Ammerthal reveals its character in numerous karst valleys, most of which run eastwards. For hikers, getting around is shaped not only by the landscape but also by navigation: a professional hiking guidance system uses numbered signs at decision points. They give precise distances, point the way and provide information about places to eat and stay overnight, as well as public transport stops.
From St. Nicholas Church, the view extends into the dry valleys of Pürschläg and Götzendorf. Alongside the marked trails, these two specifically named valleys also help orient visitors in the landscape. The view and the trail network offer different points of interest: the dry valleys here, and the signposting at decision points there.
Two hiking trails, different highlights
The Lord’s Prayer Trail, with its eleven steles, leads from the Lower to the Upper Church Path and past works by Ammerthal painter Wilhelmine Müller. The steles feature ten weather-resistant reproductions of her oil paintings on the Lord’s Prayer. The trail also leads to the sunny terraces above the Ammerbach and down to the sports grounds. Here, the artistic theme and the route go hand in hand, without limiting the landscape to a single viewpoint.
The tour called Through Quiet Forests, by contrast, focuses on its length and woodland character: the 11.5-kilometre tour is an easy half-day hike, stands out for its tranquillity and is also suitable for hot summer days. It starts and ends in Ammerthal. This makes it easy to choose between a trail featuring art steles and a longer, peaceful woodland hike; each route has its own distinctive features.
Culture and regional highlights
The Ammerthal Kirwa festival is celebrated in July. If you would like to plan your travel dates around it, check the exact event date before making your plans.
The wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination offers more hiking options. The Felsenweg is a 2.7-kilometre hike that takes about 45 minutes. From Sackdilling, it leads through the rocky labyrinth to the Bauernlöcher and through an impressive rocky landscape. Compared with the 11.5 kilometres of Through Quiet Forests, this is a shorter option; the different distances help put the scale of the two trails into perspective.
The East Bavarian Mining and Industry Museum at Kultur-Schloss Theuern is also part of the wider Amberg-Sulzbach destination. It researches and documents mining and industry in eastern Bavaria, keeping their history alive. The Erzweg connects sites with a mining tradition dating back over 1,000 years and passes through cultural and natural landscapes. For a different activity, the wider destination also offers the Bow-Vision 3D course near Wolfertsfeld: try traditional archery on a circular route of about 3 kilometres through the farm woodland typical of the Upper Palatinate Jura.
Discover more destinations: Schmidmühlen, Ebermannsdorf, Freudenberg, Königstein, Kastl, Hohenburg, Etzelwang, Weigendorf
Go to the wider travel overview: Amberg-Sulzbach.
