Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer (Nordroute)

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Schöntal Abbey (Jagst valley) / Sinsheim, Stift Sunnisheim
• Length: 78.7 km
• Duration: 4 stages, avg. 19.7 km (Camino Ninja division); the Adelsheim–Mosbach stage at 27.5 km is the test
• Elevation: ↗ 1,045 m / ↘ 1,107 m — more undulating per kilometre than the main route, although the tops are lower
• Highest point: 358 m at km 8.5 on the plateau between Oberkessach and Hergenstadt; lowest point 137 m at km 48.1 on the Neckar near Neckarelz
• Stages: 4 — Camino Ninja system; railway stations in Adelsheim, Mosbach-Neckarelz, Obrigheim, Aglasterhausen, Neckarbischofsheim and Sinsheim
• Landscape: plateau between the Jagst and the Kessach, edge of the Odenwald with long forest sections, Neckar valley at Mosbach, Schwarzbach valley, open Kraichgau
• Operator: Jakobusinitiative Mühlhausen (Kraichgau) as a variant of the Way of St. James Rothenburg–Speyer; maintained by volunteer trail wardens, among them the Odenwaldklub
• Waymarking: yellow sunburst on a blue field like the main route — plus a yellow dot that identifies the Nordroute
• Traces of St. James: St. James's church in Adelsheim (1489, more than 60 epitaphs); Gutleutkapelle in Mosbach with St. James in pilgrim's dress (frescoes of 1496) and scallop-shell and Aachen-horn marks scratched in by medieval pilgrims; Totenkirche in Neckarbischofsheim, given to the collegiate foundation of Wimpfen in 1348
• Accommodation: no chain of pilgrim hostels; guesthouse of Schöntal Abbey at the start, then inns, guesthouses and hotels — fewer beds than on the main route, book ahead
• Connecting routes: branches off the Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer at its km 72.1, rejoins it in Sinsheim at its km 141.0; the feeder to Rothenburg is the Mittelfränkischer Jakobsweg
• Onward to Santiago: via Sinsheim and Speyer onto the Pfälzer Nordroute or Pfälzer Südroute to Hornbach, then on to Metz and Vézelay
• Best time: April to October, ideally May/June and September; the forest tracks between Adelsheim and Mosbach turn to clay when wet

Overview

This is not a route in its own right — it is a decision. After 72 kilometres on the Way of St. James from Rothenburg to Speyer you stand at the Cistercian abbey of Schöntal in the Jagst valley, and the operator has exactly one sentence to say about it: "From Schöntal Abbey it is also possible to take a northern route through the Odenwald to Sinsheim." The main route stays on the Jagst and goes via Möckmühl and Bad Wimpfen; the Nordroute climbs out of the valley onto the plateau, turns west at Adelsheim into the edge of the Odenwald, reaches the Neckar at Mosbach and runs through the Schwarzbach valley and the Kraichgau to Sinsheim, where the two lines become one again. 78.7 kilometres, four stages, 1,045 metres up — more undulating per kilometre than the main route, more wooded, emptier.

To be honest, the Nordroute has less of everything the main route has in abundance: fewer beds, fewer railway stations, fewer big names — no Bad Wimpfen, no imperial palace. In return it has one place the main route cannot offer. In the Gutleutkapelle on the eastern edge of Mosbach, built between 1430 and 1440 as a leper house, a cycle of frescoes from 1496 shows the apostle James in pilgrim's dress with a scallop shell — and into the walls beneath, medieval pilgrims scratched their own signs, scallop shells and Aachen horns, the badges of their pilgrimages. Not a monument someone put up later, but the trace of those who actually passed through here. Add the St. James's church of 1489 in Adelsheim with more than sixty tombs and the Totenkirche of Neckarbischofsheim with frescoes from around 1350. If you know the main route, this is your second round; if you are walking from Rothenburg to Speyer for the first time, you should know this before you turn off at the abbey.

Other Names

The operator, the Jakobusinitiative Mühlhausen, officially calls it the Nordroute — the northern route, as the counterpart to the Hauptroute, the main route via Bad Wimpfen. You will also read Nordroute durch den Odenwald, Odenwald variant or Jakobsweg Schöntal – Sinsheim. We list it as Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer (Nordroute), because that is exactly what it is: the variant of a route, not a line of its own.

