Annweilerer Burgenweg

In addition to historical highlights and bizarre rock formations, magnificent views over the Palatinate Forest await us. We start at the hikers' car park near the Markwardanlage and follow the signpost with the castle logo. This marker will show us the way across the three castles and back to Annweiler throughout the hike. First we walk along the car park until the path joins a narrow forest path. Sometimes on wider paths, sometimes on narrow paths, we climb up along the slope of the Bindersbach valley through the deciduous forest until we reach the Windhof car park.

From here we turn left into the forest and continue uphill in serpentines, past a viewpoint to the Scharfenberg ruins, also called Münz, with its high keep. The Scharfenberg/Münz castle ruins are closed until probably end of 2023 due to renovation work. Most of the ascent has now been completed. From Scharfenberg Castle (Münz), the path leads us down past a mighty sandstone massif. At a nice resting place, we keep diagonally left and climb up a small path to the Anebos ruins. There is hardly anything left to see of the castle, but the view of the mountain cones with the castles of Scharfenberg (Münz) and Trifels is magnificent.

We walk back along the short branch path to the Anebos ruins and then turn left at the neck ditch. The markings bring us back down to the rest area at the foot of the rocks. Be careful, this path is narrow and steep in places. At the rest area, we turn left and soon arrive at the "Schlossäcker" below the Trifels with a large car park, restaurant and kiosk. Another short, well-signposted climb and we reach the historic imperial fortress of Trifels. It was the favourite castle of Emperor Barbarossa, repository of the imperial regalia and prison of the English King Richard the Lionheart. A replica of the crown, orb and sceptre can still be seen in the fortress today.

The Trifels Experience Trail also starts below Trifels Castle and now runs parallel to the Castle Trail down to Messplatz in Annweiler. At the stations, the hiker learns interesting facts about the history of the town of Annweiler and Trifels Castle in the Middle Ages. There are information boards and adventure stations. If you like, you can also download the SÜW adventure app and get further insights into the medieval Trifelsland: panoramic images, audio content, films and AR animations provide playful information about castles, knights, medicine and crafts. There is also a quiz.

Back at the car park, we go down a few steps on the left at an information board and then finally descend on pleasant forest paths to our starting point, the hikers' car park at the Markwardanlage. If you follow the Mönchsweg from here to Messplatz, you can finish the Trifels-Erlebnis-Weg.

Between the Anebos and Scharfenberg ruins and the Schloßäcker car park is also the red sandstone trail, which provides information about the formation of the rocky landscape in the Palatinate Forest, its colouring, layering and weathering.

Two more castles can be hiked from the Windhof: the black point leads to the Madenburg, from there you can take the Palatinate Wine Trail to the Neukastell ruins and then back to the Windhof (circular route from Windhof 13 km).