From afar, the Staffelberg mountain greets its visitors with its prominent rocky crown. The Franconian mountain is the biggest attraction for hikers and nature lovers in the Bad Staffelstein region. It exerts a special, almost mystic fascination. The mountain’s peculiarity is due to its high plateau.
The first settlers were probably there from around the 5 th millennium BC. In the late Iron Age, approx. 150– 50 BC, the highpoint of the Staffelberg settlement was a Celtic oppidum.
There are many routes leading up the Staffelberg. The normal route begins at the Bad Staffelstein graveyard and leads over tracks and a long hollow lane up the Staffelberg. If you have difficulty walking, or don’t enjoy it, you can also take the car to Romansthal and take a shorter route to the summit from there.
Climbing the 539 metre-high Staffelberg over environmentally protected land is rewarded with a breath-taking view into the valley. Victor von Scheffel once even praised the marvellous view “from Bamberg to Grabfeldgau” in his Song of Franconia. On clear days, even the Rennsteig, the Veste Coburg and the Franconian forest can be seen.
While hiking to the Staffelberg, you cannot miss visiting the Adelgundis Chapel. At Easter, the “holy grave” is erected there as a mobile theatre. It is also worth climbing down into the legendary Querkelas’ hole, which can be found between the south and west cross.
The trip can be rounded off with a stop at the Staffelberg Klause hermitage. You can enjoy delicious snacks in the restaurant, beer garden or in the shadows of the chapel (closed on Tuesdays, in winter only open on weekends, closed in November).