One figure to put things in perspective: the operator's leaflet gives 73.7 kilometres for the Nordroute from Schöntal, our route data say 78.7 — the difference lies in the way through the villages and in how the track was recorded. We use 78.7 kilometres throughout. And don't confuse it: the Pfälzer Nordroute is a different route altogether — it only begins in Speyer.

Who It's Ideal For—and Who It's Not So Ideal For

Ideal if you have already walked the main route and want to see something different the second time. Ideal if pilgrims' traces appeal to you more than imperial palaces — the scratched marks in the Gutleutkapelle are the most tangible evidence of medieval pilgrimage the whole route from Rothenburg to Speyer has to offer. Ideal if you are looking for quiet: on the plateau between Schöntal and Adelsheim and in the forest between Lindengrund and Waldmühlbach there are days when you meet nobody. Ideal if you have four days and want a self-contained section, with a railway station within reach at the start and a station at the end. And ideal if you like half-timbered towns — Mosbach, Helmstadt and Neckarbischofsheim deliver them in series.

To be honest, it is not for you if you are walking from Rothenburg to Speyer for the first time: then take the main route, it is better supplied with beds and trains and has the stronger highlights in the Jagst valley and Bad Wimpfen. Not for you if you need a bed within walking distance every evening — the Adelsheim–Mosbach stage is 27.5 kilometres, more than ten of them without a village. Not for you if you want short days: three of the four stages are between 17 and 28 kilometres. And not for you if you want to avoid heavy subjects — in Neckarelz a concentration camp memorial lies right on the route, and the tunnels of the armaments project the camp was created for are near Obrigheim, which you walk through two kilometres later.

Route & Landscape

The Nordroute begins at Schöntal Abbey down in the Jagst valley and climbs straight out of it: via Rossach and Oberkessach onto the plateau between the Jagst and the Kessach, where at kilometre 8.5 the variant's highest point lies at 358 metres — no summit, just open land and sky, the quietest section of the whole route. Via Hergenstadt you come down to Adelsheim with its St. James's church. From here the route turns west and takes on the character of the Odenwald's edge: Lindengrund, then a long stretch of forest without a single village as far as Waldmühlbach, on through Billigheim with its former Cistercian nunnery, Sulzbach, Bergfeld — more forest, more solitude, less of a view than up on the plateau.

Then the route drops 150 metres down to Mosbach on the Neckar: half-timbered old town, collegiate church, Gutleutkapelle. Via Neckarelz — at 137 metres at kilometre 48.1 the lowest point — and Obrigheim you follow the river briefly, then turn into the Schwarzbach valley: Asbach, Daudenzell, Aglasterhausen, Helmstadt. From Neckarbischofsheim the Kraichgau opens up, loess hills, orchards, wide views, and in a good nine kilometres you are in Sinsheim — where the main route comes in from Bad Rappenau and the Stift Sunnisheim on the Michaelsberg receives both lines. Underfoot: field and forest tracks, clay when wet, tarmac through the villages; 1,045 metres up, 1,107 down.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

We divide the Nordroute into 4 stages with an average of 19.7 kilometres — Camino Ninja system, based on the places with beds and trains. The distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to the 78.7 kilometres of our route data. Difficulty: moderate — 13.3 metres of ascent per kilometre, no long climbs, but the second stage is long and short on supplies, and the sparse beds force you to book ahead.

1. Schöntal Abbey – Adelsheim (15.3 km) — Rossach, Oberkessach; highest point 358 m at km 8.5; Hergenstadt; St. James's church in Adelsheim (1489). Short enough for the afternoon after a guided tour of the abbey.
2. Adelsheim – Mosbach (27.5 km) — Lindengrund (km 18.3), then more than ten kilometres without a village as far as Waldmühlbach (km 28.8); Billigheim, Sulzbach, Bergfeld; descent to Mosbach: Gutleutkapelle, collegiate church of St. Juliana, half-timbered old town. Longest stage, water and food for the whole day.
3. Mosbach – Aglasterhausen (17.1 km) — Neckarelz (km 47.6, concentration camp memorial, lowest point 137 m), Obrigheim; Schwarzbach valley via Asbach and Daudenzell; Aglasterhausen, terminus of the S 51 from Heidelberg.
4. Aglasterhausen – Sinsheim (18.8 km) — Helmstadt (Kuckucksbrücke, Rabanstraße, Rabanschloss), Neckarbischofsheim (km 69.1, Totenkirche); open Kraichgau; Sinsheim, Stift Sunnisheim — reunion with the main route.

