Nibelungensteig, Long-distance hiking trail in Odenwald, Germany.
Nibelungensteig is a long-distance hiking trail through the Odenwald region that runs about 130 kilometers from Zwingenberg to Freudenberg am Main, passing through forests, hills, and valleys. The route crosses three German states and moves through diverse landscapes that shift between dense woodland and open ridge areas.
The trail began in 2008 with an initial section from Zwingenberg to Grasellenbach and was expanded to become a certified quality hiking route by 2012. The regions it connects have been shaped by woodland and upland geology for centuries.
The trail is named after the Nibelung legend, which is closely tied to the Worms region and the Odenwald. Three feeder routes lead from Worms, a central setting of the saga, through the Hessian Ried to the trail: two cycling routes (north and south) and one hiking path. Near Grasellenbach the route passes the Siegfriedbrunnen, the best known of the Odenwald springs where Siegfried was supposedly killed by Hagen.
The trail is waymarked throughout with a red N on a white background; the three feeder routes from Worms carry a green N on white instead. It is walked in seven stages of roughly 13 to 28 kilometres, and a 28-kilometre variant via Erbach branches off between Hüttenthal and Erbach-Bullau. The first stage from Zwingenberg over the Melibokus to Lindenfels is the hardest, with 1,240 metres of ascent.
The trail's waymark is a red N on a white background; the three feeder routes from Worms, the Nibelungen city, use a green N instead. Since 2008 an ultramarathon of 53 km with about 1,400 m of climbing has been held on the route, usually in autumn.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,608 contributors worldwide.
