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• Franconian Forest At the top in Bavaria
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Franconian Forest

Franconian Forest
At the top in Bavaria

At the northernmost end of Bavaria, nestled close to the Thuringian border, the Franconian Forest is hidden: a true cornering paradise – and known for good sausages and strong beer.

Dieter Lobkarn

07/09/1997

Irritated, I stare at the silver earring. Its wearer, around mid-50s and dressed inconspicuously, looks more like someone who would be upset about this type of men’s jewelry. The gentleman of the ring suspects my thoughts and laughs: “Earrings have been a hallmark of raftsmen for hundreds of years,” he says in his pleasant Franconian dialect, the main characteristic of which is to make no audible distinction between “d” and “t” longer Elke and I rush through the lush green Franconian forest on the winding asphalt belts, we realize why rafting has been an important industry in this region for a long time: lush, high-quality coniferous forest and countless watercourses, but little agriculture because of the barren soil. The farmers cut their wood, peeled it and finally pulled the logs to the rivers and streams by horse and cart. The raftsmen tied up the logs and sailed downstream. Where the watercourses widened, they connected the rafts to form larger and larger floating platforms. Huts, cattle for slaughter, beer barrels and all sorts of other things drove along the rivers. At the destinations, the raftsmen dismantled their navigable pedestals, dried the trunks and sold them at a profit. For two or three hours we stroll through a lovely landscape, mostly in the shade of tall trees, but always on stretches that consist exclusively of curves. We reach Unterrodach far too quickly. Here the raftsman recommended the rustic museum of his guild to us. We look curiously at the numerous exhibits and learn from contemporary writings that the raftsmen were “rough and rowdy fellows”. Nevertheless, they were admired and envied by everyone. Because they were among the few who at that time had the opportunity to break out of the narrow Franconian villages and get to know the big, wide world, although Holland, the destination of their raft trips, seems ridiculously close to us today. It was not until the 20th century that the raftsmen were ousted by trucks and railways. However, the guild has survived as a tourist attraction in the Franconian Forest. Locks and weirs open every Saturday, and it goes fully laden with young and old down the Wilde Rodach, from Schnappenhammer to Wallenfels. But not only water rats get their money’s worth along the Wilde Rodach. While motorcycle traffic jams southwest of here in Franconian Switzerland at weekends, two-wheeler traffic is still limited in the Upper Franconian triangle Kronach-Kulmbach-Hof. Even where the Rodach no longer bears the addition “Wilde”, there are idyllic little streets, all of which are bordered by green in the general map. We drive enthusiastically through this seemingly evergreen landscape for hours. Often the giant trees stand so close together that they look like an impenetrable wall. An eerie mood. Although the sun is shining over the canopy, only small points of light fall on the black asphalt every now and then. When the forest is interrupted by generous clearings, we discover small villages that are almost lovingly embedded in the gently rolling hilly landscape. There are days in summer when it is difficult to get off the motorcycle again. Today the time has come again: In the evening we take a long dangling along the northern edge of the Franconian Forest to Modlareuth, a village that was christened Little Berlin by American soldiers – like Berlin, Modlareuth was also divided by a wall. On the one hand there was a restricted area, on the other there was a lot of tourist crowds: Countless visitors wanted to take a look at the GDR from here, although its residents were prohibited from waving from east to west while chatting at the counter of a kiosk we learn that the reason for the village division was historical: 400 years ago the village became a border stream. Landmarks from 1810 can still be seen today. The letters “KB” for Kingdom of Bavaria on one side and “FR” for Principality of Reuss on the other side of the stream are chiseled into it. After the end of the First World War, kings and princes disappeared, but the border remained. Bavaria over there, Thuringia over there. School and pub were in