The touchstone is the second day: 27.5 kilometres, with the edge of the Odenwald in between — no shop, no inn, clay when it rains. Start early, pack for the whole day, and when you reach Mosbach, treat yourself to a half rest day there — the town deserves it. If you want to take the sting out of the stage, sleep in Billigheim and split it into 17.3 and 10.2 kilometres. The third day is short but heavy in content; the memorial in Neckarelz only opens on Sundays from February to November — put this stage on a Sunday if you want to go inside.

Scratched scallop shells: the proof on the wall

On most Ways of St. James you are told that pilgrims once walked here. In Mosbach you can see it. The Gutleutkapelle on the eastern edge of town was built between 1430 and 1440 as the church of a leper house — a walled settlement for the "good people", as the lepers were euphemistically called, outside the town on the through road, where they could beg for alms. In 1496 someone painted the north wall: the Passion of Christ in twelve scenes, the Glorification in four more, from betrayal and arrest to Resurrection and Ascension. And within it stands St. James in pilgrim's dress, recognisable by the scallop shell. Whoever painted him knew who passed by here.

The decisive thing, though, is not on the wall but in it: scratched scallop shells and Aachen horns, the badges of the Santiago pilgrims and the Aachen pilgrims, scraped by hand into the plaster — the signature of people who rested here, prayed, moved on. No bishop endowed them, no association erected them. To be honest, they are the strongest evidence of medieval pilgrimage on the whole route from Rothenburg to Speyer, stronger than any confraternity charter, because they come from the pilgrims themselves. We know no names; the marks are enough.

Mosbach has a second chapter of church history that suits the Nordroute, because it is about separation and reunion. The collegiate church of St. Juliana — according to tradition the monastery goes back to Pirminius around 736, it is documented in 825, and in 976 Emperor Otto II gave the imperial abbey to the bishopric of Worms — was divided by a wall in 1708, following the religious declaration of 1705: the choir to the Catholics, the nave to the Reformed, one church, two congregations, for three hundred years. In 2007 the wall was opened; on 27 July 2008 the doors between the two parts opened for the first time. You arrive here as a pilgrim on a variant that parted from the main route at the abbey and becomes one with it again in Sinsheim. Mosbach lies exactly in the middle.

