Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Všeruby / Neumarker Pass (Eschlkam/Všeruby border crossing, 430 m) → Neresheim on the Härtsfeld (504 m)
• Length: 312.4 km — officially, the route ends after 273 km in Donauwörth; our route continues for another 39 km until it connects with the Nuremberg–Ulm section of the Way of St. James
• Ascent/Descent: ↗ 6,337 m / ↘ 6,263 m — 20.3 m per kilometer, more than the Camino Francés (17.9); 42.6% of that is within the first 90 km
• Duration: Approx. 11–14 days (main route: 14 stages; challenging route: 11)
• Highest point: 900 m — Crossing the ridge at Hoher Bogen (km 21.8); the Schwarzriegel summit (1,079 m) remains 179 m above the trail
• Lowest point: 326 m — Danube Lowlands near Wörth an der Donau (km 90.8)
• Marking: A stylized yellow scallop shell on a blue background
• Maintained by: Franconian St. James Society of Würzburg, Inc. — Contact address in Eschlkam, the first German town along the route
• Inaugurated: July 16, 2004 — jointly organized by the Franconian St. James Society, the Bavarian Forest Association, and the Czech Klub českých turistů
• Feeder route: The Všeruby Way from Prague ends right at the starting point—a total of 517 km from Prague to Neresheim
• Onward route: In Neresheim, the Nuremberg–Ulm Way of St. James takes over (remaining distance to Ulm: 67.5 km); the last 13.7 km are shared by both routes
• Best season: May through October — the 900-meter ridge at the start is not a winter stage

Overview

At the Eschlkam/Všeruby border crossing, there is a Jakobusstein — and it marks the smoothest transition in our network: it is where the Všeruby Way from Prague, and this trail begins there—at a mountain pass, over which 1948 bis 1990 No one was allowed to leave. It was inaugurated on 16. Juli 2004, organized jointly by a Franconian St. James Society, a Bavarian hiking club, and the Czech Tourist Club—and its official description sums it up in a single sentence:"Der ostbayerische Jakobsweg liegt geographisch gesehen genau auf der Luftlinie Prag – Regensburg – Augsburg – Bodensee." A path that is defined not by its beginning, but by the path that came before it—and by the destination far beyond it.

Here are the figures: 312.4 Kilometers and 6,337 meters of elevation gain — these are 20.3 per kilometer, more than the Camino Francés (17.9) and more than any other route in our network that is longer than 200 kilometers and runs entirely or mostly through Germany. And here’s another figure that no other route can match: In our network of 201 Routes There is exactly one that runs through Regensburg—this one. It crosses the Danube at the Steinernen Brücke, passes right by the cathedral along the way, and the Schottenkirche St. Jakob just a few minutes away; the same unique selling point applies to Eichstätt and the Danube Gorge near Kelheim. At the end, it leads directly to Balthasar Neumanns It passes the abbey church in Neresheim and ends right next to the route of the Jakobswegs Nürnberg–Ulm. To be honest: 42.6 percent of the total elevation gain is in the first 90 kilometers — This path isn't hard; it's hard at the beginning.

Closed in 1948, opened in 1990, inaugurated in 2004 — the new path along the old route

The Všerubský průsmyk, the Neumark Pass, was part of the Iron Curtain: 41 years For a long time—from 1948 to 1990—no one was allowed to cross here; since 1996 In Všeruby, a monument commemorates those who tried anyway and died. Then things happened quickly—and in the wrong order, which is actually the right one: 2003 the Czech section was connected to the European Way of St. James network, 2004 The Bavarian Way was inaugurated. First came the sequel, then the spin-off. Today, the Jakobusstein stands at the border crossing, and eight kilometers further on, in Eschlkam, the first German town along the route features an art trail“Grenzbegegnungen — Wege zwischen Ost und West” and a pavilion that“In der neuen Mitte Europas — Licht und Schatten” is called. This is the peaceful response to forty-one years of a closed border—and it stands at kilometer 8.3.

