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Getting to Heppenheim by public transport:
- RE 60 from Frankfurt or Mannheim
- RB 67/68 from Frankfurt
- RB 68 from Heidelberg
Departure from Hemsbach
- RE 60 towards Frankfurt or Mannheim
- RB 68 towards Heidelberg
- RB 67/68 towards Frankfurt
(S) The fourth stage of the Burgensteig starts on the station forecourt in Heppenheim. Opposite the station building, walk into Bahnhofstraße, then turn right into Neckarstraße and then left into Ernst-Schneider-Straße.
Follow this road until you reach Ludwigstraße, cross at the pedestrian crossing and walk along the pedestrian zone until you reach Kleiner Markt square.
Opposite you will see the Wormser Tor, the gateway to Heppenheim's old town. Go through it and continue straight ahead to the Großer Markt square.
It is worth paying attention to the lanterns along the way. These feature silhouettes by the artist Alber Völkl depicting Hessian legends. There is also an explanatory plaque on each lantern.
(1) Behind the Großer Markt square, you will already see the two towers of St. Peter's Church rising up. To get there, cross the square and follow Kirchgasse. After a few metres, you will find yourself in front of the Bergstraße Cathedral. It is well worth a visit.
Leaving the cathedral, keep half left and you will come through a narrow alley onto Laudenbacher Tor, which will take you back to the Burgensteig. Turn left.
(2) After a few metres, you will pass the Sparkasse Starkenburg money museum and find yourself at the Merianstraße/Gräffstraße intersection. Continue on the other side of the road into Kolpingstraße.
Keep left in front of a mighty chestnut tree and continue along Kolpingstraße until you reach Erbacher Tal (L3120). Cross this road.
Walk a short distance along Mausnestweg and immediately turn left into Essigkammweg. The path now climbs steeply uphill.
At the end of the paved path, turn right (sign: "Nur für Fußgänger" – pedestrians only) and continue uphill along the edge of the forest.
After the steps, turn sharp left and pass a car park. After the car park, turn sharp right onto a forest path.
After a few metres, a narrow path branches off to the left from this wider path (orientation: Burgensteig trail marker, blue castle on a white background).
The path meets a crossroads, which you cross straight ahead. At the next fork, keep left.
At the next fork, stay on your path, which now turns into a wider forest road.
(3) You will now emerge from the forest and walk above the vineyards. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead and you will see a bench on your left that is perfect for a short break.
(4) A few metres after the bench, a narrow path leads up to the left, where a shelter is hidden. In bad weather, you can take a break here.
There is another bench at the next intersection. This bench and the one before it (3) are part of the "Kommunikation" art bench trail created by the Sparkassenstiftung Starkenburg. Keep to the right and continue along the paved path through the vineyards.
At the next fork, keep right towards Laudenbach. At the next fork, leave the paved path, walk straight ahead into the forest towards a barrier and pass it.
After a while, you will come to another fork and keep left. At the next fork, stay on your path.
(5) You will pass a bench on your left and continue along the path until you reach a T-junction. Turn left here.
After a right-hand bend, leave the wide path and turn left onto a narrow path that leads down the mountain.
(6) You will come to a signpost for "Laudenbach". This is where the Burgensteig meets the Blütenweg. Continue straight ahead towards Laudenbach.
At the next fork, turn left onto a paved path that leads slightly uphill. You are now walking above the town of Laudenbach.
(7) The path meets a T-junction, where there is a table with two benches on the left, a good place to take a short break. Then turn right.
At the fork after a left-hand bend, keep left (follow the Burgensteig signs) and shortly afterwards you will reach the "Kirchstraße" via a narrow staircase.
(8) Here you can make a short detour to the right down to the late Gothic village church in Laudenbach.
From the church, walk back up Kirchstraße, turn right before the Talmühle restaurant ("Buchtal") and cross the Laudenbach stream. At the lime tree, keep left (signposted Waldnerturm).
Follow the paved path for a while, then turn left onto a forest path in a right-hand bend. At the next fork, turn sharp right and start climbing uphill.
You will reach the main path, keep right and continue straight ahead in the left-hand bend until you reach a crossroads. Here, turn left and walk along the vineyards.
(9) At the next intersection, take the narrow path past the shelter. After a while, you will reach a wide gravel path and follow it uphill.
(10) At a crossroads, you will pass another shelter and continue straight ahead uphill on the forest path.
(11) Once you reach the top, you will see the pilgrimage site on the Kreuzberg on your left. Every Whit Monday, an open-air church service is held there. Walk around the open-air church on the left and continue along the gravel forest road.
(12) You will pass a shelter, shortly after which a narrow path branches off to the right (wooden signpost "Steinerer Gaul"). The path runs parallel to the main path, crosses it and leads you to the edge of the forest.
(13) You will come to a car park with another shelter (forest car park "Schaumesklingel") and walk straight ahead on the paved path until you reach a T-junction. Here, turn right.
Note: If you turn left, you will come to a place to stop for refreshments called "Der Watzenhof". From here, it is about 500 metres.
(14) Halfway to your left, you will see a tower in a meadow, the 10-metre-high Waldnerturm or Vierritter-Turm. Walk past the tower and back into the forest.
At the fork, keep left and shortly afterwards turn right onto a narrow path (look for the Burgensteig signposts).
At the next crossroads, turn sharp left and then sharp right at the next fork.
You will come to a wider path again and keep left.
(15) After a hamlet, you will pass a shelter ("Bocksberghütte") and keep left again. Stay on this path. In a left-hand bend, your path branches off to the right. Please note that the Burgensteig sign is difficult to see here. It is just before the fork on the left-hand side.
(16) At the "Eichbach-Hütte", turn sharp right and continue down the path.
You will come to a T-junction with the 1928 Sulzbach e.V. shooting club on your left and turn right, continuing downhill towards Hemsbach.
At the next intersection, leave the Burgensteig, continue straight ahead downhill on the paved path (orientation: trail markers 1, 2 and 4 in a yellow circle) and turn right onto a dirt road before the Weinheim-Sulzbach cemetery.
Follow this road straight ahead until you come to a slight left-hand bend and meet the B3 ("Landstraße"). Turn right here.
Turn left onto Alleestraße and shortly afterwards right onto Hildastraße.
(17) Pass the former Hemsbach Castle and turn left into Schlossgasse (there is another place to stop for refreshments on the corner, the Zehntscheuer).
At the end of "Schlossgasse", turn right again onto "Wareham-Straße" and a few metres later you will arrive at your destination, Hemsbach railway station (E).
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