Tour 4

On the Road between Rothenburg o.d.T. and Nuremberg

13 castles and palaces -163 kilometres  

The starting point for this tour is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where visitors are accompanied by the Middle Ages at every turn. 

At the next stops, you can sense the proximity of Nuremberg and its prominent role in the Middle Ages. The castles in Colmberg, Lichtenau, Abenberg and Cadolzburg, as well as Langenzenn Monastery, were all once owned by and served as outposts for the Burgraves of Nuremberg. Today, Colmberg Castle and Abenberg Castle are popular destinations for castle romance and delicious food and wine. In Cadolzburg, the castle museum, under the motto ‘HerrschaftsZeiten – Erlebnis Cadolzburg’ (Times of Rule – Experience Cadolzburg), provides an impressive encounter with the Middle Ages.

The castles on this tour have a completely different history. They were the margrave's residence in Ansbach, the seat of the Teutonic Order in Wolframs-Eschenbach and the margrave's hunting lodge in Roth. The Graf von Faber-Castell Castle in Stein represents aristocratic residential culture at the beginning of the 20th century. 

The new southern loop of the Castle Road leads into the former sphere of influence of the Eichstätt prince-bishops and through two new charming landscapes: in the Franconian Lake District lies the hop and beer town of Spalt with Wernfels Castle, and further on through the picturesque Altmühl Valley you reach the baroque town of Eichstätt with its mighty Willibaldsburg Castle.

Finally, the tour returns to the Middle Ages, with the Imperial Castle in Nuremberg forming the crowning finale.