Grafenwiesen: Discover the Museum, Hiking Trails and Nature

Grafenwiesen offers several specific themes for a stay: the Matchstick Museum tells the story of local and regional match production, hiking trails pass chapels and crosses, and the Nature Discovery Trail focuses on the forest and its inhabitants. A cycling route also runs through the municipality. When planning your trip, you can choose to focus on cultural history, hiking, cycling or nature.

Matchstick history from a regional perspective

The Grafenwiesen Matchstick Museum has hundreds of matchboxes and displays a selection of them. It also features various containers and ships made from matchsticks. The permanent exhibition takes visitors from the objects themselves to the history of local and regional match production, tracing its development from small-scale trade to specialized large-scale industry. A short film also explores historical connections with neighboring Czechia. The museum’s subject matter thus ranges from specific exhibits to the transformation of regional production and its cross-border historical context.

Hiking trails between chapels and forest

The Grafenwiesen Chapel Hiking Trail is about 15 km long. It connects ten chapels, a pilgrimage church, the parish church, and 16 roadside and stone crosses; in some places, it also includes wooden memorial boards. The trail also takes in the municipality’s rural and scenic highlights. Sacred buildings and trail markers are connected to the places and landscapes that shape the municipality.

The local hiking trails in Grafenwiesen are marked red and white and bear the letters “Gw” and the numbers 1 to 7. Another hiking highlight is the Grafenwiesen Nature Discovery Trail, a circular route with more than 15 stations. Its mascot is the black woodpecker “Graf Wiesi,” who helps introduce visitors to the forest and its inhabitants. You can therefore choose between hiking routes featuring chapels and wayside crosses, and a station-based introduction to the forest and wildlife.

Cycling and fishing

The Lamer–Winkel–Arber Cycle Route passes through the municipality of Grafenwiesen. For the most part, it follows paved cycle paths or quiet side roads. Take these features into account when planning your route.

Fishing is possible in the municipality’s two ponds in the Watzlsteg district. Day and weekly permits are available from the Tourist Information Office upon presentation of a fishing license. As rules and prices may change, it is best to check the current conditions in advance. Guests in the municipality of Grafenwiesen can use buses and trains in the GUTi area free of charge by showing their guest card. Check the conditions before your journey, too.

Tailor your stay to your interests

When choosing accommodation in Grafenwiesen, your preferred focus for the trip can be a good starting point: consider whether cultural history, hiking, cycling or fishing will play the biggest part in your stay.

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