Highlights Along the Way

• Schöntal Abbey — Cistercian, founded in 1153 as a daughter of Maulbronn, moved into the valley in 1157; baroque hall church with twin-tower façade under Abbot Benedikt Knittel (1683–1732); tomb of Götz von Berlichingen († 1562) in the east wing of the cloister; Order Hall. Interior only with a guided tour, €6.50 per person (as of September 2026); guesthouse of the education centre.
• The plateau near Oberkessach — highest point of the Nordroute, 358 m at km 8.5; no building, no museum, just land and sky.
• St. James's church, Adelsheim — built in 1489 by Martin von Adelsheim, bailiff of the Electorate of Mainz, on the site of a Romanesque predecessor; burial place of the lords of Adelsheim with more than 60 epitaphs from the 14th to the 18th century; Mount of Olives group of 1495 on the outer wall, 15th-century lime-wood crucifix, pulpit of 1650; expressly listed as a station of the Way of St. James.
• Billigheim — one of the route's supporting municipalities, shaped by its former Cistercian nunnery; the only place with beds between Adelsheim and Mosbach.
• Gutleutkapelle, Mosbach — 1430–1440 as the chapel of a leper house; fresco cycle of 1496 with St. James in pilgrim's dress; scallop-shell and Aachen-horn marks scratched in by medieval pilgrims.
• Collegiate church of St. Juliana, Mosbach — monastery founded according to tradition in 736 by Pirminius, documented in 825, to Worms in 976; new church from 1370; shared church with a dividing wall of 1708, opened in 2007, doors open since 27 July 2008.
• Half-timbered town of Mosbach — station on the German Timber-Frame Road with the Palm'sches Haus as its landmark; the place for the half rest day.
• Neckarelz concentration camp memorial — in the former Clemens-Brentano-Schule; a satellite camp from spring 1944 for the secret project "Goldfisch", the relocation of Daimler-Benz aero-engine production into the gypsum tunnels near Obrigheim, around 5,000 forced labourers; memorial plaque by French survivors, 1953. February–November, Sundays 2–5 pm, €3.50 (as of September 2026). Not a highlight — a place to take seriously.
• Aglasterhausen — terminus of the S 51, hourly from Heidelberg via Neckargemünd and Meckesheim; the line on to Obrigheim was closed in 1971.
• Helmstadt — you enter across the Kuckucksbrücke, along the Rabanstraße with its historic half-timbered houses, past the town hall and the Rabanschloss; worthwhile detour to the "cathedral of the Kraichgau" in Waibstadt.
• Totenkirche, Neckarbischofsheim — parish church since the 14th century, first documented in 1330, parts from the 11th/12th century, roof structures of 1364 and 1405; patronage to the collegiate foundation of Wimpfen in 1348; more than 40 tombs of the lords of Helmstatt, frescoes between 1350 and 1375; called "Totenkirche" (church of the dead) since 1698; one of the most important cultural monuments of the Kraichgau.
• Stift Sunnisheim, Sinsheim — founded around 1000 by Count Otto of Worms on the Michaelsberg, Benedictine monastery between 1092 and 1100, collegiate foundation in 1496, dissolved in 1565; roof of 1233; cultural centre since 2011 — the point where the Nordroute becomes main route again.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The Nordroute is a branch, not a beginning. Almost everyone who walks it arrives on the Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer from Rothenburg ob der Tauber — 72.1 kilometres along the Hohe Straße and through the Jagst valley — and stands at Schöntal Abbey facing the choice; if you start even further east, you have the Mittelfränkischer Jakobsweg in your legs before that. The waymarking makes the decision easy: both lines carry the yellow sunburst on blue, but only the Nordroute has an additional yellow dot. If you follow the dot from Schöntal, you are on the right track.

If you want to walk the Nordroute as a tour in its own right, the start is a little harder: Schöntal Abbey has no railway station, the nearest practical connection is Möckmühl on the Frankenbahn, from there by bus or taxi into the Jagst valley. Easier is to start in Adelsheim: Adelsheim Nord station is on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn. That costs you the first stage and the highest point, but saves the detour.

Continue the pilgrimage?

In Sinsheim the Nordroute ends — the route does not. From here it is another 43.6 kilometres on the Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer to the imperial cathedral: via Dühren, Angelbachtal, Mühlhausen — the seat of the Jakobusinitiative that created this route —, Rettigheim with its statue of St. James, the Letzenberg chapel above Malsch, then St. Leon-Rot, Reilingen on the old imperial road and across the Rhine to Speyer. Two stages, and you stand before the largest Romanesque church in the world.

If you want to catch up on the other half: the main route between Schöntal and Sinsheim runs via Jagsthausen, Möckmühl, Neudenau and above all Bad Wimpfen with its imperial palace, Blue Tower and the collegiate church with its St. James sculpture of 1269/70 — 68.9 kilometres, three to four days, a good reason for a second round. And from Speyer the way continues west: on the Pfälzer Nordroute or the Pfälzer Südroute to Hornbach Abbey, and from there on the Jakobsweg Hornbach – Metz into France and towards Vézelay.

Preparation & Practical Information

Best time: April to October, ideally May/June and September. The forest tracks between Adelsheim and Mosbach turn to clay when wet; in high summer, on the other hand, the forest is an advantage over the open plateaus of the main route. Waymarking and navigation: yellow sunburst on a blue field, the focal point of the rays shows the direction of travel, plus the yellow dot — watch for it from Schöntal Abbey onwards, otherwise you end up on the main route. Maintenance is in the hands of volunteer trail wardens, among them the Odenwaldklub; carry a GPS track. The easiest way to plan your stages and accommodation is directly in the Camino Ninja app, where you put together your daily distances and book suitable beds at the same time.

