Way of St. James Fulda – Bingen

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Fulda Cathedral with the tomb of St Boniface / Bingen am Rhein at the mouth of the Nahe
• Length: 211.1 km
• Duration: 10 stages, avg. around 21 km; with a rest day in Frankfurt or Mainz a good week and a half
• Elevation: ↗ 1,529 m / ↘ 1,690 m
• Highest point: 444 m at km 27.7 on the ridge beyond Keutzelbuch, between Flieden and Schlüchtern
• Landscape: the Kinzig valley between the Vogelsberg and the Spessart, the edge of the Wetterau, the urban landscape of Frankfurt and the Main-Taunus area, the vineyard slopes on the edge of the Rheingau and in Rheinhessen
• Operator / Waymarking: shell symbol of the regional St James associations
• Traces of St. James: few, but old ones: the Abbey of St James on the Jakobsberg in Mainz (1055–1802), plus the tomb of St Boniface at the start, which is older than the veneration of St James in Santiago
• Accommodation: guesthouses, inns, hotels and youth hostels in the towns; real pilgrim hostels are practically non-existent
• Connecting routes: Jakobsweg Vacha–Fulda–Würzburg in Fulda, Elisabethpfad 1 (Frankfurt – Marburg) in Frankfurt, Jakobsweg Mainz–Speyer in Mainz, in Bingen the Hunsrücker Jakobsweg and the Linksrheinischer Jakobsweg
• Best time: April to October; in spring the orchards of the Main-Taunus area are in blossom, in autumn it is grape harvest along the Main and the Rhine

Overview

The Way of St. James Fulda – Bingen begins at a tomb that is older than the veneration of St James in Santiago: that of Boniface, who was killed near Dokkum in Frisia on 5 June 754 and buried in the monastery of Fulda. From there it is 211.1 kilometres to the Rhine, and they are astonishingly varied. First the Kinzig valley and half-timbered houses, then the big city around Frankfurt and Mainz, and finally vineyards and the Rhine down to the mouth of the Nahe in Bingen.

People have always walked here, just not under this name. The road through the Kinzig valley was the old long-distance trade route Frankfurt–Leipzig, part of the Via Regia, first recorded as "strata regia" in a charter in 1252; Santiago pilgrims from Fulda, Frankfurt and Mainz are documented on it. In Bingen the way doesn't end, it hands you over: the Hunsrücker Jakobsweg takes you on along the old Roman road to Trier. To be honest, this is not a way of scallop shells, but one of emperors, bishops and collectors of fairy tales.

Other Names

On our map you'll find the way as Fulda - Frankfurt - Bingen. For a long time we listed it as Jakobsweg Fulda – Trier or Fulda–Mainz–Trier, which is also what the whole route is called in many guidebooks; since October 2026 we have listed the section from Bingen as a way of its own, the Hunsrücker Jakobsweg. For the Hessian section you'll also come across the historic name Des Reiches Straße ("the Empire's Road"). Don't confuse it with the Bonifatius-Route from Mainz to Fulda: on the Main it shares the stretch around Wicker and Weilbach with you, but then heads off across the Wetterau and the Vogelsberg.

Ideal for whom – and for whom not

Ideal if you're looking for a long walk in Germany that you can do in sections: almost every evening there's a train back, the Kinzig valley railway stops in nearly every stage town, and from Frankfurt onwards you're in the network of S-Bahn and regional trains. Ideal if history appeals to you more than summits, because two imperial palaces and two cathedrals on one route are a rare thing.

To be honest, though, it's not for you if you're expecting pilgrim hostels and pilgrim community: you'll sleep in guesthouses and hotels, and you'll rarely meet fellow pilgrims. Not for you if asphalt and suburbs bother you – between Langenselbold and Ingelheim you walk for three days through the most densely populated area of the country, past industrial estates and railway embankments.

Route & Landscape

Fulda to Frankfurt (km 0–124.8): From the cathedral you head southwest via Neuhof (km 14.3) and Flieden (km 20.0) up onto the ridge beyond Keutzelbuch, at 444 metres at km 27.7 the highest point of the way, and down into the Kinzig valley. There Schlüchtern (km 33.1), Steinau an der Straße (km 40.4), Bad Soden-Salmünster (km 51.4) and Wächtersbach (km 57.6) line up between the Vogelsberg to the north and the Spessart to the south, until you reach Barbarossa's town of Gelnhausen (km 70.5). Beyond Langenselbold (km 88.4) the valley flattens out; Rothenbergen and Erlensee lie just under a kilometre off the route. Via Bruchköbel (km 100.0) and Mittelbuchen it leads to the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main (km 124.8); the city centre lies 0.7 kilometres off the route.