The official directions say:"Historisch gesehen folgt der Weg zunächst den uralten Verbindungswegen zwischen Böhmen und Bayern im Bereich der Further-Chamer Senke." That's right—for twenty kilometers. Then the route does the opposite: at kilometer 21.8, it reads 900 meters, on the ridge of the Hoher Bogen, and this crossing is not a cartographic anomaly but is officially documented—the Goldsteig and the Baierweg, one of those old trade routes from the Danube to Furth im Wald. The merchants took the valley route. The pilgrimage route goes up the mountain. And one more truth about the beautiful straight-line route from Prague to Regensburg to Augsburg to Lake Constance: Our route eventually leaves it behind. At Kaisheim, it turns west and, instead of Augsburg, takes the next Way of St. James—Neresheim, where the route to Ulm runs right past its terminus.

Fifteen kilometers past the border, there is a Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut the Baroque pilgrimage church of the Nativity of Mary, and within it Doppelaltar aus Augsburger Goldschmiedekunst sits — as attested in the text —"das böhmische mittelalterliche Gnadenbild". The pilgrimage is via 550 years The Pilgrimage Museum displays over 1,000 original exhibits, and we’re deliberately not telling you about the “miracle of the blood”—the event that gave the town its name—here; the sources don’t provide the details. They don’t need the punchline either: You're from Bohemia, and the first shrine along your path also comes from there. You’ll search in vain, however, for a medieval document mentioning the route itself—it was inaugurated in 2004 as a modern connection along ancient trade routes, and that’s exactly what we’d rather tell you than make something up. Its record on the Way of St. James is brief but sufficient: In the beginning, a stone bearing his name; in the center, his church — St. Jakob’s Scottish Church in Regensburg, the only St. Jakob’s Church directly along the route. That’s all a trail needs.

Other Names

The official name of this trail is The East Bavarian Way of St. James — that is how it was dedicated on July 16, 2004, and that is how the Fränkische St. Jakobusgesellschaft Würzburg e.V. In the literature, however, you'll usually find it described as part of the entire route: Hans J. Kolbinger's pilgrim guide (Tyrolia 2006, 204 pages, maps at a scale of 1:50,000) is titled“Auf dem Jakobsweg – von Prag über Regensburg und Eichstätt nach Donauwörth”, and that is exactly how the saying is often quoted—as Prag–Donauwörth. This is not a contradiction, but a self-description: He “continues the southern Czech variant of the Way of St. James, which starts in Prague”—on the Czech side, this is the route we know as Všeruby Way lead. Don't confuse it with its namesake: There is a second East Bavarian Way of St. James as Jakobus-Radpilgerweg, in five stages and About Cham — It's not a short walk; Cham is a good 13 kilometers away.

Two distance figures from other sources need to be classified: 273 km (“Auf 273 km durchquert der Ostbayerische Jakobsweg den Freistaat Bayern”) and 279.18 km (bayerischer-wald.org) — Both are referring to the cut Eschlkam → Donauwörth, the official end of the trail. Our measured 312.4 km They start right at the border and continue for 39 kilometers: through Kaisheim and Harburg to Neresheim, where the Nuremberg–Ulm Way of St. James passes through. If you're taking the official route to Donauwörth, you'll find it listed below under "Stages" — both ends are legitimate endpoints.

Who it's ideal for—and who it's not so ideal for

This trail is for you if you enjoy climbing and want to immerse yourself in German cultural history: the Regensburg, a World Heritage Site with its Steinerne Brücke, cathedral, and the only St. James Church along the route, the Donaudurchbruch bei Kloster Weltenburg, the Walhalla right along the path, the bishop's city Eichstätt and finally Balthasar Neumanns Abteikirche in Neresheim — “stunningly magnificent,” according to Dehio. It’s also ideal if you’re looking for a true long-distance trail: Together with the Všeruby Way, it totals 517 kilometers from Prague to Neresheim, and from there the route continues via Ulm and Konstanz all the way to Santiago. And it’s perfect if you’re interested in border history you can actually touch—a St. James stone at a mountain pass that was closed for 41 years, a Bohemian image of grace at the first pilgrimage site, and an art pavilion called “In the New Center of Europe.”

