On the Knights' Hiking Trail around Waldkirch

We start in front of the station entrance in Waldkirch and walk in the direction of Kastelburg. We cross the level crossing and follow the sign "Fußweg zur Burg" up the hill. After about 500 m, a wooden plaque with a stylised damsel points us to the knight's footpath to Kastelburg Castle. Here we turn right on the unpaved path to the hikers' car park (1). Behind the car park, the actual knights' trail begins - this children's trail was built in 2003. Eight knights made of wood and metal line the trail - first we meet knight Martin Malterer... After about 1 km, this path leads past other wooden knights to Kastelburg Castle (2). This castle was first mentioned in a document in 1289 and was built by the Knights of Schwarzenberg. Martin Malterer bought the dominion of Kastelberg in 1354 and thus also owned the Kastelburg until it changed hands again for lack of male descendants. At the beginning of the 16th century, the castle was badly damaged by a great fire and later renovated and rebuilt by the Staufers and Habsburgs. In 1634, the castle was plundered and destroyed. The remains of this castle complex are the ruins that still stand today. After numerous changes of ownership, the Kastelburg, or what remained of it, finally became the property of the town of Waldkirch in 1970. The circular path directly at the castle is unfortunately not suitable for prams, but it is worth seeing. After we have also "conquered" the castle, we walk back to the last crossroads in the forest. Here we keep to the right and walk along the circular path until we reach a large crossroads. We follow the Hohtannweg 300 m uphill. At a bench we continue our hike uphill on the narrower path until the next crossroads. At the crossroads, turn left towards Batzenhäusle. On a wide forest path we walk along the markings (red rectangle on a white background) until we reach a large crossroads and follow the signpost to the Obere Hütte (3), a wonderful barbecue area with a resting place and a refuge. Here we are still about 4 km from our destination and can treat ourselves to a break. Now we walk uphill on the Obere Winterhaldeweg (4). Soon we walk downhill again and hike (blue dot) towards the hospital. Again and again we can catch a glimpse of the town of Waldkirch and the Elz valley through the trees. Shortly before the first hospital building, we take a sharp right downhill on the Galgenbruckweg (5). Numerous benches invite you to enjoy the view through the forest to the castle and the town. This forest path leads comfortably downhill and joins the road at the entrance to Waldkirch at a church. We cross the railway crossing and the subsequent bridge. After the bridge, we hike to the left and continue on the footpath along the banks of the Elbe. This riverside path, the "Fritz-Schubert-Weg", is also a fish nature trail (6) with information boards. We eventually pass a school and continue walking until we reach a playground. Only a few metres after the playground, we take the road to the left and cross the bridge. If you want, you can also take a detour to the right into Waldkirch town centre with its half-timbered houses. By the way, Waldkirch has a very long town history. It was first mentioned in a document in 926 A.D. A significant date is the year 1300, when Waldkirch was granted town charter. In the Middle Ages, the walls and towers of Waldkirch were repeatedly stormed, besieged and conquered. After ore and silver mining in the Suggental district became unprofitable, gemstone cutting flourished, dating back over 500 years. In 1799, a new craft, organ building, took root. But we can already see our starting point, the railway station, which we reach after a few metres.