Pilgrim's passport: no passport specific to this route — carry a pilgrim's passport (credencial) from a St. James society; stamps are available in churches, town halls and lodgings. Guidebook: the same as for the main route, Renate Florl, *Der Jakobsweg von Rothenburg ob der Tauber bis zum Kaiserdom in Speyer* (ISBN 978-3-9812350-5-0, in German), €12 if collected in Mühlhausen, €14 with postage (as of September 2026); plus the Jakobusinitiative's leaflet, which lists the Nordroute with its own list of places.

Accommodation: the Jakobusinitiative's accommodation directory lists the Nordroute places separately — Adelsheim, Billigheim, Obrigheim, Mosbach, Aglasterhausen, Helmstadt-Bargen, Neckarbischofsheim, Sinsheim. No hostel chain; at the start the guesthouse of the Schöntal Abbey education centre, then inns, guesthouses, hotels. Beds are sparser than on the main route — book ahead, especially for Adelsheim and Billigheim. Supplies: on the second stage between Lindengrund and Waldmühlbach there is no village for more than ten kilometres, so shop in Adelsheim for the whole day. Interiors: Schöntal Abbey only with a guided tour, the Neckarelz memorial only on Sundays, the St. James's church in Adelsheim, the Gutleutkapelle and the Totenkirche partly only at certain times or on request — ask the parishes in advance.

What the journey will cost you

To be honest, the Nordroute costs the same as the main route, just with less choice. Documented (as of September 2026): guesthouses and hotels in Mosbach from €40–61, and for the smaller places the ranges of the accommodation directory, from €25–30 for a simple private room to €70 and more for a hotel double room with breakfast. Guidebook €12 (€14 with postage). Admissions: guided tour of Schöntal Abbey €6.50 per person, Neckarelz concentration camp memorial €3.50; no regular admission fees are documented for the St. James's church, the Gutleutkapelle or the Totenkirche. Food: self-catering €8–12 a day, dinner at an inn €15–25 — and on the Nordroute shopping in advance pays off more than on the main route, the villages are smaller, the shops close earlier.

Realistic daily budget: frugal with a private room and self-catering €40–55, mid-range with an inn, breakfast and a hot dinner €65–90, comfortable with a hotel in Mosbach and all the sights €100–140. For the four stages reckon roughly €160–220 frugal and €260–360 mid-range; getting there and back comes on top — with a Deutschland-Ticket practically included.

Getting Here

To the start (Schöntal Abbey): no railway station. Most people reach the abbey on foot, as a stage destination of the main route from Rothenburg. Otherwise take the Frankenbahn to Möckmühl and from there a bus or taxi into the Jagst valley. Alternative start: Adelsheim Nord on the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn, then you begin at kilometre 15.3 at the St. James's church.

Along the way and from the finish (Sinsheim): stations on the route — Adelsheim Nord (Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn), Mosbach-Neckarelz (junction of the Neckar valley line and the Madonnenlandbahn), Obrigheim (Neckar valley line), Aglasterhausen (terminus of the S 51, hourly from Heidelberg, Monday to Friday 5 am–midnight), Neckarbischofsheim Nord (Krebsbachtalbahn, limited service — check beforehand). This lets you split the Nordroute into two weekends: Schöntal–Mosbach and Mosbach–Sinsheim. Sinsheim (Elsenz) Hauptbahnhof is on the Elsenz valley line to Heidelberg and Heilbronn; the Sinsheim Museum/Arena stop is at the Technik Museum.

• Rail: bahn.de — Deutsche Bahn, Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn, Frankenbahn to Möckmühl
• Operator: jakobsweg-rothenburg-speyer.de — Jakobusinitiative Mühlhausen, Nordroute accommodation directory, Gutleutkapelle
• Schöntal Abbey: kloster-schoental.de — guided tours, guesthouse
• Neckarelz concentration camp memorial: kz-denk-neckarelz.de — opening hours, history
• St. James's church, Adelsheim: adelsheim.de — visits, contact