To be honest, though, it's not for you if you're looking for a smooth ride: 42.6 percent of the total elevation gain occurs over the first 90 kilometers, and the toughest 20 kilometers (km 40–60, 820 meters of elevation gain) come on the third day—after that, the trail becomes almost gentle, with a gradient of 16.5 m/km. It’s also not for you if you’re expecting a chain of hostels like in Spain: You’ll stay at inns and bed-and-breakfasts, and between Bad Kötzting and Wörth an der Donau lie 58 kilometers where the largest settlements are villages—you’ll need to plan those three nights in advance, not on the go. And it’s not for you if you’re looking for medieval pilgrimage romance complete with a chain of certificates: This route is a modern trail on ancient roads, and it stands by that.

Route & Landscape

You start at the top, on the Neumarker Pass — 430 meters, Eschlkam/Všeruby border crossing, at the Jakobusstein. The first twenty kilometers follow the Further-Chamer Senke, the lowest pass through the border mountains, via Eschlkam and the pilgrimage site Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut. Then the trail climbs to the ridge of the Hohen Bogen: 900 meters at kilometer 21.8, the highest point of the entire route—the five peaks of the mountain range, led by the Schwarzriegel at 1,079 meters, loom above you. Next comes the Forest Edge: Bad Kötzting, Rattenberg, Konzell, the toughest 20 kilometers between km 40 and 60 with 820 meters of elevation gain, the Gallner-Höhe (708 m) and, at km 76.3, the second-highest point (725 m). Then the trail descends over fourteen kilometers to 326 Meters down — to the The Danube near Wörth, the lowest point and the turning point of the route.

From here on, it's a different route. Thirty flat kilometers along the Danube, which Walhalla right next to you, then Donaustauf — and at kilometer 120, crossing the Danube on the Steinernen Brücke, right in the heart of the World Heritage Site of Regensburg: the cathedral right along the path, the Schottenkirche St. Jakob just a few minutes away. Continue across the Jura Mountains to Kelheim, through which Donaudurchbruch am Kloster Weltenburg (just a few minutes away) and in the Naturpark Altmühltal; across the plateau to the pilgrimage church at Bettbrunn and at the Roman fort near Pfünz past to Eichstätt into the Altmühl Valley. Then westward: Neuburg an der Donau lies six kilometers to the south, in Kaisheim the route turns westward, crossing at Harburg The Wörnitz River—with the castle 85 meters above the path—runs along the southern edge of the Nördlinger Ries and climbs onto the Härtsfeld (597.8 m). In Neresheim it starts up right away Balthasar Neumanns Abteikirche...— “stunningly magnificent,” says Dehio — and ends right on the Way of St. James leading to Ulm. A path that ends at one of Europe’s great Baroque buildings, where five monks still live today.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

There is no official division into stages for the hiking route—the tourist information offices have three stage-by-stage flyers available, and Kolbinger’s guide uses 1:50,000 maps. The Stage 14 Below are our suggestions, calibrated to the track measurements in our route database; their total adds up exactly to the route’s 312.4 kilometers and 6,337 meters of elevation gain—more elevation gain than the height of Kilimanjaro (5,895 m). The trick to planning: The first five days must be shorter than the last nine. Up to Wörth an der Donau, this is a low-mountain trail with an elevation gain of 29.7 meters per kilometer, after which it becomes a river valley and plateau trail with a gradient of 16.5—if you stubbornly plan to walk 24 kilometers a day, on the third day you’ll walk 24 kilometers with 850 meters of elevation gain, and on the tenth, 24 kilometers with 229 meters. That’s the same route, but not the same day.

