Tour 5

On the Road between Nuremberg and Bamberg

7 castles and palaces - 125 kilometres

What could be more representative of the Castle Road than the starting point of this tour, Nuremberg with its Imperial Castle? To learn more about the significance of this famous landmark, be sure to visit the permanent exhibition ‘Emperor – Empire – City. The Imperial Castle of Nuremberg’.

Nuremberg is followed by Lauf an der Pegnitz, which also boasts an imperial castle, before the Castle Road turns north towards Franconian Switzerland, which was already being explored by prominent guests such as the poets Jean Paul and Ludwig Tieck at the end of the 18th century. ‘What Switzerland is on a large scale can be found here on a smaller scale...’ is written in a hiking guide from 1829 – a sentence that still applies today.

Bizarre rock formations, as if created for knight's castles, are characteristic of the landscape. The thousand-year-old Pottenstein Castle and Rabenstein Castle, now a charming hotel, are prime examples of this daring castle construction. Underground wonderlands open up when visiting the Devil's Cave in Pottenstein and the Sophie Cave in the natural paradise of Rabenstein Castle.

From here, the route finally leads to Bamberg, whose historic old town bears the proud title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to the bishop's residences, the Altenburg is also a link to the Castle Road.