Hiking is a popular past time for both Odenwald visitors and residents alike, and the park is well-known for its criss-crossing network of hiking trails that take walkers over a varying landscape of fields and pastures, low-lying mountains and mixed forests of beech, oak and ash.
Most of the trails you'll find in the Odenwald are maintained by the nature club, Odenwald e.V., who do a wonderful job ensuring that the trails are well marked and clear of obstacles. Trails, with detailed maps and descriptions on information boards, are easy to find on even the shortest drive over the Odenwald. Armed with local maps and a compass for safety, simply look for a blue nature car park (Naturparkplatz) sign, stop and check out whether the trail distance and landscape is to your liking and set off on your hike.
One of the most scenic places to walk in the Odenwald is around the village of Neunkirchen, sitting atop the Neunkircherhöhe, which at 605 metres (1,985 feet), is the highest point in the Hessen part of the Odenwald. The village is popular with hikers as the walks that either start or pass through the little town take in some of the most stunning views in the Odenwald, allowing you to see across the Rhine Plain over to Frankfurt and the Taunus.
From the nature car park opposite the church, you'll find trail descriptions for four different hikes, ranging in length from 2km to 4.5 kilometres. There are longer hikes in the area, both day hikes and portions of long-distance trails, including the Alemannenweg and the European E8 trail. There is more information about these walks at nature car parks nearby or on local hiking maps published by the Odenwald Club.
The name "Neunkirchen" translates as "nine churches"; however, there is no archaeological or documentary evidence to suggest that there were nine churches connected with the village, and various records seem to show the name evolved over time, its origin lost in history, though it probably meant "by the new church" or something similar.
The first recorded mention of Neunkirchen was in 1222, referencing goods moved between the monasteries of Bronnbach, Mainz and Seligenstadt. At that time, the village was called Nuenkirchen. In 1347, Erkinger von Rodenstein sold the village to the counts of Katzenelnbogen, and at the end of the 14th century, the nobles of Erbach donated taxes to the town, then mentioned as Nuwenkirchen. Sometime between the mid-14th century and 1433, the village was back in the hands of the Rodenstein family as records show that it was sold, once again, to the Katzenelnbogens, this time the name being recorded as Nunkirchen. At some point prior to to the early 18th century the town, now called Neunkirchen, became the property of the noble Gemmingen family as records show they gave up their rights to the town to Landgraf Ludwig of Hessen in that year.
The first recorded mention of Neunkirchen was in 1222, referencing goods moved between the monasteries of Bronnbach, Mainz and Seligenstadt. At that time, the village was called Nuenkirchen. In 1347, Erkinger von Rodenstein sold the village to the counts of Katzenelnbogen, and at the end of the 14th century, the nobles of Erbach donated taxes to the town, then mentioned as Nuwenkirchen. Sometime between the mid-14th century and 1433, the village was back in the hands of the Rodenstein family as records show that it was sold, once again, to the Katzenelnbogens, this time the name being recorded as Nunkirchen. At some point prior to to the early 18th century the town, now called Neunkirchen, became the property of the noble Gemmingen family as records show they gave up their rights to the town to Landgraf Ludwig of Hessen in that year.
The 17th century was a turbulent one for the village. In 1634 during the Thirty Year’s War, Spanish troops attacked the town, shot the priest and plundered the church and village. As if this were not enough, in 1635 the plague killed everyone remaining in the town. Less than ten years later in 1643, lightening struck the church and caused a fire that consumed the roof, and in 1689, Bavarian troops robbed the church during the Nine Years’ War. Today, Neunkirchen is a bit calmer, and it's a pleasant place to stop for a drink or a meal in one of the guests houses in town either before or after your hike (see information below).
Before arriving at Neunkirchen, you’ll catch many glimpses of the town's iconic yellow church as you pass through the surrounding countryside. The first church to be built on this site dated back to the early 13th century. It was a pilgrimage church dedicated to the saints, Damian and Cosmos, and it was said that the spring, which still bubbles away at the area near the parsonage, had healing powers.  |
| Remnant of a Medieval Fresco |
The original structure was a single nave church with a rectangular choir. That late-Romanesque church was replaced in the 1580s with a Gothic building, though the builder, Pastor Johannes Roder, used some of the old walls. This structure was also largely replaced in 1742/43, though once again, part of the old walls were used. The features you see today are mainly from this time period, however, inside the church you can still see wall frescoes from the medieval era.
No visit to Neunkirchen is complete without a walk up to the nearby Kaiserturm, or Emperor's Tower, which you can find if you take the Kaiserturm trail from the nature car park across from the church. Along the way, you can also see the source of two of the local creeks, the Lauter and the Gersprenz, one of which flows to the Main and the other to the Rhine. The tower and both creek sources lie to the south of the village at the highest point of the Neunkircherhöhe,
Emperor’s Tower (Kaiserturm)
The Kaiserturm is a 34 meter-high observation tower designed by the Darmstadt architects, Haiker and Jade and
built by Adam Fleischman of Seidenbuch in 1906/07. A wooden tower, the predecessor to the tower you see today, was built in 1888 under the direction of the Odenwald Club; however, it collapsed in February 1904 during a violent storm. Construction on the current tower was begun in 1906 and turned over to the Odenwald Club on the occasion of the club’s 25th anniversary on July 7, 1907. The tower was named after Kaiser Wilhelm I.
During opening times on the weekends, you can eat at the restaurant/cafe located on the second floor, and you can climb the 146 steps to the viewing platform where you’ll get a good view over the Odenwald. On clear days you can see across the Hessen plain to the Palatinate and over Frankfurt to the Taunus.
(Gersprenzquelle, Lauterquelle)
Just south of the Kaiserturm, you'll find the Gersprenzquelle, the source of the Gersprenz River, which runs through the Odenwald down to the Main River in Aschaffenburg. It is one of the best known springs in the Odenwald and is considered such an important feature that it was made a natural monument in 1952.
On the trail down to Neunkirchen, below the Kaiserturm, lies the Lauterquelle, the source of the Lauter Creek, which originates here and flows west through the Odenwald to Bensheim where it turns north at the Rinnentor (a remnant of the town’s medieval fortifications). Though the name of the river changes to Windel Creek (Windelbach), it still continues its journey another 31 kilometers until it reaches the Rhine River at Gernsheim.
🏨🍷 Höhenhaus Odenwald, D-64397 Modautal-Neunkirchen, (0) 6254-882, info@hoehenhaus-odenwald.de https://www.neunkircher-hoehe.de/See their website for opening times.
🍷 Gasthaus Zum Grünen Baum, Neunkirchen 11 - 64397 Modautal, (0) 6254-943494, http://www.zumgruenenbaum-floris.de/ See their website for opening times.
Sources:
Historisches Ortslexikon fuer Hessen, Neunkirchen, Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieberg, http://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/ol/id/13470, accessed August 15, 2017.
Ev. Kirchengemeinde Neunkirchen, http://ekg-neunkirchen.ekhn.de/startseite.html, accessed August 15, 2017.
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