1. Všeruby/Border Crossing → Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut — approx. 15.6 km, ↗ 297 m — intentionally brief: most people arrive via Furth im Wald and have to climb to the pass first. Start at the Jakobusstein, right where the Všeruby Way ends, across Eschlkam to the pilgrimage site with the Bohemian miraculous image.
2. Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut → Bad Kötzting — approx. 17.5 km, ↗ 547 m — the ridge: at km 21.8, the highest point of the entire trail, 900 m at the Hoher Bogen, then 470 meters down into the Regental.
3. Bad Kötzting → Konzell — approx. 21.5 km, ↗ 850 m — the queen stage: 39.6 meters of elevation gain per kilometer; the steepest day of the trail. After two kilometers, the pilgrimage church Weißenregen (right next to the trail), then via Neurandsberg and Rattenberg to the foothills; Konzell is right along the trail.
4. Konzell → Haunkenzell — approx. 12.6 km, ↗ 415 m — the shortest day, and the one with the best view: the Gallner-Höhe (707.8 m) at km 59.9, then a 350-meter descent to Stallwang (right along the path).
5. Haunkenzell → Wörth on the Danube — approx. 23.8 km, ↗ 593 m — the last day in the mountains: at km 76.3, the second-highest point (724.7 m), then a 14-kilometer descent to 326 m — the lowest point of the entire route, down to the Danube.
6. Wörth an der Donau → Regensburg — approx. 30.4 km, ↗ 487 m — the longest stage, flat along the river: at km 108.3, the Walhalla (right along the path), then Donaustauf and the crossing of the Danube on the Steinernen Brücke — the cathedral right along the path, the Schottenkirche St. Jakob A few minutes away. Can be split into Donaustauf (19.2 + 11.2 km).
7. Regensburg → Kelheim — approx. 24.4 km, ↗ 466 m — from the World Heritage Site via Sinzing to the Jura Mountains and down to the Danube; the Befreiungshalle is just a few minutes away.
8. Kelheim → Altmannstein — approx. 22.7 km, ↗ 442 m — the Danube Gorge stage: Kloster Weltenburg a few minutes away, then into the Naturpark Altmühltal.
9. Altmannstein → Stammham — approx. 21.6 km, ↗ 395 m — across the Jura Plateau; at km 180.1, the St. Salvator pilgrimage church in Bettbrunn (a few minutes away).
10. Stammham → Eichstätt — approx. 24.5 km, ↗ 229 m — the flattest day of the trail (9.4 m/km): through Böhmfeld and Pfünz (the Vetoniana Roman fort is located 2.1 km upstream) into the Altmühl Valley; the Eichstätter Dom is right along the path.
11. Eichstätt → Rennertshofen — approx. 28.7 km, ↗ 484 m — up out of the Altmühl Valley and over the Jura Heights; Bergen It's right along the trail; Neuburg an der Donau is just under 6 km to the south.
12. Rennertshofen → Kaisheim — approx. 23.4 km, ↗ 324 m — via Neuhausen and Buchdorf to the old Kaisheim monastery complex. This is where the decision is made: Donauwörth, the official end of the trail, is located 5.5 km to the south.
13. Kaisheim → Mönchsdeggingen — approx. 22.7 km, ↗ 400 m — westward into the Wörnitz Valley: the Burg Harburg It stands 85 m above the trail; from there, the trail climbs again and passes through Möggingen into the Riesrandland region.
14. Mönchsdeggingen → Neresheim — approx. 22.6 km, ↗ 411 m — the handover section: starting at km 298.1, the route is identical to the Nuremberg–Ulm section of the Way of St. James. Via Christgarten and the Härtsfeld-Höhe (597.8 m) toward Neresheim — at km 311.2 Balthasar Neumanns Abteikirche (right on the path): Turn here. The path ends just beyond this point, right next to the road to Ulm.

