Donnersdorf Between Wine and History

Donnersdorf combines a distinctive historical role with walking trails that offer different ways to experience the landscape. For planning your trip, you can choose from several themes: local history, information about wine, and a trail with several named stops.

History Between Lordship and Fortified Church

As an early medieval royal estate and, later, a high court seat in the Old Empire, Donnersdorf controlled traffic on the Würzburg–Bamberg route. The church tithe barns of the former fortified church in Donnersdorf very likely date from the early Middle Ages. The town’s former role as a transport hub and the tithe barns thus offer two different starting points for exploring its history.

Walking with a Focus on Wine or the Town

One hiking trail starts at Donnersdorf Town Hall and leads via Falkenstein, the Donnersdorfer Falkenberg vineyard, Zabelstein with its observation tower, Altmansdorf, Hundelshausen and Traustadt, before returning to Donnersdorf. Along the “Falkenberger Hüttentour” wine experience trail, hikers can discover the “Donnersdorfer Falkenberg” vineyard. Along the route, information is provided about the vineyard site, the small vineyard huts, the interplay between woodland and wine, and grape varieties.

The two hiking options differ mainly in their focus: the Hüttentour explores topics related to vineyards and woodland, while the trail starting at the town hall can be planned around its stops, all the way back to Donnersdorf. You can choose whichever appeals to you: focusing on the vineyard and its themes as you walk, or following a sequence of named places.

In the Wider Schweinfurt Destination

On 13 January 2016, Brönnhof was added to the National Natural Heritage list. The former military training area covers 746 hectares and provides a habitat for protected species such as the Bechstein’s bat and the great crested newt. Ellertshäuser See, in the north of Schweinfurt district, is used as a local recreation area. These sites offer different nature-related themes: Brönnhof is about natural heritage and habitats, while the lake is used for local recreation.

The Franconian Wayside Shrine Centre in Egenhausen presents a modern permanent exhibition on the cultural history of wayside shrines in an area of around 90 square metres. Werneck Palace Park invites you to stroll through its English-style landscape garden, with exotic plants and a pond. Parts of Werneck Palace can be visited, including the Hall of Heaven and the Baroque palace church. Check the latest visitor information before your trip.

The network of trails is also a practical planning resource for getting around the wider Schweinfurt destination: the district has an extensive network of hiking trails and is responsible for signposting trail junctions. It is also responsible for signposting its cycle routes, which cover more than 800 kilometres. Public transport connects the entire district with the Mainfranken region via main and secondary routes, school buses, city buses, rail services, routes operated by other transport authorities, and the callheinz mobility service. If no bus or train connection is available, callheinz takes passengers from a callheinz stop to a transfer point on the regular public transport network or directly to their destination. Timetables may change; check callheinz availability and booking conditions before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Gerolzhofen, Bergrheinfeld, Oberschwarzach, Sennfeld, Kolitzheim, Hundelshausen, Wipfeld, Wasserlosen.

See the wider travel overview: Schweinfurt.