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Travel by public transport to Bensheim-Auerbach
- RB 67/68 from Frankfurt, Bensheim-Auerbach stop
- RB 68 from Heidelberg
Departure from Heppenheim
- RE 60 towards Frankfurt or Mannheim
- RB 67/68 towards Frankfurt
- RB 68 towards Heidelberg
(S) The third stage of the Burgensteig starts on the forecourt of Bensheim-Auerbach station. In front of the station building, turn left towards ‘Otto-Beck-Straße’ and then immediately right, following ‘Otto-Beck-Straße’ until you reach ‘Darmstädter Straße’.
Cross this at the pedestrian lights and turn right. At the next opportunity, turn left onto “Neuer Weg” (a shared-use road). Follow this road until you reach a T-junction opposite the Evangelical Community Centre.
There, turn left again onto “Bachgasse” and cross to the other side of the road straight away. Walk towards a signpost. Here, turn right onto “Kirchweg”. The cobbled path leads you uphill in a left-hand bend.
In the following right-hand bend, a narrow path branches off to the left. Walk down the steps here. Once at the bottom, cross a car park. In the far right-hand corner, a footbridge takes you over the leat. Here you’ll also find the Burgensteig signpost (blue castle on a white background)
(1) After a while, you’ll come to another car park with public toilets. On the other side of the car park, turn right onto ‘Bachgasse’, which takes you up a gentle slope towards Fürstenlager.
You’ll pass through a barrier, which also marks the entrance to Fürstenlager, and continue walking uphill along the now gravelly path.
On your right, you will now see a pond, the Schwanenteich. Before reaching it, turn right and cross a wooden bridge.
After the bridge, turn left. There are a few places to sit here under a chestnut tree. Walk along the path beside the Schwanenteich, pass another small pond on your left and, after a while, reach the first building in Fürstenlager.
Walk past the building and head left through the courtyard to the main path, which you then follow to the right.
(2) At the signpost marked ‘Fürstenlager’, turn right. The path now climbs quite steeply towards the Friendship Temple.
Once past the Friendship Temple, take the first turn-off sharply to the right and continue uphill. When you reach the top, you’ll have a sweeping view over the vineyards, the Odenwald and the Rhine Valley.
Here, turn left and walk along the top of the vineyards.
(3) You’ll pass the Lions Club Bergstraße shelter on your left and continue towards a seating area with a view beneath the (newly planted) Ludwigslinde tree.
There, the path takes you to the left and then straight back to the right.
You’ll now walk along the Dr Lommel Path to Marienplatz. Here, turn right; a signpost indicates the direction – Kirchberghäuschen, Bensheim, Starkenburg and Heppenheim. The wide forest path now leads you downhill.
You’ll reach another car park; walk past it – on your left you’ll see a table and a bench. On the other side of the car park, carry on straight ahead, past the Bensheim elevated water tank.
Carry on straight ahead until you reach a fork. Here, take the second path on the right – a narrow forest track. At the following forks, keep to the left. The track runs parallel to the main path, which you’ll rejoin after a while.
You’ll meet the main path at a junction and see a seating area a little further ahead. Walk past it on the right and turn onto the wider path that runs alongside the field.
After walking straight on for a considerable distance, you’ll come to a barrier. Turn right before the barrier.
(4) The path takes you out of the woods in a left-hand bend (bench) and leads you above the vineyards towards the Kirchberghäuschen. This is a good spot for a break.
Walk straight ahead through the beer garden and, at the end, take a narrow flight of steps to the right down a steep slope. At the first junction, keep to the left. The path continues steeply downhill.
After a while, you’ll come to a T-junction; turn left here. The path is now slightly wider. After a few metres, the surface changes from gravel to tarmac and you walk downhill through the vineyards towards Bensheim.
You’ll come to a T-junction; here, turn right into ‘Kalkgasse’. Before the entrance to Bensheim Town Park, turn left down a cobbled lane.
At the end of the lane, you’ll come to a tarmac path; turn left here and, before the steel gate with a cross on it, go down the steps on the right.
(5) At the bottom of the steps, turn left along “Nibelungenstraße”, passing under the (pedestrian) bridge of the Franciscan monastery. You’ll pass the site of the former synagogue in Bensheim on your left.
At the pedestrian traffic lights, cross “Nibelungenstraße” and turn right into “Platanenallee”.
After the “Pegasus” variety theatre, turn left into “Augartenstraße”. A few metres further on, turn right into “Hunsrückstraße”.