If you're faster, you can combine Stages 1 and 2 (13 days: Všeruby → Bad Kötzting, 33 km with 844 meters of elevation gain and the 900-meter ridge — but only if you're in good shape when you arrive) or you can take the 11-Day Option with stages ranging from 22 to 33 kilometers; the toughest day—Bad Kötzting to Stallwang—covers 1,122 meters of elevation gain over 30.8 kilometers and is the most challenging daily stretch this route allows. And anyone who wants to walk the route as it was inaugurated in 2004 stops after Stage 12 and descends the 5.5 kilometers from Kaisheim to Donauwörth Down: about 272 kilometers to the official end—where the Bavarian-Swabian Way of St. James joins the route from Augsburg to Lake Constance. Those who continue on to Neresheim will find themselves right at the start of the next Way of St. James and can head toward Ulm the next morning without any detours.

Highlights Along the Way

• St. James' Stone at the Eschlkam/Všeruby Border Crossing (km 0) — The trail does not begin at a gate, but at a stone bearing the saint's name: right at the end of the Všeruby Way, on a mountain pass that was closed from 1948 to 1990.
• Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut (15.6 km, right on the trail) — Baroque pilgrimage church of the Nativity of Mary: the double altar, crafted by Augsburg goldsmiths, features the medieval Bohemian miraculous image; a pilgrimage tradition dating back over 550 years; a Franciscan monastery with a large monastery garden; and a pilgrimage museum with over 1,000 original exhibits.
• High Arch (km 21.8) — 900 m, the highest point of the trail: crossing the ridge of an eight-kilometer-long mountain range with five peaks — the highest, the Schwarzriegel (1,079 m), rises 179 meters above you. Its amphibolite “zählt zu den ältesten Gesteinen der Erde” and the Goldsteig and Baierweg trails also run along the same ridge.
• Gallner-Höhe (km 59.9) — 707.8 m, the scenic ridge of the Vorwald; from there, the trail descends 350 meters in elevation to Stallwang.
• Wörth on the Danube (km 90.9) — 326 m, the lowest point: arrival at the Danube after climbing 2,701 meters in the mountains — here, the trail changes character.
• Walhalla (km 108.3) — the Hall of Fame on the edge of the hillside overlooking the Danube Valley, right next to a pilgrimage route.
• Steinerne Brücke, Regensburg (km 120.2–120.5) — Here, the trail crosses the Danube; beyond it lies the World Heritage Site, with the cathedral right next to the trail.
• St. Jakob's Scottish Church, Regensburg (km 122.4, a few minutes off the main road) — the only St. James Church right along the route. One is not enough; this one is enough.
• Kelheim (km 145.7) — the Old Town is right along the way, and the Hall of Liberation is just a few minutes away.
• Weltenburg Abbey (km 153.4, a few minutes off the route) — in the Danube Gorge, which even the official route description mentions as a scenic feature.
• Bettbrunn (km 180.1, a few minutes off the main road) — the St. Salvator pilgrimage church on the Jura Plateau.
• Pfünz (km 208.1) — The Vetoniana Roman fort is located 2.1 km above the town; the route follows the old Limes Road here.
• Eichstätt (km 214.4) — A bishop's seat in the Altmühl Valley: the cathedral is right along the trail, and Willibaldsburg Castle is a good half kilometer from the trail.
• Harburg Castle (km 276.7) — the castle directly above the Wörnitz crossing on the trail.
• Nördlinger Ries and Christgarten (km 297–299) — The trail runs along the southern edge of the meteorite crater (about 7 km from Nördlingen) and passes the ruins of the Christgarten Charterhouse.
• Neresheim Abbey (km 311.2, right on the trail) — the final stop on the route: founded in 1095 by Count Hartmann I of Dillingen, a Benedictine monastery since 1106. The abbey church is a building designed by Balthasar Neumann — The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1750, three years before Neumann’s death; consecrated in 1777, but not completed until 1792: 83 meters long, with the main dome 32 meters high, surmounted by seven dome frescoes by Martin Knoller (1770–1775), which rank among the most important works of the late Baroque period. Dehio describes it as “erschütternd großartig”: “Die Barockarchitektur, nicht nur Deutschlands, sondern Europas, hat weniges, was sich mit ihm messen kann.” Today, five monks of the Beuron Congregation still live here (as of 2024). Turn here—the path ends shortly after this, right next to the road to Ulm.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The natural feeder is the Všeruby Way: 204.8 kilometers from Prague to the Neumarker Pass — and it ends right where this path begins. Anyone who completes the entire chain will have 517 kilometers from Prague to Neresheim. This is precisely the route the trail itself refers to: It “setzt die tschechische Südvariante des Jakobsweges fort, welche von Prag”—it is defined not by its starting point, but by the path that came before it. That is why Kolbinger’s guidebook is not titled “Eschlkam–Donauwörth,” but rather"von Prag über Regensburg und Eichstätt nach Donauwörth".

