public! ”Reads there and: “Caution use of weapons! No liability for damage! We ask for your understanding.” I peek curiously through the thicket and spot men and women in historical costumes. “Knight?” I ask a passerby. “Landsknechte ”, he instructs me, in other words: mercenaries fighting on foot who had firearms. Aha.
Two streets further I finally meet real knights with chain mail, battle axes and swords living in the camp: the Walthari knights from Hinterweidenthal. The older ones sit around the campfire in front of their original tents, chatting – and drinking cola less faithfully and smoking Gauloise. The younger ones throw battle axes across the meadow. The cook, Wolfgang von Wasigenstein, prepares a tasty knight’s meal. Then – after three years of hardship – he was knighted by Captain Heinrich von Heibertstein.
The gunslingers of the 1475 mercenaries resound from the surrounding forests. The Walthari Knights, who embody the firearm-free time between 900 and 1200, roll their eyes in annoyance.
I choose the narrow connection from the B 427 to Salzwoog and from there drive south towards the German-French border. What a curve frenzy! The road winds narrowly through the Palatinate Forest and amazes with left-right combinations at Alpine level. The sun flickers through the treetops, a buzzard sails over me. I drive kilometer by kilometer through the woods and see no other vehicle, no electricity pylons, no house. Since so much nature is rare these days, UNESCO has declared the Palatinate Forest Nature Park together with the Northern Vosges to be a cross-border biosphere reserve – on a par with Yellowstone Park in the USA.
It doesn’t matter that instead of bears and bison you will mainly see squirrels and deer. In the Fischbacher Biosphere House I come across Germany’s first and so far only treetop path that winds through the canopy at a height of 18 meters.
Germany has to stop somewhere here and France must begin, but where? Barriers have long since been dismantled, and former customs houses have been converted into holiday apartments. All around there is nothing but forests, rocks, castles and villages that look as if they have sprung from a textbook for half-timbered art. After much too many hastily unwinding kilometers, I fall on the terrace of the Landgasthof Wegelnburg in Nothweiler, where they serve freshly baked tarte flambee from the wood-fired oven. A typical Alsatian specialty that has found its way across the green border into Germany. Very thin dough, topped with crispy onions and bacon, topped with hearty cheese with a hint of garlic – “savoir vivre ”in the Palatinate Forest.
Two corners away, in Wengelsbach, France, is the name of the tarte flambee “tarte flambe ”. But for bikers with poor school French, an exception is often made. “Whether Alsatian, French or German ”, the landlady beamed, “I know everything. ” No wonder, because of the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Alsatians dragged back and forth between Germany and France changed language and nationality four times within 85 years. At the time, it was hardly more peaceful on the rugged rock castles all around. The clatter of swords echoed over Hohenburg, Fleckenstein, Wegelnburg and Lowenstein.
Today you can only hear the warbling of blackbirds, thrushes, finches and stars as I start the motorcycle and drive over the exuberant hairpin bends of a small pass to Niedersteinbach. And from there on via Lembach and the Col de Pigeonnier to the picturesque half-timbered town of Wissembourg, which the Berwartstein knight Hans von Trott is said to have flooded with damming and sudden flooding of the Wieslauter. A cafe au lait in the street cafe is a must, then I hit my way back into the woods with the Dominator.
As I speed down the Col du Pfaffenschlick in the direction of Lembach, the unexpected sight of a tank almost pulls me out of my saddle. The object, which at first glance seems completely out of place, marks the entrance to the Four à Chaux bunker complex – part of a gigantic underground and above-ground fortress belt along the Franco-German border that was supposed to keep German troops at bay during the Second World War: the Ligne Maginot . Behind meter-thick concrete walls, kilometers of rails criss-cross through the hollowed-out interior of the earth – the fortress builders of the Middle Ages would be amazed.
On the way to Lembach, the bunkers that appear sporadically disappear under moss and undergrowth, so that the medieval castle image soon dominates the landscape again. Lembach intermediate station. The scent of freshly baked croissants drives me past half-timbered bay windows and geranium tubs into the next boulangerie. With my rucksack full, I then curve over the D 3 and D 35 to Bitche, enjoying the tiny streets to Wingensur Moder and La Petite-Pierre.
After a detour via Saverne, I head north-east via Ingwiller and Niederbronn-les-Bains to the Gimbelhof on the German-French border, where I meet the Walthari knights again. You practice the exhibition fight with swords, I roll over the border back into the emerald green depths of the Palatinate Forest. Rumbach, Niederschlettenbach, Bad Bergzabern. In the end I stand in front of Trifels Castle near Annweiler and look down into the Queichtal like Richard the Lionheart once did. The journey through the Middle Ages will move me for a long time.
