The Eselsweg (English: "donkey trail") is a long-distance hiking trail that follows an ancient trade route through the ''

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (; German: ''Mittel'', "middle or mid"; ''Gebirge'', "mountains or mountainous area") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germ ...

Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

, in the states of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is 111 km long and leads from

Schlüchtern Schlüchtern () is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hessen, Germany. It is located on the river Kinzig (Main), Kinzig, approximately 30 km southwest of Fulda. Schlüchtern has a population close to 16,000. Location Schlüchtern is locat ...

in the valley of the Kinzig river to Großheubach on the river Main. The trail follows an ancient trade route on which donkey caravans used to transport salt, thus giving rise to the name.

History

The historic road ''Eselsweg'' has likely been in use since prehistoric times. It may have connected

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

circular ramparts, found for example at Bürgstadt and Miltenberg to similar places near the Kinzig, such as the '. Since in pre-modern times the valleys of the Spessart were often swampy and water-logged, the path stuck to the higher elevations. This route also avoided the need for constant climbing into and out of the river valleys. The route's name derives from the caravans of donkeys used in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to transport salt from Orb to Miltenberg, where it was either loaded on ships or carried on by land. Miltenberg was an important toll station set up by the Archbishop of Mainz. The ''Eselsweg'' was first mentioned in 1339 as "Eßelspfadt".

Route

The modern hiking trail mostly follows the historic route and crosses the Spessart as a high route which sticks to the peaks and ridges and avoids the valleys and villages. It is maintained and signposted by the ' with a black "E" on white. The ''Eselsweg'' hiking trail starts at the train station of

Main-Kinzig Main-Kinzig-Kreis is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Wetteraukreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Fulda (district), Fulda, Bad Kissingen (district), Bad Kissingen, Main-Spessart, Aschaffenburg (d ...

. It then climbs from the Kinzig valley into the Spessart hills and goes roughly southwest and then south. Near the , it reaches the Bavarian border and follows it west before turning south again, entering the '' Landkreis Aschaffenburg''. In this area, the ''Eselsweg'' also touches another ancient trade route, the '' Birkenhainer Strasse''. The two trails run alongside each other to the ''Dr.-Kihn-Platz'', where they part ways. The ''Eselsweg'' continues to lead mostly in a southerly direction, until it crosses the Autobahn 3 at Weibersbrunn before looping west and south back to the Autobahn at Rohrbrunn, a possible location of the inn that inspired a story by Wilhelm Hauff and the movie '' The Spessart Inn''. The trail passes a hunting lodge used by Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, ', and snakes southwards and southwest, entering the '' Landkreis Miltenberg''. It reaches the Main valley at the '' Kloster Engelberg'', above Großheubach and then leads down over 600 steps (''Engelsstaffeln'') into the town. For most of its length after the initial climb the trail stays at an elevation between 400 m and 500 m and sports few significant climbs. It mostly passes through mixed coniferous forest. The only villages the trail directly touches are: Lettgenbrunn (a part of Jossgrund) and Weibersbrunn. It also passes quite close to the villages of Flörsbach (a part of Flörsbachtal) and Wildensee (a part of Eschau) as well as to Heigenbrücken, a larger town.

History

Route

References

External links

Further reading