Discover Hirschau

Hirschau brings together hiking trails, topics related to geology and open-pit mining, and historic buildings. The local routes offer different ways to explore the area: one connects two hiking trail starting points, while another offers insights into ways of life in the past at its stops. The town hall, former pilgrimage church and town wall, in turn, bring different periods of the town’s history to life.

Hiking trails, geology and cycling route

There are information boards at the northern and southern hiking trail starting points. They show important hiking trails that pass through the municipality of Hirschau, including long-distance trails and routes belonging to neighboring municipalities or associations. This gives you an overview of local routes and connections that extend beyond Hirschau.

The approximately 3.4-kilometer Monte–Kalvarienberg connecting trail links the two hiking trail starting points in Hirschau. Its length gives you a specific indication of the distance between them. The Geopark hiking trail also starts at the southern starting point at Monte Kaolino. Its stops cover topics such as geology, open-pit mining and ways of life in the past.

Another thematic route is the circular industrial trail “Kaolin Mining Area,” which can also be accessed from Hirschau. The Geopark hiking trail and the industrial trail thus explore related topics from different perspectives: the Geopark hiking trail stops cover geology as well as open-pit mining and ways of life in the past; the industrial trail’s name itself refers to the kaolin mining area.

A specific route is also named for cyclists: the Paneuropa Cycle Route from Paris to Prague follows the Golden Road through the municipality of Hirschau. If you plan to take this route, check the route details before your trip.

Architectural history across several periods

The town hall in Hirschau is a two-storey, rendered solid masonry building dating from around 1490. Its features include a gabled roof, stepped gables, a small onion-dome roof turret and inset reliefs. These architectural terms describe different parts of the building and its roof design; together, they make it a distinctive example of historic architectural forms in the town.

Another landmark is the former pilgrimage church of the Holy Fourteen Helpers and the Visitation of Mary, whose core dates from the 15th century. On Hirschau’s Kalvarienberg are a chapel dating from 1725 and a Way of the Cross with 14 masonry stations from the mid-17th century. These dates show the different periods to which the buildings and structures belong.

The surviving sections of Hirschau’s town wall date from the 14th century. They lie to the west, north and south of the town and are integrated into later residential development. This juxtaposition of medieval masonry and later buildings adds another architectural layer to the story of Hirschau.

A regional perspective on Amberg-Sulzbach

In the wider destination of Amberg-Sulzbach, the Amberg-Sulzbacher Land offers imposing limestone cliffs, gentle Jura hills, extensive forests and river valleys for hiking. The Erzweg connects sites with a more than 1,000-year mining tradition and passes through cultural and natural landscapes. The regional perspective therefore encompasses both landscapes and industrial and cultural history.

The East Bavarian Mining and Industry Museum at Kultur-Schloss Theuern researches and documents mining and industry in eastern Bavaria, keeping their history alive. For trip planning, it offers another way to explore the subject of mining, while the trails and buildings in Hirschau each have their own local focus, as described above.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Ammerthal, Auerbach in der Oberpfalz, Kümmersbruck, Königstein, Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Hohenburg, Kastl, Edelsfeld.

Back to the regional travel overview: Amberg-Sulzbach.