Frankfurt to Bingen (km 124.8–211.1): South of the Main you go via Niederrad (km 129.8) to Höchst (km 137.6), then through the Main-Taunus foothills via Zeilsheim, Kriftel (km 145.1) and Weilbach (km 153.1) to the wine village of Wicker (km 156.8); Hochheim lies 0.7 kilometres off the route. In Mainz-Kastel (km 170.3) you cross the Rhine and walk right past Mainz Cathedral (km 171.9), then via Gonsenheim westwards to Ingelheim (km 195.8) and Gau-Algesheim (km 200.3). Shortly before the finish you reach the lowest point on the Rhine at 80 metres, before the way ends in Bingen am Rhein at the mouth of the Nahe, below Burg Klopp and the Basilica of St. Martin.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

We show the way in 10 stages; the kilometres come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 211.1 km. One day is short, one is long at almost 30 kilometres, but flat.

1. Fulda → Flieden (20.0 km) — Out of the Baroque town via Harmerz and Neuhof to the Kinzig watershed.
2. Flieden → Steinau an der Straße (20.4 km) — Over the ridge near Keutzelbuch, the highest point, down to Schlüchtern and on to the little Brothers Grimm town.
3. Steinau an der Straße → Wächtersbach (17.2 km) — Along the Kinzig valley via Ahl and Bad Soden-Salmünster.
4. Wächtersbach → Gelnhausen (12.9 km) — Half a day; the afternoon belongs to the imperial palace.
5. Gelnhausen → Bruchköbel (29.5 km) — Long, but level: via Nieder-Gründau and Langenselbold out of the valley.
6. Bruchköbel → Frankfurt am Main (24.8 km) — Via Mittelbuchen through fields and suburbs to the edge of the city.
7. Frankfurt am Main → Kriftel (20.3 km) — Across the Main to Niederrad, through Höchst and Zeilsheim.
8. Kriftel → Mainz-Kastel (25.2 km) — Through orchards and vineyards via Weilbach and Wicker to the Rhine.
9. Mainz-Kastel → Ingelheim am Rhein (25.5 km) — Across the Rhine, past the cathedral, through Gonsenheim, Budenheim and Heidesheim to the little red-wine town.
10. Ingelheim am Rhein → Bingen am Rhein (15.3 km) — Via Gau-Algesheim and Kempten to the mouth of the Nahe.

The start is the most demanding part: between Flieden and Schlüchtern you climb onto the ridge beyond Keutzelbuch, after which it's almost all downhill and flat to the Rhine. Between Gelnhausen and Ingelheim you walk a lot on asphalt and cycle paths, so shoes with good cushioning pay off there.

A dead man shows the way – only in the opposite direction

In the summer of 754 a funeral procession came up the Rhine. Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz, had been killed near Dokkum on 5 June; his disciple Lullus had the body brought to Mainz by ship. Mainz would gladly have kept him, but Boniface had wished to be buried in the monastery he had founded in 744 with his disciple Sturmius. So the procession moved on, overland, to Fulda. Exactly how, nobody knows: the early medieval sources are too thin, and it is assumed that it used old Roman roads.

The Bonifatius-Route, waymarked in the summer of 2004 for the 1,250th anniversary, retraces this funeral procession over 172 kilometres. Its first stage runs from Mainz via Hochheim and Wicker to Weilbach – exactly where you walk on day eight, only in the opposite direction. After that the ways part: the Bonifatius-Route heads across the Vogelsberg, while you came through the Kinzig valley long ago. At the end both stand at the same two places, Mainz Cathedral and the crypt beneath the high altar in Fulda – except that you begin with the tomb, and the funeral procession ended there.

Highlights Along the Way

• Fulda Cathedral (start) — built from 1704 to 1712 by Johann Dientzenhofer, consecrated on 15 August 1712, a cathedral since 1752; in the crypt beneath the high altar lies Boniface, whose remains were moved on 1 November 819 into the Ratgar Basilica, once the largest basilica north of the Alps.
• Steinau an der Straße (km 40.4) — town charter since 4 July 1290; Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm spent their childhood here from 1791 to 1796 in the official residence of 1562, today the Brothers Grimm House; the town has officially carried the suffix "an der Straße", after the Via Regia, since 1975.
• Gelnhausen (km 70.5) — founded in 1170 by Frederick Barbarossa, imperial palace on an island in the Kinzig, the best preserved of the Staufer era; in 1180 Henry the Lion was put on trial here in his absence.
• Frankfurt-Höchst (km 137.6) — old town with the Carolingian Justinuskirche, one of the oldest churches in Germany.
• Mainz Cathedral (km 171.9) — right on the route; Boniface was archbishop here, and his body was brought here in 754 before it moved on to Fulda.
• Ingelheim am Rhein (km 195.8) — imperial palace of Charlemagne, built between 780 and 800; Charlemagne was already here in September 774, and Louis the Pious died on 20 June 840 on an island in the Rhine just offshore; the Saalkirche from 997 still stands.
• Bingen am Rhein (finish) — the mouth of the Nahe with Burg Klopp and the Basilica of St. Martin; here the Hunsrücker Jakobsweg to Trier begins.

