Pfälzer Nordroute

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Speyer (Imperial Cathedral) → Hornbach Abbey
• Length: 148.4 km
• Elevation gain:↗ 2,263 m / ↘ 2,132 m
• Duration: about 7 days on foot (6–8 days, depending on the length of each stage)
• Highest point: about 476 m, at the watershed near Johanniskreuz
• Marking: Scallop, marked by the Pfälzerwald Association
• Character: A wooded pilgrimage route through the Palatinate Forest, from Speyer to Hornbach Abbey

Overview

The Northern Route is the original route of the Palatinate Way of St. James—the Palatinate section of the European Way of St. James leading to Santiago de Compostela. It begins at the Speyer Imperial Cathedral, an important Marian pilgrimage site, and ends about 148 kilometers further on at the Hornbach Monastery in the southwestern Palatinate, where Saint Pirminius is buried.

From Speyer, the route initially heads westward through the Lower Palatinate Rhine Plain, partly along the Speyerbach stream. At Neustadt an der Weinstraße, it passes through the Haardt mountain range into the Palatinate Forest and climbs through the Elmstein Valley to the area around the source of the Speyerbach near Johanniskreuz—there, at the watershed between the Rhine and the Moselle, lies the highest point. From there, the route descends through the Karlstal Valley, crosses the Sickinger Höhe, passes Landstuhl, and continues on to Homburg and Zweibrücken before following the Hornbach River to reach the pilgrimage site.

Other Names

• German: Palatinate Way of St. James – Northern Route, Palatinate St. James Pilgrimage Trail Northern Route
• English: Palatinate Way of St. James – North Route

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

This is ideal if you’re looking for a compact, wooded pilgrimage route in Germany that can be completed in just over a week—featuring the Wine Route, deep forests, and a clear destination of pilgrimage. The Palatinate Forest is peaceful, well-marked, and offers varied scenery.

This route is less suitable if you're expecting large crowds of pilgrims, extensive hostel chains like those in Spain, or high mountains: The route is rather secluded, and the elevation gain is spread out over many ascents and descents in the low mountain range.

Route & Landscape

From Domplatz in Speyer, the route heads west through Dudenhofen, following the Speyerbach stream for a long stretch through riparian forest and past fields, all the way to Neustadt an der Weinstraße. This is where the Palatinate Forest begins: via Lambrecht, the trail leads through the Elmstein Valley, past castle ruins, always following the Speyerbach to Elmstein and continuing uphill to Johanniskreuz.

On the western side of the watershed, the trail descends through the Karlstal Gorge along the Moosalbe River, reaches Gelterswoog, and continues along the northern edge of the Sickinger Höhe, passing Landstuhl. Passing through the Landstuhler Bruch and the Zweibrücker Westrich, the trail continues to Homburg and through Zweibrücken—known as the “City of Roses”—before following the Hornbach upstream to the monastery.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

At about 148 kilometers and with an elevation gain of approximately 2,263 meters, the Northern Route is a low-mountain trail—mostly along forest paths, with the longest climb between Neustadt and Johanniskreuz. Six to eight daily stages are typical. The trail is marked by the Pfälzerwald Association. Plan each stage carefully: In the forest, daily sections can sometimes be 20–30 km long, and supplies are not readily available everywhere.

From the Imperial Cathedral to Pirminius’s Tomb—two landmarks of the Palatinate

The starting point matters: The Speyer Imperial Cathedral It is the largest surviving Romanesque church in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, and the burial place of eight German emperors and kings. Those who set out on a pilgrimage here begin at one of Europe’s most significant sacred buildings—the stamp from the cathedral sacristy makes for a fitting first entry in the pilgrim’s passport.

The goal is quieter, but no smaller: the monastery Hornbach was founded around 740 by Pirminius, the itinerant bishop—the same man who had previously established the monastic island of Reichenau. Pirminius died in 753 and is still buried in Hornbach today; his grave was itself a pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. The Northern Route thus connects not merely two places, but two burial sites of European significance.

Highlights Along the Way

• Speyer Imperial Cathedral – Romanesque cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Marian pilgrimage site, the starting point of the trail.
• German Wine Route near Neustadt – A sea of vineyards and a view of the Haardt mountain range just before entering the forest.
• Elmstein Valley & Karlstal Gorge – quiet forest valleys along the Speyerbach and Moosalbe rivers.
• St. John's Cross – Historic forest junction at the watershed; the highest point along the trail.
• Sequoias near Landstuhl – A natural landmark featuring giant exotic trees, planted in 1861.
• Hornbach Monastery – Founded in 735 by Saint Pirminius; his tomb is the destination of the pilgrimage.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

You can easily reach Speyer by train via Mannheim or Schifferstadt. If you’re already on a pilgrimage along the Rhine—for example, on the The Way of St. James on the Left Bank of the Rhine to Bingen—and from there takes the train to Speyer, a trip of just over an hour, and continues the pilgrimage.

Beyond Hornbach, the route takes on an international character: The United Palatinate Pilgrimage Route crosses the border and continues through Saarbrücken into Lorraine. There, the main route intersects with Trier – Le Puy, which takes you through the Vosges and the Massif Central all the way to Le Puy-en-Velay—to the starting point of the Via Podiensis.

Continue the pilgrimage?

The Palatinate Ways of St. James begin at the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer and continue through Hornbach toward France: South of Hornbach, the pilgrimage route—which merges with another path there—crosses the border and proceeds via Saarbrücken to Lorraine/Metz and on toward Burgundy. Near Landstuhl, the Monastery Route (coming from Worms Cathedral via the Kaiserslautern area) also joins the Northern Route.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best time to travel is from spring through fall. You’ll stay in guesthouses, inns, Nature Friends lodges, and individual pilgrim lodgings along the stages; there isn’t a continuous chain of lodging facilities like in Spain—so be sure to plan your accommodations in advance. You can get pilgrim stamps at many parish offices, tourist information centers, and hostels along the route; it’s a good idea to have a pilgrim’s passport. In the Palatinate Forest, the stages are heavily forested and sometimes remote, so be sure to bring enough food and water.

What the journey will cost you

Germany is more expensive than Spain. Roughly budget €45–75 per day (guesthouses/inns), plus meals (as of June 2026); basic accommodations and self-catering will lower your costs.

Getting There

The starting point is Speyer; the destination is Hornbach Abbey in the southwestern Palatinate.

• Train to Speyer: Accessible via Mannheim/Schifferstadt. Deutsche Bahn– Connections and tickets.
• Return trip from Hornbach: via Zweibrücken/Homburg to the rail network. Deutsche Bahn– Connections from Homburg.