Thuringia, the church was all visited together in neighboring Topen in Bavaria. After the Second World War, everything changed. The Tannbach separated the American from the Soviet zone of occupation. The common regulars’ table in the Thuringian inn finally came to an end in May 1949. With the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR, the stream could only be crossed with a pass. In 1952, a ten-meter-wide control strip was cut down and plowed, and villagers had to leave their homes. A high wooden fence divided Modlareuth in half, and finally a wall, 700 meters long and over three meters high, which was only to be torn down 24 years later. Today the tiny place is an open-air museum. In addition to parts of the border fortifications from all over Germany, a piece of the old Modlareuther wall can also be seen. Signs explain the structure of the fence, safety zone and death strip. It’s hard to believe that all this was a bitter reality until a few years ago. We continue on tiny paths on a plateau towards the courtyard. A scarecrow on the edge of the field is reminiscent of the horror characters from Stephen King films. No wonder the feathered friends stay away from the seeds here. Finally, the hand-painted signs on the snack bars tell us that we have already crossed the bratwurst demarcation line: Now the spicy sticks are again called Nurnberger or Franconian bratwursts, no longer Thuringian. We reach Kulmbach far too quickly – and we are very thirsty. At Hagleitner’s host Gunther Limmer, we immediately feel at home and find out what Franconian people prefer to drink with “his sausages”. Beer, of course. And whoever speaks of beer in the Franconian Forest means that from Kulmbach. With an annual per capita production of almost 7000 liters, four large breweries make the Franconian town the unofficial beer capital of the world. Due to the nationwide sharp drop in beer consumption and the associated slump in sales, however, all four once independent breweries now belong to a company that only wants to market »Kulmbacher beer« worldwide in the future. What then comes with specialties such as Eku 28, the strongest with 28 percent original wort Bier der Welt, or the black Monchshof Pils, is still unclear. At his »cheerful beer tasting«, which Gunther Limmer has been celebrating in front of countless tour groups for many years, he still pours out the malty drops. We also have to try. It starts with the strongest beer, because the strong beers have more of an aperitif character due to their sweetness. Eku 28 is followed by an Eisbock, then it gets pilsner. The crowning glory is a wheat beer drunk from a kind of goldfish aquarium and flambeed with herbal schnapps. Suddenly we’re doing really well. But base quarters in Kulmbach are not just a good idea for the beer tasting. The city is strategically located in the south of the Franconian Forest, and many fantastic routes start here practically right in front of our hotel door. One of the most beautiful is between Stadt-Steinach and Wildenstein. Elke and I disappear quite legally on a dirt road in the dense forest. The path winds along a single lane along a stream, back and forth under a green canopy that only lets some sunlight shine through in a few places. Then steep rocks grow out of the green subsoil to form an impressive, many-meter-high rock gorge, which in some places is so narrow that the stream and the path just have space next to each other. As soon as the engine is stopped, only the rustling of the tree tops in the wind and the rippling of the water can be heard. Only once does a mountain biker come across us in this secluded place. Alaska feeling spreads in us – and that in the middle of Germany. Only after a while do we come to a rustic mill, where we treat ourselves to the house specialty: smoked trout. But the Franconian Forest not only produces spicy beer and hearty dishes, but surprisingly also exquisite sweets. That is why we curve on the Frankenwald-Hochstrabe through lonely forests to the former GDR border, which, however, is hardly recognizable. Grass has long since grown over the former death strip. Behind Ludwigsstadt, Lauenstein Castle is enthroned high on its slate plinth. The Confiserie Bauer models delicate praline specialties on their feet, which are even bought regularly in America and Japan – a paradise for those who are unconscious of calories. But we control ourselves. Only a small package of marzipan specialties disappears in the BMW panel compartment. It should sweeten our journey home.

