About 148 kilometers from Speyer Cathedral straight across the Palatinate Forest to Hornbach Abbey – the North Route of the Palatinate Ways of St. James, climbing along the Speyerbach through quiet forest valleys to the grave of Saint Pirmin.
The North Route is the original of the Palatinate Ways of St. James – the Palatinate sections of the European Ways of St. James toward Santiago de Compostela. It begins at the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer, an important Marian pilgrimage site, and ends about 148 kilometers later at Hornbach Abbey in the southwestern Palatinate, where Saint Pirmin is buried.
From Speyer the route first runs west across the Rhine plain, partly along the Speyerbach. Near Neustadt an der Weinstraße it crosses the Haardt range into the Palatinate Forest and climbs through the Elmstein valley to the area of the Speyerbach's source near Johanniskreuz – where, at the watershed between Rhine and Moselle, the route reaches its highest point. From there it descends through the Karlstal, passing Landstuhl to reach Homburg and Zweibrücken, before following the Hornbach stream to the pilgrimage town.
Ideal if you want a compact, forest-rich pilgrim route in Germany that can be walked in a good week – with the Wine Route, deep woods and a clear pilgrimage destination. The Palatinate Forest is quiet, well waymarked and scenically varied.
Less suitable if you expect large streams of pilgrims, a continuous chain of hostels as in Spain, or high mountains: the route is fairly solitary, and the climbing is spread across many ups and downs in low-mountain terrain.
From Speyer's cathedral square the way heads west via Dudenhofen, long following the Speyerbach through riverside woodland and past fields to Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Here the Palatinate Forest begins: over Lambrecht the route runs through the Elmstein valley, past castle ruins, always along the Speyerbach to Elmstein and on uphill to Johanniskreuz.
On the west side of the watershed the path descends through the Karlstal gorge along the Moosalbe, reaches the Gelterswoog and crosses the northern edge of the Sickinger Höhe past Landstuhl. Over the Landstuhl Bruch lowland and the Zweibrücken Westrich it leads to Homburg and through the "rose town" of Zweibrücken, before following the Hornbach stream uphill to the abbey.
At about 148 kilometers with roughly 2,263 meters of climb, the North Route is a low-mountain trail – mostly on forest paths, with the longer ascent between Neustadt and Johanniskreuz. Six to eight daily stages are usual. The route is waymarked by the Pfälzerwald-Verein. Plan individual stages carefully: in the forest some day sections run 20–30 km, and supplies are not dense everywhere.
The Palatinate Ways of St. James begin at the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer and continue past Hornbach toward France: south of Hornbach the now-unified pilgrim route crosses the border and runs over Saarbrücken into Lorraine / Metz and on toward Burgundy. At Landstuhl, the Cloister Route (coming from Worms Cathedral, by way of the Kaiserslautern area) also joins the North Route.
The best time is spring to autumn. You stay in guesthouses, inns, Naturfreunde houses and a few pilgrim lodgings along the stages; there is no continuous chain of hostels as in Spain – plan your accommodation ahead. Pilgrim stamps are available at many parish offices, tourist information points and lodgings along the way; a pilgrim credential is useful for them. In the Palatinate Forest the stages are wooded and at times remote, so plan for food and water.
Germany is more expensive than Spain. Budget roughly €45–75 per day (guesthouses/inns), plus food (as of June 2026); simple lodgings and self-catering lower the cost.
The starting point is Speyer, the destination Hornbach Abbey in the southwestern Palatinate.
7Seas Boutique Aparthotel Homburg - stilvoll, digital, ideal für Familien- & Businessgäste
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ACHAT Hotel Neustadt an der Weinstraße
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Altstadt Speyer
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Amedia Plaza Speyer, Trademark Collection by Wyndham
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Apartment Waldidyll
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