Those who aren't coming on foot from Bohemia travel via Furth im Wald To: Train station on the line toward Prague, just under ten kilometers as the crow flies from the starting point; from Germany, with a transfer at Schwandorf. From there, you can take a bus or taxi to Eschlkam (km 8.3 of the trail) or straight up to the border crossing. If you only want to walk part of the way, you can Regensburg (km 121, ICE stop) and Eichstätt (km 214) Two convenient access points along the way—the route is thus neatly divided into the Mountains, the Danube, and the Jura.

Continue the pilgrimage?

This path does not end in a town; it ends at another Way of St. James: The Jakobsweg Nürnberg–Ulm is running immediately past its endpoint, and the two are sharing the last 13.7 kilometers from Christgarten anyway. Neresheim is at kilometer 152 there—until Ulm remain 67.5 Kilometers, a good two days. In Ulm, you'll have the full experience: The The Upper Swabian Way of St. James continues for 167.6 kilometers to Konstanz, where the The Franconian-Swabian Way of St. James from Würzburg, and branches off to the southwest Ulm – Pfullendorf from. From Konstanz onward, the Via Jacobi through Switzerland to Geneva, then the Via Gebennensis to Le Puy, the Via Podiensis to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port — and the The French Way To Santiago. Anyone who sets out from the Stone of St. James is on a continuous path all the way to the Apostle's tomb.

And the official alternative, to be honest: The trail was inaugurated in 2004 as a route extending to Donauwörth — there it flows into the Bayerisch-Schwäbischen Jakobusweg, which runs via Augsburg to Lake Constance. Donauwörth lies five and a half kilometers south of our route, just past Kaisheim. If you stop there, you’ll have walked about 272 kilometers and made no mistake—if you continue on to Neresheim, you’ll have walked 312.4 kilometers and will be on your way to Ulm the next morning without any detours.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best time is May through October. The first section is a low-mountain trail along the ridges of the Bavarian Forest and the Vorwald—the highest point is at 900 meters, and the toughest twenty kilometers (km 40–60, 820 meters of elevation gain, 41 m/km) come on the third day. Be sure to plan the first five stages to be short and bring hiking poles: 6,337 meters of elevation gain is no small feat. From Regensburg onward, the trail is significantly gentler at 16.5 meters of elevation gain per kilometer and is practicable year-round.

