The starting point of our route is the marketplace. We walk along Schützenhausgasse and cross Schützenhausstraße. Then we follow the former church path (yellow and green line) next to the bus stop on the left, along the allotment garden area, and at the soon following fork, turn right towards Rennersdorf/Fischbach (yellow line). After a small forest, a beautiful view of the castle silhouette and the town opens up to us. On the other side, at some distance, a carefully restored historic building complex, the former Brettmühle, can be seen.
At the next fork, we turn left (green line) and discover a picturesque small pond covered with water lilies. Our route continues following the green line towards Schmiedefeld/Großharthau. A few meters later, we see the Wesenitz, which rises in the Lusatian Mountains and flows into the Elbe near Pirna after 83 km. From here, we follow the Wesenitz Valley hiking trail marked with a red dot. At Wesenitztalstraße, we turn left and pass the district Rennersdorf-Neudörfel until the intersection at the main road. At the yellow house, we turn right.
We follow the street, keep left, and walk past the village pond with a small group of erratic boulders. After the sadly very dilapidated manor, we turn left again and cross Stolpener Landstraße. We continue along Helmsdorfer Straße. After a small group of houses, we turn left onto a path between pasture fences. Here, the Wesenitz Valley hiking trail leads through the romantic valley along the gently winding stream. On the left, we discover a wooden footbridge by which we reach the other side.
Over a small paved bridge, we take the narrow path straight ahead that leads into an impressive, forest-surrounded hollow way. This is the old Bishop’s Way, the medieval connecting road between the bishop’s main residence Meißen and the secondary residence in Stolpen, which was worn into such a deep hollow way by the once busy wagon traffic.
Before the final stage, a bench with a flower rondel and a sandstone fountain invites you to rest, before we take the Obere Straße on the left - arriving in the Stolpen old town district. The old town church is worth a visit. We continue along Obere Straße (blue dot) always straight ahead until we meet Pirnaer Landstraße at the height of the school.
A signpost shows us the way to the left to the town center, which we soon reach via Dresdner Straße and the old city gate. Immediately after the gate, we keep right and turn right again into Kirchgasse and reach Stolpen town church via stairs. Passing it on the left, we walk past the monument on the promenade path and turn left to Bastionen Viewpoint. Then we continue along the foot of the castle and enter through the gate on the left into the castle. After an extensive visit to the castle grounds and the museum, it is not far back to the starting point. We just have to walk down the street from the castle and we are right back at the marketplace. If you have time and interest, you can also visit the town museum here.
GPS data updated 2022