Info Palatinate Forest / Northern Vosges
Crisp curves through bizarre rocky landscapes in the forest, fighting knights and a spectacular density of castles: those who travel to the Palatinate Forest and the northern Vosges will imagine themselves in other times and worlds.
getting there
From Stuttgart / Karlsruhe via the A 8, A 65 (Landau) and B 10 to Annweiler. From the direction of Frankfurt you can reach Annweiler via the A 67 (Mannheim / Ludwigshafen), the A 65 and B 10. From the direction of Trier / Saarbrucken you drive on the A 1, A 6, A 8 to Pirmasens and then on the B 10 to Hinterweidenthal and Annweiler.
Stay
Idyllic location near the German-French border: Landgasthaus Zur Wegelnburg, Hauptstrasse 15 in 76891 Nothweiler. Telephone 06394/284, Fax -5049 or www.zur-wegelnburg.de. An overnight stay with breakfast in a double room costs from 37.50 euros per person. Also recommended: Bold’s Hotel “Zum green Kranz”, Pirmasenser Strabe 2, 66976 Rodalben, phone 06331/23170, fax 231730, email: info@boldskranz.de, www.boldskranz.de. There are package deals for motorcyclists and tour tips. In neighboring France, you can spend the night well at Relais Nature, 7, Rue de Zittersheim, F-67290 Wingen sur Moder (they speak German). The boss provides his guests with tour tips and has an attached motorcycle workshop. For an overnight stay with breakfast in a double room you pay from 30 euros per person, in a three- or four-bed room from 25 euros. Telephone 0033/388898007, fax 388898285, email: motos.berg-mann@wanadoo.fr.
Worth seeing
A must for friends of old knight’s castles is a guided tour through Berwartstein Castle near Erlenbach – the only inhabited castle complex in the Palatinate. Information under phone 06398/210 or -1234 as well as www.burgberwartstein.de. On the grounds of the imposing Grafenstein castle ruins (also: “Merzalber Schloss”) near Merzalben, a medieval festival with a market, concert and camp life will take place from September 5th to 7th, 2008. Information by phone 06331/234180. The Altdahn Castle Group near Dahn is also worth seeing. Information under phone 06391/9196222 or www.dahner-felsenland.net. In Lemberg Castle (www.burg-lemberg.de) there is a castle festival with a Middle Age market and concert every year around Whitsun (www.spektakel-lemberg.de). Fleckenstein Castle near Lembach in Alsace is presented at www.fleckenstein.fr, Trifels near Annweiler at www.trifelsland.de, Wasigenstein near Wengelsbach in Alsace under the heading “Wasgau-Burgen” at www.burginfo.de. General castle information and overview at www.burgen.rlp.de and www.wasgauburgen.de. Interactive nature trails, a treetop path and a restaurant above the treetops can be found in the Palatinate Forest / Northern Vosges Biosphere House, Am Konigsbruch 1, Fischbach bei Dahn. Telephone 06393/92100 or www.biosphaerenhaus.de and www.wipfelpfad.de. The guided tours of the Simserhof fortifications near Bitsch (phone 0033/387/963940, www.simserhof.fr) and Four-à-Chaux near Lembach (phone 0033/3/88944316, www. ot-lembach.com). General information: www.lignemaginot.fr.
literature
Travel guides on the subject are rare. The HB-Bildatlas “Pfalz” provides a rough overview for 8.50 euros or the Marco Polo travel guide of the same name for 8.95 euros. An excerpt (39 pages) of the now out of print book “Felsenburgen im Wasgau” by Rudiger Bernges can be downloaded free of charge from www.burginfo.de. The complete book can be purchased as a PDF file (info@burginfo.de). A lot of useful information on the subject of the Northern Vosges can be found in the Baedeker Allianz travel guide “Alsace / Vosges”, including a travel card of 17.95 euros. With the cross-border France “local” map No. 315 “Alsace / Upper Rhine Plain” from Michelin, even the smallest connecting roads can be found without any problems. Scale: 1: 150000, 7.50 euros. In addition, we recommend the MOTORRAD general map No. 15 “Saarbrucken, Mannheim, Stuttgart”, Mairs Geographischer Verlag, scale 1: 200000, 5.90 euros.
information
Extensive, in some cases cross-border information is available from the Sudwestpfalz eV tourist office, Unterer Sommerwaldweg 40–42, 66953 Pirmasens, phone 06331/809126 and www.suedwestpfalz-touristik.de, from the Dahner Felsenland tourist information office, Schulstrabe 29, 66994 Dahn Telephone 06391/9196222 or www.dahner-felsenland.net, and at the tourist information office Grafensteiner Land, Am Rathaus 9, 66976 Rodalben, telephone 06331/234180, www.rodalben.de. Information on Alsace and Lorraine is available from the French Tourist Office (Maison de la France), Zeppelinallee 37, 60325 Frankfurt / Main, phone 0190/570025, fax -599061 and www.franceguide.com, email: info.de@franceguide.com . Further internet information at www.pfaelzerwald.de, www.biosphere-vosges-pfaelzerwald.org and www.parc-vosges-nord.fr.
Distance covered: 650 kilometers, duration: 3 days
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