Few shells, much Empire: what this way really tells

St James rarely appears on this way, but he has one fixed spot. On the Jakobsberg in Mainz, where the citadel stands today, Archbishop Bardo founded a Benedictine abbey in 1050, consecrated in 1055 and dedicated to the Apostle James the Greater; it existed until 1802, and the hill still bears its patron's name today. The route passes less than 300 metres from it.

Otherwise the way tells of the Empire. The imperial palaces in Gelnhausen and Ingelheim both lie on the way; Barbarossa founded one, Charlemagne built the other. And between them lies Steinau, where the Brothers Grimm grew up in the official residence – on a road that back then carried princes, merchants and pilgrims alike.

How Pilgrims Reach This Way

Most arrive in Fulda by ICE and set off from the cathedral. If you're already on the road, you come from the east: the Jakobsweg Vacha–Fulda–Würzburg runs from the Werra bridge in Vacha via Fulda to the south, and you share the first five kilometres or so from the cathedral with it. In Vacha the Via Regia from Görlitz ends. In Fulda you then have the choice between Würzburg and the Rhine.

You can also join easily in the middle. The Elisabethpfad 1 (Frankfurt – Marburg) begins in Frankfurt, the Jakobsweg Mainz–Speyer in Mainz-Kastel and at the cathedral – you can also use both in the opposite direction as feeder routes.

Continue Your Pilgrimage?

Yes, across the Hunsrück to Trier. In Bingen the Hunsrücker Jakobsweg begins: 126 kilometres on the old Roman road that the poet Ausonius described around 371 in his "Mosella", all the way to the Apostle's tomb at St. Matthias. At the same point the Linksrheinischer Jakobsweg arrives from Cologne; anyone coming from there walks on with you.

From Trier, Trier – Le Puy and Trier – Vézelay lead on into France. From Bingen you still have around 2,500 kilometres to Santiago.

Preparation & Practical Tips

Pilgrim passport and app. As on all German Ways of St. James, you need a pilgrim passport (Credencial), even though you'll hardly ever sleep in pilgrim hostels here: it collects the stamps from cathedrals, parish offices and tourist information centres, and if you go on to Santiago, you'll want this way in it. It's best to order it online in advance so that it reaches you in time for the start of your trip. With the Camino Ninja App you have the map and track offline; the easiest way is to plan the way directly in the app, where you put your stages together and plan suitable accommodation at the same time.

Accommodation. There's plenty of choice, but you should check the trade fair dates in Frankfurt and Mainz, because prices double then. In the Kinzig valley the smaller places book up quickly when there are festivals – book a day or two ahead there.

Water and weather. As far as Gelnhausen you pass through a village every few kilometres, and even more so after that. In summer it gets hot in the Main and Rhine valleys, so take enough water on stages 5 and 8.

What the Way Costs

The pilgrim passport costs around €5 from the St James associations (as of October 2026); the nights are what's expensive. In guesthouses and inns expect €50 to €85 for a single room with breakfast, in Frankfurt and Mainz more like €80 to €130, and more on trade fair days; youth hostels in the towns usually cost adults between €35 and €60 with breakfast, and you'll need a DJH membership (as of October 2026).

A daily budget of €70 to €100 is realistic. You can save on the train: the Deutschlandticket at €63 a month covers all regional trains along the way and for the journey home from Bingen (as of October 2026). To be honest, a week here costs you about as much as two on the Camino Francés – but you can take the train home.

Getting There

To the start. Fulda lies on the ICE line Hamburg–Frankfurt–Munich; from the station to the cathedral it's a quarter of an hour on foot.

Along the way and from the finish. As far as Frankfurt the Kinzig valley railway accompanies you, with stops in Neuhof, Flieden, Schlüchtern, Steinau, Bad Soden-Salmünster, Wächtersbach, Gelnhausen and Langenselbold; from Frankfurt S-Bahn trains run to Höchst and Mainz, and regional trains via Ingelheim to Bingen. From Bingen it's a good half hour by train to Mainz and a little over an hour to Frankfurt.

• Rail: bahn.de — connections to Fulda, from Bingen and the Deutschlandticket