Info

The Franconian Forest is known as the »crown of Bavaria«: three districts – Hof, Kulmbach and Kronach – have a share in it. In addition to motorcyclists, beer drinkers and sausage fans in particular get their money’s worth here.

Arrival: If you leave the A9 between Nuremberg and Leipzig near Hof, you have already reached your destination: the most beautiful routes are in the triangle between Hof, Kulmbach and Kronach. A journey via the numerous, winding country roads is of course more varied.Overnight: The overnight prices in the Franconian Forest start at a pleasant 20 marks for one person in a double room with breakfast. The tourist information office arranges suitable private rooms by telephone on 0 92 61/60 15 12 and 13. A catalog can be requested by calling +49 92 61/60 15 14. In addition to private rooms, there are of course numerous hotels. The comfortable Sporthotel Floberhof in Kreuzbergstrasse 35, 96364 Marktrodach, offers double rooms from 140 marks, telephone 0 92 61/60 61 0, fax 0 92 61/60 61 62. From 80 marks there is a double room in the Burghotel Lauenstein in Ludwigsstadt- Lauenstein, phone 0 92 63 / 9430. In the modern four-star Hotel Astron in Kulmbach, phone 0 92 21/6030, double rooms cost from 150 marks. Gastronomy: The sausages mentioned in the text are available at many snack bars, especially during the in summer there are frequent city and beer festivals. You can eat hearty at the Hagleitner Wirt (see beer tasting). His specialty is a beef roast prepared in Eisbock beer. Those who don’t care about meat should try their homemade pasta. The Monchshof brewery has the most beautiful beer garden in Kulmbach. It is right next to the brewery museum. The »real beer industry« Kulmbacher Kommunbrau brews its local beer in the middle of Kulmbach, with Franconian specialties. The Frankenwald Confiserie Bauer, Orlamunder Strabe 39, 96337 Ludwigsstadt-Lauenstein, phone 0 92 63/2 15, produces exquisite praline specialties. Worth seeing: The rafting museum Unterrodach, located in a rafting man’s house from the 17th century, Kirchplatz 8, 96362 Marktrodach, phone 0 92 61/6 03 10, Fax 0 92 61/60 31 50, shows the history of the Franconian forest rafting with many exhibits, models, old black and white photos and original documents. Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays and public holidays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Entry three marks. The Deutsch-Deutsches Museum in Modlareuth, telephone 092 95/13 34, fax 0 92 95/13 19, reminds of the history of the division of Germany Year a new museum building will be opened. Opening times of the outdoor area: daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guided tours by appointment. Entry three marks. In the Bavarian Brewery Museum, Hofer Strabe 20, 95326 Kulmbach, phone 0 92 21/8 05 10, the art of brewing is clearly explained. The “museum all about beer” is housed in a historical wing of the Kulmbacher Monchshof-Brau, on medieval monastery grounds. Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry four marks. The German Tin Figure Museum, founded in 1929 in the Plassenburg in Kulmbach, is the largest of its kind in the world with over 300,000 exhibits. In summer there are casting demonstrations on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Activities: A raft trip on the Wilder Rodach near Wallenfels, every Saturday between May and September, is a worthwhile experience. A beer tasting at the Hagleitner Wirt in Matthias Schneider-Strabe 6 in Kulmbach, phone 0 92 21/42 31, fax 0 92 21/8 46 51 is just as worthwhile. Six different beers can be sampled. Price: 17.50 marks per person. The old town festival in Kulmbach always takes place on the first weekend in July, the beer festival always on the last weekend of July (with an average beer consumption of 170,000 liters!) Information: The Tourist Information Office of the Franconian Forest, Adolf-Kolping-Strabe 1, 96317 Kronach, phone 0 92 61/60 15 0, fax 0 92 61/60 15 15, sends information free of charge. The “host ?? 96” not only lists all accommodation options, but also activities such as raft rides, beer tasting and suckling pig meals for groups. Literature: HB image atlas number “64” covers the Franconian Forest as well as the Fichtelgebirge and Coburg region, 14.80 marks. The volume “Suddeutschland” by Elke and Dieter Lobkarn from the Unterwegs edition of the Motorbuchverlag for 29.80 Marks describes tours in the neighboring regions of the Franconian Forest: Franconian Switzerland, Fichtelgebirge, Mainfranken and Steigerwald. The book can be ordered from the publisher’s special sales department, phone 0711 / 182-1229, fax 0711 / 182-1756. The general map on a scale of 1: 200,000, sheet 17 for 8.80 marks covers the entire area of ​​the Franconian Forest.

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