This tour begins at the St. Johann Stud Farm, located a few kilometers north of St. Johann. The stud farm is part of the Marbach State Stud, the oldest stud farm in Germany. At the very start of the tour, you'll ride along the famous avenue leading to the Fohlenhof. After a short ride through the forest, you’ll reach the open area at Rutschenfelsen. Be sure to take in the impressive view over the Maisental Valley and the Hohenurach Castle ruins.
Next, continue cycling to Upfingen, where the Marienkirche (Church of St. Mary) stands in the village center. The church doors are often open, allowing you to take a look inside the sanctuary of the church, completed in 1448. For a small village like Upfingen, the church might seem quite large, which is due to its history as a pilgrimage church. You can find more information about the church and its historical background at www.kirche-upfingen-sirchingen.de/kirchen.
As the tour progresses, you'll cycle mostly through open countryside with gentle inclines around St. Johann. Along the way, you’ll pass the districts of Lonsingen and Ohnastetten, as well as the Stahlecker Hof, a great place for a stop and some refreshments.
Autorentipp
This tour can be combined with round trip 12 to form an extended cycle eight.
Wegbeschreibung
This relatively short tour begins at the St. Johann Stud Farm. We ride eastward through the avenue, passing the stud farm's Fohlenhof. Here, our route turns right. At the next fork in the road, we keep left, passing the Rutschenfelsen on the left-hand side. Continuing through the forest, we eventually reach the road leading to Bad Urach. We follow the bike path along the road for a short distance, cross it, and continue southward. Riding gently downhill, we pass meadows and fields until we reach Upfingen.
In Upfingen, we turn left before the church, follow Kirchgasse, and at the crossroads beyond the last houses, we head southwest. Shortly afterward, we come to a farm, where we turn right. We cross the main road and follow the path running parallel to the road, heading southwest. Where our path meets a crossroad, we turn right and then immediately left. We continue straight, cross the main road again, and follow the bike path parallel to the road. This path leads us westward to Ohnastetten.
We ride straight through Ohnastetten and continue on the bike path at the western edge of the village, which eventually veers to the right. At the next fork, we keep left and then turn right shortly afterward. From here, it’s a slight downhill ride toward Stahlecker Hof. At Stahlecker Hof, we turn right. Opposite the inn’s parking lot, we turn right again and follow the path through the forest.
We continue straight northward. At a crossroads with a large, old ash tree, we keep left. Passing wooded hills, pastures, and fields, we continue straight until the path makes a left turn. After this turn, we take a sharp right, ride briefly through the forest, and after crossing the main road, we are almost back at our starting point, the St. Johann Stud Farm.
Buchempfehlungen des Autors
Further information on cycling and hiking tours can be found at www.mythos-alb.de . This tour can also be found in the Mythos Schwäbische Alb hiking brochure, which you can also request from the above-mentioned website.
Weitere Informationen
