Hold on a minute, I need to make sure I’m in the right place…
Yeah, go ahead, ask me if there’s more than one town of Stockheim in this state. Yeah, you’ll be interested to know there are two — and it seems like I came to the correct Stockheim, the one in Upper Franconia.
Sorry, Lower Franconian Stockheim, nothing personal, but this Stockheim lies along the famous Bier- und Burgenstraße. Beer and castles, life is really (really, really) good around here. ;-)
You might be interested to know the Beer & Castle Route isn’t the only scenic route to be found in Stockheim; because the place lies right along the Thuringian border, which means the Grünes Band (Green Belt) route slices right alongside the place.
Pretty countryside seems to be Stockheim’s biggest draw, no wonder so many cyclists come for the 3-day Franconian Forest Marathon every August. Three days of biking all around here? Sounds good, but then I might miss out on everything else there is to do around here. I’d much rather take a ride on the Franconian Forest Railway, a lovely 54km train ride from Probstzella to Hochstadt-Markzeulin.
Can you think of a better way to experience being in the Franconian Forest Nature Park? Well, what if I told you that all of Stockheim lies within the forest? Fantastic, isn’t it?
This just means if you’re visiting the lovely St. Laurentius (built 13th century) in the village of Burggrub, or the neo-Gothic chapel (on Ludwigsstädter Str. 26a), or the Church of St. Wolfgang (at Bergwerkstraße 20) — you’ll be right in the heart of the nature park.
These aren’t the only old churches in Stockheim, by the way. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mary (13th century) is a medieval church at heart, while the Church of St. Catherine in the village of Neukenroth was built in the 1400s.
So far I’ve only mentioned churches, but I did say Stockheim is found on a castles route. So, off to see the Heunischenburg — a fortification from the 9th century B.C.; and the dark stone/round tower medieval & Baroque blended castle from the 13th century.
One thing’s for sure, you’re not going to confuse these two with the Schloss in the village of Haig, this one wasn’t built until 1731 — and just because it isn’t as old, doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time.
Heck, everything in the Upper Franconian town of Stockheim is worth your time. ;-)
