Discover Obernburg a.Main

Obernburg a.Main lies between the Spessart and Odenwald, where the Mömling and Elsava flow into the Main. Roman remains and medieval buildings define the Old Town; in the district of Eisenbach, trails lead through orchards and woodland, revealing the history of mining. This gives you several different options to plan around: local history, hiking trails, nature, and cycling tours.

Roman traces and the medieval Old Town

Obernburg’s Old Town stands on the foundations of the fort of the 4th Aquitanian cavalry cohort, built in 83/85 AD. Since 2005, Obernburg has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper German-Raetian Limes. The Obernburg Roman Museum displays a beneficiarius station, a burial ground, and a Jupiter column as evidence of life in the ancient Roman fort.

A separate section of the museum features the Richelbach track slab: its finely detailed tracks were made by archosaurs and are 247 million years old. This find offers a very different point of reference in time from the Roman exhibits. The town’s layered history can also be seen elsewhere: the St. Anna Chapel was built over a Roman Mithraeum, and Obernburg still has remains of the medieval town wall, five Gothic defensive towers, and two town gates.

The Catholic parish church of St. Peter and Paul contains an old church tower dating from 1581. The tomb of Johannes Obernburger is located inside it. Together with the surviving parts of the town fortifications, the church adds buildings from later centuries to the picture of the historic Old Town.

Circular routes between the Old Town and Eisenbach

The “Roman Walk” starts and ends at the Roman Museum. Along the way, the circular route follows the medieval town wall, and a panoramic view stretches across Obernburg, the Main Valley, and the Spessart. The route thus combines Roman history with views of the town and surrounding landscape.

The roughly 11 km “Eisenbach Circular Route” offers a different setting: it first passes through orchards and then through woodland dotted with archaeological and historical treasures. The two circular routes have different highlights—one follows the town wall from the museum and offers panoramic views, while the other is a longer loop through meadows and woodland. Which route better suits your plans therefore also depends on whether you want to focus your outing more on the Old Town or on Eisenbach’s landscape and historic traces.

Remains of iron ore and basalt mines can be seen in the woodland of Obernburg’s Eisenbach district. The woodland is also home to the Chapel of St. Barbara, patron saint of miners. Mining finally ceased in 1924. The traces of past mining give the woodland an additional historical connection, distinct from the Roman and medieval history of the Old Town.

The nature trail on biodiversity in Obernburg-Eisenbach is 2.3 km long and has ten stations along the Mümling and neighboring meadows. It covers wetlands, woodlands, orchards, species-rich meadows, and hedgerows. The route thus combines a manageable walk with a variety of habitats and landscape features.

Hiking and cycling tours compared

For a longer hike, the “Limeswanderweg West” long-distance trail follows in the footsteps of the Romans from Obernburg to the Neckar. For cycling, the “Ei1” mountain bike loop connects Obernburg with the district of Eisenbach. The “Obernburger Stern” offers six exceptional day tours for leisure and culture cyclists, spanning Roman culture and the e-bike era. The options differ in focus, from a long-distance hiking trail to a mountain bike loop and day tours combining culture and leisure.

The museums also have different focuses. The Roman Museum displays artifacts from the fort as well as the fossil find, while the local history museum in the district of Eisenbach features a collection of agricultural and craft tools. When looking for accommodation, you can first consider which of these topics and routes matter most for your stay. Then compare accommodation locations with your own plans for the Old Town and Eisenbach.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Hasloch, Retzstadt, Heigenbrücken, Marktheidenfeld, Neustadt Am Main, Waldaschaff, Burgsinn, Urspringen.

Return to the main travel overview: Main-Spessart.