Simmelsdorf brings together two clear themes for a stay: hiking in the municipality and historic architecture. The differences between the town and its nearby destinations are useful when planning: Winterstein Castle is in Simmelsdorf; other castles and a church with a fortified hilltop cemetery are in the surrounding area. If you are looking for accommodation, you can first weigh up whether hiking, village architecture or castles should be the main focus.
Half-timbered houses and a castle in Simmelsdorf
Half-timbered houses shape the character of the villages in the municipality of Simmelsdorf. At Winterstein Castle, the gatehouse, parts of a corner tower and the outer walls of the palas still remain. This brings two different scales together at the municipal level: the character of entire villages and the surviving parts of a single castle. If you are interested in architectural history, you can give these themes different priorities when planning.
Historic destinations in the surrounding area
Wildenfels Castle has been a ruin since 1553, the Second Margrave War. In BĂĽhl, the church with its fortified hilltop cemetery dates back to 1472; it is just above Simmelsdorf. At Strahlenfels Castle Ruins, hardly any traces remain of the three castle buildings and the chapel. The sites therefore differ both in their dates and in their state of preservation. When choosing a historic focus, it makes a difference whether you are interested in a date, a church with a fortified cemetery or just a few remaining traces of a castle.
Hiking in the municipality
In the municipality, the Hüttenbach and Surroundings Tourist and Beautification Association (Fremdenverkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Hüttenbach und Umgebung e.V.) maintains a hiking trail network around 144 kilometres long. There are also 120 benches for resting. The figure describes the network as a whole, so the route you choose matters when planning a particular outing. Numbers on a coloured background are one type of marking used on hiking trails. The network’s overall length, the benches and the trail markings offer different points of reference for planning a hike, but do not determine any particular route.
More things to do in the NĂĽrnberger Land
Across the wider Nürnberger Land travel destination, more than 3,000 kilometres of well-marked hiking trails and well-developed cycling routes of varying difficulty run through the region. One specifically described hiking route is in Kirchensittenbach: the “Hohenstein (634 m) – SevenSummits” route is 10.1 kilometres long, with 406 metres of ascent and 397 metres of descent. These details allow you to compare the route length and elevation gain more specifically with your own preferences.
The Wengleinpark, a nature reserve founded by Carl Wenglein in 1930, is in Pommelsbrunn. The “Hochberg (619 m) – SevenSummits” route also leads through the forests around Pommelsbrunn; its highlight is the “Acropolis of the Celts” on Hochberg. The Nürnberger Land is part of the Franconian Switzerland–Frankenjura Nature Park. A different kind of landscape can be found in the Bitterbach Gorge in Lauf an der Pegnitz, with steep, partly undercut gorge walls, rocks overgrown with mosses and ferns, deep crevices and holes, and small waterfalls.
Culture is also part of the regional offering: the German Shepherds’ Museum in Hersbruck displays clothing, equipment and handicrafts made by shepherds from around the world. These destinations offer a range of nature and culture experiences in the Nürnberger Land; when planning your trip, you can weigh up whether to focus on hiking trails, landscapes or the museum.
Discover more destinations: Neuhaus A.D.Pegnitz, Alfeld, Pommelsbrunn, Hartenstein, Happurg, Winkelhaid, Altdorf Bei NĂĽrnberg, Vorra
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