Right in the rustic Rhön is the Hessian town of Kalbach, a quintessential German town of seven villages bordering the state of Bavaria, just 20km south of Fulda.
That being said, Kalbach’s biggest attraction isn’t some medieval abbey or pilgrimage church. Nor, is its biggest attraction some fanciful castle. No, the biggest reason for coming to Kalbach is the Hessian Rhön Nature Park.
A number of Kalbach’s villages fall within this biosphere — like Eichenried, a hamlet of just 188 people. Besides its nature setting, visit Eichenried’s Planetenweg (Planet Trail) to learn more about the Solar System.
Heubach is Kalbach’s resort town in the Hessian Rhön Nature Park, but its biggest attraction is its restored synagogue that’s now a museum.
Mittelkalbach is the biggest of all of Kalbach’s villages, just shy of 2,000 residents, that used to belong to the Kloster Neuenberg. Besides having a huge solar farm, you should see its St. Sebastian Church.
Niederkalbach also has a must-see church, St. Laurentius built all the way back in 1459. While Oberkalbach is where you’ll find the local Protestant Church.
One of the oldest of Kalbach’s churches is in Veitsteinbach, just south of the nature park. The St. Vitus Chapel was originally built in 1167, but has seen renovation and restoration in the 18th and 20th centuries.
Have I left any out? Oh yes, Uttrichshausen, a village that’s been around since the early 9th century. You’ll find two churches here… one Evangelical, the other the Catholic Church of St. Boniface.
Of course, with all this sightseeing around churches, doesn’t leave much time to explore all the local flora & fauna in the nature reserve, does it? Oh well, I guess you’ll have to extend your stay in Kalbach to get it all in. :-)
