Via Regia

Who This Route Is Ideal For – and Who It's Not

Ideal for a history-rich, easily reached pilgrim route through Germany with great cities and Reformation sites – and as an eastern opening to a long westward journey. Mostly flat, comfortably done.

Less suitable if you seek mountain panoramas and wilderness: the route runs through cultivated landscape, fields and cities.

Route & Landscape

From Görlitz, Germany's easternmost city, the route crosses the Upper Lusatia (Bautzen) into the Saxon lowlands and to Leipzig.

On through the Thuringian hills over Naumburg and Erfurt to Eisenach with the Wartburg, before reaching Vacha on the Werra.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

At about 474 kilometers with only some 3,600 meters of climb, the Via Regia is mostly flat to gently rolling – comfortably done in 19–24 days. The Ecumenical Pilgrim Way is excellently waymarked (shell logo). Accommodation: guesthouses, pilgrim lodgings, parishes.

Reformation and the king's road – the heart of the route

The Via Regia is a walk through German history: in Erfurt Luther entered the monastery, and at the Wartburg near Eisenach he translated the New Testament. Leipzig and Naumburg (cathedral, UNESCO) add to the rich cultural heritage.

At the same time you follow the medieval imperial highway once travelled by merchants, kings and pilgrims. Fittingly, the first German-language pilgrim guide to Santiago was written around 1495 by Hermann Künig von Vach, a Servite monk from the very Vacha that today marks the western end of the route.

• Plan a stop in Erfurt and Eisenach (Wartburg) each for the Reformation history.
• Görlitz (an old-town gem) and Naumburg (cathedral) are also worth a stay.
• The route is flat – ideal for long, even stages.

Highlights Along the Way

• Görlitz – Germany's easternmost city with a splendid old town.
• Leipzig – a city of music and trade fairs, Bach and the Reformation.
• Naumburg – the cathedral with its famous founder figures (UNESCO).
• Erfurt – a medieval city, Luther's monastery.
• Eisenach – the Wartburg, where Luther translated the Bible.

Continue your pilgrimage?

The German section is one link in a long chain. To the east, at Görlitz, the Camino Via Regia connects from Poland (reaching over Kraków and Wrocław as far as Ukraine). To the west, at Vacha, the waymark changes from the yellow-and-blue shell of the Ecumenical Pilgrim Way to the blue shell of the Rhön Way of St. James toward Fulda – from where further Ways of St. James lead over Frankfurt and the Rhineland to France and ultimately to Santiago. If you wish, see the Via Regia as the central European link in a continent-wide pilgrim corridor.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best time is spring to autumn. Along the route there is a network of about 100 pilgrim hostels at comfortably spaced intervals offering simple overnight lodging, alongside guesthouses and parishes. Addresses, maps and route descriptions are published by the Ökumenischer Pilgerweg e.V. association in its own pilgrim guide. A pilgrim credential is useful for stamps and lodgings.

What the journey will cost you

Germany is more expensive than Spain. Budget roughly €45–75 per day (guesthouses/pilgrim lodgings), plus food; simple lodgings and self-catering lower the cost.

Getting There

The starting point is Görlitz, well reached by train from Dresden.

• Train to Görlitz: connections via Dresden. Deutsche Bahn – connections and tickets.
• Return from Vacha: via Eisenach to the rail network. Deutsche Bahn – connections from Eisenach.