Wildenau: Ostweg, Pearl Route and Border History

Explore Wildenau through its trails and architectural history: the Ostweg passes through the village, while the Pearl Route combines cycling with insights into the history of the German-Czech border region. There are also three residential farmhouses of different ages. You can plan your trip around whether hiking, cycling or historic architectural styles are your main interests.

Hiking the Ostweg

The Ostweg passes through Wildenau and follows a hiking route near the border. It connects the Bavaria–Bohemia–Saxony tripoint with the Eger and Röslau valleys, as well as Hohenberg an der Eger, Schirnding and the monastic town of Waldsassen. This makes Wildenau part of a route whose named places and landscapes extend beyond its immediate surroundings. If you would like to take in the border region while hiking, the Ostweg provides a specific thematic framework for doing so.

Pearl Route: Cycling and border history

The Pearl Route is open and signposted along its entire length from Oberkotzau via Rehau, Schönwald and Selb-Plößberg to Asch. Public field and forest tracks along the section from Plößberg to Wildenau were paved for year-round use. The route thus combines a long-distance trail with a section near Wildenau that has been specially upgraded; these details describe different parts and features.

The region’s history is also part of the Pearl Route: one of its nine information boards is located in Wildenau. The boards present the history of the German-Czech border region in both languages. If you would like to consider regional history as well as cycling when choosing a route, this offers a fitting thematic connection.

Historic residential farmhouses in Wildenau

Wildenau 1a is a former residential farmhouse, a single-storey building with a gabled roof dating from the late 17th or early 18th century. Only the stable section remains. Its status as a former residential farmhouse and the surviving part of the building go together: the description does not refer to a fully preserved residential farmhouse.

Wildenau 13 is a single-storey residential farmhouse with a gabled roof and half-timbered gable, dating from the first half of the 19th century. Wildenau 19 is different in its two-storey design: this residential farmhouse also has a gabled roof, and its upper floor features boarded half-timbering dating from the first half of the 18th century. The construction dates, number of storeys and half-timbering details give you different ways to explore the village’s historic buildings.

In the wider destination of Selb

Selb also offers its own cultural and leisure attractions to consider when planning your trip. The Porzellanikon Selb is housed in a former Rosenthal factory that closed in 1969. Today, three museums occupy around 9,000 m² of the repurposed industrial site: the European Industrial Museum for Porcelain, the Rosenthal Museum and the European Museum for Technical Ceramics. Six of the ten imposing circular kilns that once stood here are still fully preserved and open to visitors. The Porzellanikon also displays old machinery, interactive exhibits, Rosenthal tableware, technical ceramics and a steam engine across more than 8,000 m².

Recurring cultural events in Selb include the International Borderland Film Days, held at SPEKTRUM Selb since 1977, in the week after Easter each year. Check the dates for the relevant edition if you are planning your stay around it. The Rosenthal Theatre hosts an annual showcase of the local porcelain industry under the theme “Weeks of White Gold.” The theatre programme includes opera, operetta, musicals, plays, symphony and chamber concerts, jazz and cabaret. Check the current programme for specific performances.

A walking tour of Selb explores the porcelain and design city’s art, culture, old, new and unusual features, and can be started in person or virtually. On a guided city tour led by a certified guide, the Porcelain Fountain at Martin-Luther-Platz and Porcelain Alley are along the way; in Porcelain Alley, you walk on porcelain. Tour dates can be arranged with the Tourist Information Office.

For more leisure ideas in Selb, there is a pump track and a skate park. The paved pump track can be used with mountain bikes, BMX bikes, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, longboards and balance bikes. Selb indoor swimming pool in Rosenthal Park has a sports pool, adjoining non-swimmer pools with massage jets, and a children’s pool with an elephant slide. Check the operator’s latest visitor information before your visit.

Choose the right base for your stay

In Wildenau, the focus is on the Ostweg, the Pearl Route and the historic residential farmhouses described here. Selb complements your plans with porcelain museums, a city tour, a cultural programme and other leisure activities. Search for accommodation in the destination whose attractions matter most for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Selb-Plößberg.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Selb.