“Mysterious Paths of Franconian Switzerland” is the title of the new book by Bernhard Pabst. As in his previous guidebooks, the Franconian is not concerned with enriching a standard hiking program with good stories from the side of the trail, but rather with making hikers aware of the thousand-year-old settlement history in the Franconian Jura. The unique nature is rich in sacred places and places of worship on rocks and in caves, around which numerous legends are intertwined. One of the most prehistoric and legendary places in Franconian Switzerland is the Jungfernhöhle near Tiefenellern in the district of Bamberg. An attractive hike leads there, which also takes in the picturesque Ellerbach gorge and the impressive Eulenstein rock group.
Sinter terraces in the Ellerbach gorge
From Tiefenellern the hike leads along the Ellerbach in the direction of the source. After the first branch, the water cascades down. Due to the lime deposits in the water, several sintering steps have formed, over which the stream jumps downstream. “The lime is held in place by the moss you see everywhere here. It’s called limestone tuff,” explains Bernhard Pabst. He has known the Ellerbach Gorge for a long time. Among the rocks and beech trees, the special incidence of light and the splashes on the sintering terraces conjure up a magical atmosphere. There is a small cave on the Anger near the trail, which gives a glimpse of what is to come.The extraordinary rock formations are often associated with legends and also testify to a long history of settlement in the Franconian Jura.In past centuries, the caves were used as storage and as a resting place.
Skeletons, pottery and stone tools from 5100 BC have been found in the Grotto of the Virgin
The prehistoric highlight of this excursion is the Maiden Cave. To get there, after the village of Herzogenreuth, you cross a plateau and then descend through a beautiful beech forest. Among the trees are rocks covered with moss, in the center of which is the entrance to the Maiden’s Cave. To protect the bats and because the cave entrance drops steeply, Bernhard Pabst merely shines the light carefully inside. “This is one of the most famous archaeological sites in Upper Franconia from the time of the so-called linear band potters around 5000 BC, they were the first settlers of the Franconian Jura. The remains of 41 people, mostly women and girls, were discovered here ”.
Commemorative plaque for the victims of the Grotto of the Virgin
Even today, this find poses many mysteries: was it perhaps a place of sacrifice? Or rather a fertility cult that prevailed there? Gifts in food for underground powers or even cannibalism? In the 1980s, science still relied on such assumptions. “Current research leans more towards the explanation that it was a cemetery where bodies were buried with particularly beautiful objects. The interesting thing is that the Maiden’s Cave also plays an important role in the legend,” explains Bernhard Pabst. It is handed down that three headless virgins were often seen crossing the plateau in a vehicle. A beautiful song was heard from the cave. According to legend, the three virgins were murdered by a hunter out of disappointed love. He had fallen in love with one of the virgins. But when she he rudely refused him, he killed all three at once.According to the story, the three virgins lived in a castle on the Eulenstein, a beautiful group of rocks just ten minutes’ walk from the cave and one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the region.From here you can see over the Ellerbach valley to Bamberg.At the same time, the Eulenstein also offers excellent climbing rocks and rocky cliffs.
The easy circular hike starting and ending in Tiefenellern can be done in two and a half hours of pure walking time and has an altitude difference of 260 metres. Bernhard Pabst’s indications initially follow the blue ring markings and then the red line. In between, the route runs unmarked and finally through Rotring and the Kammerleinsgraben back to the starting point.
Book tip: Bernhard Pabst “Mysterious trails Franconian Switzerland. 30 hikes to magical places of legend and prehistory.” Bruckmann Verlag 2022. The price is 22.99 euros.
View from Eulenstein into the Ellerbach valley towards Bamberg