After a left-hand bend, there is a gap in the wall on the right; turn here and walk up the steps.
Cross “Knodener Straße” and continue along the narrow path on the other side. At the end of the narrow path, turn left onto “Fliederweg”. Follow this path past a playground until you reach a right-hand bend. At this bend, turn left up a few steps onto “Wingertsweg”.
Follow this path to the right, then turn left shortly afterwards onto the street “Auf der Schwell”.
You’ll come to a junction, where there’s also a signpost. Cross the junction straight ahead towards Hemsbachturm and Hambacher Kreuz. Follow “Am Hinkelstein” downhill to “Gronauer Straße”.
Once there, turn left towards Bensheim-Zell. Immediately after the Bensheim-Zell town sign, cross the Meerbach to the right, walk up the forest path and turn right at the next junction (follow the Burgensteig signposts).
(6) You’ll reach a signpost (green). Here you can choose between the easier route (straight ahead) or the more challenging one (to the left). Both paths rejoin at the top.
Note: The more challenging route is not recommended in the rain or shortly afterwards, as it is very slippery.
On the more challenging route, take the path on the left. After a while, the easier route joins from the right and you turn left.
Once at the top, you’ll pass another elevated water tank; there’s a bench in front of it where you can take a breather.
You’ll walk along above the vineyards. At the next junction, carry on straight ahead, slightly uphill. The gravelly path turns into a narrow forest track. You’ll reach a T-junction and turn right here.
You’ll come to a wider path; your route continues to the left, heading uphill.
Before a prominent rock, keep to the left and, at the next fork, turn right.
(7) You’ll reach the Hemsberg with the Bismarck Tower (commonly known as the Hemsberg Tower), where you’ll have the chance to take a break.
In front of the mountain hut, turn left and then right to head back down the hill. At the next junction (signposted: green sign ‘NSG Hemsberg von Bensheim-Zell’), turn right.
After a few metres, turn left onto a narrow path.
(8) You’ll emerge from the woods and, at a table with two benches, have the chance to take a short break and enjoy the view. You’ll then head left, following the vineyards, until you reach a T-junction.
Here, turn right and then left again at the next T-junction (signposted towards Hambacher Kreuz, Starkenburg, Heppenheim).
At the next junction, keep to the right; at the next one, turn left. The path leads slightly uphill.
(9) At the T-junction (signposted ‘Hambach’), turn right and after a few metres you’ll reach the Hambacher Kreuz.
Before the cross, turn left and walk down the tarmac road towards Hambach. Once you reach the bottom, turn right and walk through the village.
Passing the “Hambacher Tal” bus stop, after a while you’ll come to a junction with a forest track (private road, rescue point AP236); turn left here.
This path takes you uphill through the woods for quite a long stretch. Do not leave the main path at any junction (guidance: the Burgensteig trail sign)
(10) After what feels like an eternity, you’ll pass a pond for amphibians with a rest area as you round a bend to the right. Continue along the main path.
(11) You’ll reach a junction with a signpost and the ‘Helenenruhe’ shelter. Here, turn right towards Starkenburg and Heppenheim, and you’ll emerge from the woods.
At the next junction, keep right. After a while, you’ll come to a car park, with a playground behind it. Here, keep left towards Starkenburg and the youth hostel.
(12) Walk up the paved path; on your right, you’ll pass the Starkenburg Observatory.
(13) Once you’ve reached the courtyard of Starkenburg Castle, it’s worth taking a short tour, which you’ll round off with a view from the Schneckenturm tower over Heppenheim and the Rhine Valley.
Once you’ve left the castle gate, turn left and walk down the cobbled road for a short while until you see a sign on the right saying ‘Old Town footpath 5 minutes’ (don’t get too excited – it takes longer).
Turn off here and follow the path until you come to a tarmac vineyard track again. Turn right there.
(14) You walk through the vineyards to a car park with a pavilion, where you can take another break.
In front of the pavilion, turn left and walk down the cobbled “Starkenburgweg” towards Heppenheim until you reach the “Kleiner Markt” junction. There, cross the B460 and turn right into the pedestrian zone.
Stroll along the pedestrian zone until you reach “Postplatz”. There, cross the B3 and turn slightly left onto “Ernst-Schneider-Straße”.
(E) Finally, turn right onto “Kalterer Straße”. Heppenheim railway station – and thus the end of this stage – is right in front of you.
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Difficult 
Easy 
