Partner
Sächsischer Jakobsweg an der Frankenstraße e.V.
The association behind the Saxon Way of St James: founded in 2009, it waymarks and maintains the old Frankenstraße from Bautzen to Hof, the Erz-Camino into Bohemia and further variants in Saxony.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
Sächsischer JakobswegThe Sächsischer Jakobsweg (Saxon Way of St. James) follows the medieval Frankenstraße for 308.1 kilometers, from the Hammermühle in Bautzen via Dresden, Freiberg, Chemnitz and Zwickau through the Vogtland to Hof. An electoral toll decree of 1462 lists almost exactly the stations you walk today. Fourteen stages, 3,661 meters of climbing, and the highest point, 627 meters, comes between Triebel and Kugelreuth on the very last day. It has been waymarked since 2009.Explore this Camino- Erz-CaminoThe Erz-Camino branches off from the Saxon Way of St. James in Jahnsdorf and runs 95.5 kilometers through Annaberg-Buchholz and along the Ore Mountains ridge to Kadaň, Bohemia, on the Eger River. Four stages, two countries, one UNESCO World Heritage Site—and a border that was closed for four decades.Explore this Camino
- Königsbrück – GrumbachThe Königsbrück – Grumbach variant links the Via Regia with the Saxon Way of St James over 52.0 kilometres, leaving Dresden off to one side. It runs through the heathland north of the state capital, past Moritzburg Castle, across the Elbe by ferry and via Wilsdruff with its Romanesque St James's Church to Grumbach, where the Frankenstraße carries on towards Freiberg and Hof. Four short stages or two sporty days.Explore this Camino
- Heiliger WegIn the late Middle Ages, the Heiliger Weg was the road pilgrims from Bohemia took to the tomb of St Benno in Meissen. On the Camino Ninja map you walk its last section, 13.0 kilometres, in the opposite direction: from Meissen Cathedral up via Bockwen, Scharfenberg and Röhrsdorf until, south of Röhrsdorf, you meet the Königsbrück – Grumbach Camino variant. Half a day, one bishop, one Reformation – and a tomb that has been empty since 1539.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
On 10 June 2009, 16 people met in Reinsdorf near Zwickau with one idea: Saxony should have a Way of St James again – on the Frankenstraße, the medieval trade road that branched off the Via Regia in Bautzen and ran via Dresden, Freiberg, Chemnitz and Zwickau to Hof in Franconia. The idea became the Sächsischer Jakobsweg an der Frankenstraße e.V., registered at the Chemnitz district court and recognised as a non-profit.
Today the association has 61 members, all volunteers. In May 2025 the association was in Berlin when 15 St James associations founded their joint German umbrella federation. The road is 700 years old – that scallop shells hang along it again is this association's work.
The association's routes
- Saxon Way of St James – the main route, 308.1 km from the Hammermühle in Bautzen via Dresden, Freiberg, Chemnitz and Zwickau to Hof
- Erz-Camino – 95.5 km from Jahnsdorf via Annaberg-Buchholz and the crest of the Ore Mountains to Kadaň in Bohemia
- Königsbrück – Grumbach – 52.0 km, variant north of Dresden via Coswig that joins the main route at Grumbach
- Heiliger Weg – 13.0 km from Meissen Cathedral to the Königsbrück – Grumbach variant – the last stretch of the medieval pilgrim route to the tomb of St Benno
What the association does for pilgrims
The association waymarks its routes with the yellow shell on a blue background, whose centre points the way, and keeps the waymarking up to date. It publishes its own guidebook (€17, €20 with pilgrim passport, €23 with pilgrim passport and accommodation list, shipping paid by the association), an accommodation list (€4) and the pilgrim passport for a €5 donation – valid on all pilgrim routes in Germany (as of October 2026).
On top of that come a network of stamp points, pilgrim get-togethers along three sections of the main route, guided walks with trained pilgrim companions and events such as the musical pilgrim week „KLANG & WEG“ in the Ore Mountains. If you need a bed on the way or want to report a problem on the route: these are the people who know it.
Contact and getting involved
Website: saechsischer-jakobsweg.de · Email: info@saechsischer-jakobsweg.de · Accommodation questions: herbergen@saechsischer-jakobsweg.de. Any person or organisation can become a member; the association is always looking for helpers for waymarking, hostels and events.