The trail is marked with the a stylized yellow scallop shell on a blue background — We don't have any reliable reports on the quality of the signage, so be sure to bring the Camino Ninja app with you — it has the entire route of this trail mapped out: The route crosses four administrative districts and, at the end, a different federal state, and the signs aren't all from the same source. The most reliable printed source is Hans J. Kolbinger’s guidebook“Auf dem Jakobsweg – von Prag über Regensburg und Eichstätt nach Donauwörth” (Tyrolia 2006, 204 pages, maps at a scale of 1:50,000); in addition, there is Three-Stage Flyer at the tourist information offices. By the way, the organization isn't based in Würzburg, but along the route: Waldschmidtplatz 2, 93458 Eschlkam — named after Maximilian Schmidt, known as Waldschmidt, the Bavarian Forest poet born in Eschlkam. The trail is managed from a plaza bearing the name of the poet who brought this landscape to life through his writing.

Accommodations are available at Inns and Guesthouses — There is no chain of pilgrim hostels in the Spanish sense along the German routes of the Way of St. James, and this one is no exception. The one section you really should book in advance is between Bad Kötzting (km 33) and Wörth an der Donau (km 91): 58 kilometers, with Rattenberg, Konzell, and Stallwang being the largest towns along the way—and accounting for 1,857 of the trail’s 6,337 meters of elevation gain. You’ll want to plan these three nights in advance, not while you’re on the trail. And one final, honest admission: In the Abtei Neresheim You won’t be staying overnight—the monastery guesthouse has been closed since 2021; there’s a monastery café, but no pilgrim lodging—so you’ll need to plan your final night’s lodging in town. The easiest way to do all this is right in the Camino Ninja app, where you can plan your stages and book suitable accommodations at the same time.

What the journey will cost you

There are no reliable official price listings for this route—what you will find are inns and guesthouses, so the guidelines for the German St. James’ Ways in our network apply here: Expect 45 to 70 € per day (As of August 2026) for a room with breakfast plus meals; prices tend to be on the higher end in Regensburg and Eichstätt, and lower in the Vorwald villages. For the 14 stages of the main route, you'll end up spending roughly 650 to 1,000 € Excluding travel to and from your destination. Donativo hostels and shared accommodations are the exception, not the rule—treat them as a stroke of luck, not as part of your plan. The best way to save money is on food: The towns along the route starting from the Danube are established small towns with supermarkets and bakeries, and if you shop for lunch instead of eating out, you’ll noticeably lower your daily expenses.

Getting Here

The starting station is Furth im Wald, just under ten kilometers as the crow flies from the border crossing: The city lies on the railroad line heading toward Prague, if you're coming from Germany, get off at Schwandorf...; from there, you can continue by bus or taxi to Eschlkam or directly to the top of the pass. And since you'll be passing through the Drachenstadt When you get here, be honest with yourself: The Further Drachenstich — Germany's oldest folk theater, with a tradition dating back more than 500 years — is located 5.3 kilometers off the trail, along with the First German Kite Museum and Tradinno, the world's largest four-legged walking robot (five meters tall, sixteen meters long, in operation since 2010). The event will take place in the height of summer, in 2026, from July 31 to August 16—which is why one stage day is being rescheduled.

The return trip from the destination requires an important note: In Neresheim There is a train station there, but it belongs to the Härtsfeld-Museumsbahn — Don't rely on that for your trip home; check the bus routes to Aalen or Nördlingen. Anyone who has the official version up to Donauwörth In contrast, this route ends right in a city with a train station. Along the way, Regensburg (km 121) with an ICE stop—the best place to get on and off, Eichstätt (km 214) is the second one. And if you're coming on foot from Prague, you don't even need to travel there: The Všeruby Way ends exactly where your first step begins.

• Getting to the starting point: Furth im Wald train station (line toward Prague; change trains in Schwandorf if coming from Germany), then continue by bus or taxi to Eschlkam (8.3 km) or to the Eschlkam/Všeruby border crossing.
• Return trip: Neresheim has only the museum railway station—check bus routes to Aalen or Nördlingen in advance; the official Donauwörth route ends directly at a train station.
• Intermediate entry: Regensburg Central Station (km 121, ICE) and Eichstätt (km 214) divide the route into three easily accessible sections: the Mountains, the Danube, and the Jura.