Partner
Jakobusinitiative Mühlhausen
The initiative from Mühlhausen in the Kraichgau created the Way of St James from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Speyer Cathedral – 184.6 km with a northern route through the Odenwald – and keeps it running with an accommodation list.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
Jakobsweg Rothenburg–SpeyerFrom Riemenschneider's Holy Blood Altar in Rothenburg ob der Tauber to the largest Romanesque church in the world: 184.6 kilometres along the prehistoric Hohe Straße, seventy kilometres of Jagst valley, Bad Wimpfen and the Kraichgau down to the Rhine — nine stages, 1,588 metres of ascent, with a railway station at almost every turn.Explore this Camino- Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer (Nordroute)The official variant of the Way of St. James Rothenburg–Speyer: 78.7 kilometres from Schöntal Abbey through the Odenwald via Adelsheim, Mosbach and Neckarbischofsheim to Sinsheim, where it rejoins the main route. Four stages, 1,045 metres of ascent, marked with the yellow sunburst plus a yellow dot — and with the Gutleutkapelle in Mosbach, into whose walls medieval pilgrims scratched their scallop shells.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
The Jakobusinitiative Mühlhausen comes from a small municipality in the Kraichgau – and still took on a big gap. Between Franconia and the Rhine there was no Way of St James; the initiative designed one, and in September 2009 the Bishop of Speyer opened the route from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Speyer Cathedral. The initiative itself calls it “one of the last gap closures in Baden-Württemberg”.
The project is funded by the municipality of Mühlhausen. The initiative sees the route explicitly as a spiritual pilgrim way: in the Jagst valley it keeps leaving the old Hohe Straße to take in churches, chapels and wayside shrines. From Riemenschneider's Holy Blood Altar to the largest Romanesque church in the world – a village has linked two world-class churches.
The association's routes
- Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer – 184.6 km in 9 stages from St. Jakob in Rothenburg ob der Tauber via the Hohe Straße, the Jagst valley, Bad Wimpfen and the Kraichgau to Speyer Cathedral
- Jakobsweg Rothenburg–Speyer (Nordroute) – 78.7 km in 4 stages, the official variant from Schöntal Abbey through the Odenwald via Mosbach to Sinsheim, where it rejoins the main route
What the association does for pilgrims
The route is waymarked with the yellow ray bundle on a blue background; the northern route also carries a yellow dot, and a separate arrow shows the direction. Volunteer waymark wardens keep the signs in good shape. The website offers an accommodation list along the route, information on the towns and villages on the way and a downloadable flyer.
The initiative does not issue its own pilgrim passport; bring a pilgrim passport (credencial) from a St James association – you get stamps in churches, town halls and accommodation along the way.
Contact and getting involved
Website: jakobsweg-rothenburg-speyer.de with route description, accommodation list and contact form · Email: info@jakobsweg-rothenburg-speyer.de · Seat: Mühlhausen (Kraichgau).