Weißenohe: Lillach, Hiking Trails and Monastery Culture

Weißenohe offers various ways to explore the town: hiking trails lead from the village of Dorfhaus through the Teufelsgraben to the source of the Lillach, while St. Boniface’s Monastery Church and the KunstRaum Weißenohe art space offer cultural points of interest. You can also enjoy Franconian cuisine at the local restaurants. When choosing accommodation, consider whether nature and hiking, architecture and history, or contemporary art should shape your stay.

Hiking Trails Around Weißenohe

A yellow-marked hiking trail leads from Weißenohe’s district of Dorfhaus through the Teufelsgraben to the source of the Lillach, just over two kilometres away. This gives you a specific destination to plan your hike around. As trail conditions can change, it is advisable to check the current situation before setting out.

There are numerous marked hiking trails around Weißenohe and Dorfhaus. The Franconian Way also passes directly through Weißenohe, and the town is a starting point for the 5-Seidla-Steig® Brewery Hiking Trail. This gives you a range of hiking options: one trail with a named destination and approximate distance, numerous marked trails around the town, and two other routes with their own connection to Weißenohe.

Sinter Terraces on the Lillach

The Lillach is also known for its sinter terraces. In recognition of their beauty and distinctive character, they were designated a nature monument covering an extensive area in 1976. Since 1995, they have been located within a protected zone of the Franconian Switzerland Nature Park. These two dates mark different stages: their designation as a nature monument and their later inclusion in the protected zone. A hike along the Lillach thus connects you with a specific natural feature and its protection.

Monastery Church and Contemporary Art

The plans for the present-day St. Boniface’s Monastery Church were drawn up by Wolfgang Dietzenhofer (1648–1706), a member of an Upper Bavarian family of master builders. The church was consecrated on St. Boniface’s Day in 1707 by Johann Werner Schnatz, Auxiliary Bishop of Bamberg. Its history of construction therefore includes both a design attributed to a named architect and a precisely dated consecration.

Every year, KunstRaum Weißenohe presents exhibitions of contemporary art by various artists in the rooms of the monastery brewery’s former malt house. If you are planning a visit, check the current exhibition dates and visitor access in advance.

Franconian Cuisine and Choosing Accommodation

After a long hike, the restaurants in Weißenohe invite you to stop for a meal featuring typical Franconian cuisine. Businesses and their offerings can change, so check the current menu of the restaurant you plan to visit.

When looking for accommodation, it helps to decide first what you want to focus on during your stay: would you like to centre it on the hiking trails and the Lillach, or spend more time exploring the monastery’s history and art? Then check whether the location of a particular accommodation suits your plans.

In the Wider Forchheim Destination

The wider Forchheim destination offers another regional perspective. In Forchheim district, the Cultural Experience Franconian Switzerland hiking trail connects pioneering cultural projects along a route of more than 280 kilometres. Wiesenthau Castle is privately owned, used for hospitality, and can be visited by prior arrangement. Make arrangements for your visit in advance. These regional destinations complement Weißenohe’s offerings with their own cultural and hiking connections.

Discover more destinations: Obertrubach, Poxdorf, Hausen, Effeltrich, Pretzfeld, Igensdorf, Heroldsbach, Wiesenttal

Go to the wider travel overview: Forchheim.