Marc S.
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Netherlands
I have just returned from walking the Elisabethpfad in Germany. Having walked the Via Regia from Gorlitz to Erfurt previously, this time I started in Erfurt and walked the Via Regia until Eisenach, and then continued on the Elisabethpfad to Marburg. There is a wealth of information available about the Elisabethpfad, but it is all in German, so I hope this little report is usefull for non-German speakers.
Background
The Elisabethpfad is a German pilgrimage, ending at the grave of Elisabeth von Thuringen (also referred to as Elisabeth of Hungary) in the Elisabethkirche in Marburg. It is also possible to walk from Cologne or Frankfurt. It was a very important German pilgrimage in the 14th and 15th century, which has become popular again in the last 20 years. Some more background information about Elisabeth can be found in this article: http://stelizabethaiea.com/Our-Parish/Our-Saint-St-Elizabeth-of-Hungary
There is an excellent website providing all kinds of information: http://www.elisabethpfad.de/home/ The website is all in German though. As far as I know, there are no English guidebooks. I used the German guidebook (which can be ordered from the website). A credential can also be ordered from the website.
Walking
The Elisabethpfad is passing through hills, farm fields, the occasional forest and many little villages and towns. Most walking is on hard surface, but it is all on quiet roads, farm tracks and (very quiet) cycle tracks. There are no particularly hard parts or steep climbs, there’s no walking on busy roads, and no slogs through industrial areas, which make it a very pleasant walk - as far as I’m concerned.
The way passes many small villages. Most of them go back to the middle ages and have a church, which is usually open, and where you can also get a stamp. Occasionally there are bottles of water for pilgrims, which felt very welcoming. In fact local people are mostly friendly and welcoming, and seem happy to see pilgrims passing through their villages.
The first 30 km from Eisenach are still in the former East Germany, passing the former inner German border. Some traces (former watch towers) can still be seen. The path also passes some charming little towns (Homberg, Ziechenhain, Treysa and Amoneburg) with a medieval centre (Altstadt) where one can easily spend a free afternoon. Marburg is a beautiful town to end a pilgrimage. There is no compostela as a reward, but a final stamp can be obtained from the little pilgrim center opposite the Elisabeth church.
Waymarking is more than excellent. There are a lot of signs, of many sorts. The signs of the Elisabethpfad have a white E on a red background. The Jacobian way more or less follows the same route, so shelves are all around and give you the pleasant feeling that if one just keeps walking one will eventually end in Santiago. The total length of the Elisabethpfad is 193 km, the Jacobian Way is 178 km The path also runs parallel with local cycle routes, which are also signposted. This means there are often three different waymarkers all pointing in the same direction. All in all (and combined with the excellent maps in the German guidebook) it is quite hard to get lost
If you expect to meet a lot of other pilgrims or when you are eager to form a camino family, walking in Germany is probably not a good idea. During my two weeks I saw one other pilgrim in the distance, but did not actually meet him. On arrival in Marburg I learned that three other pilgrims had arrived the same day, but I have not actually seen or met them.
Accomodation
A full list of all accommodation options can be found on the German website : https://www.elisabethpfad.de/servic...isse/unterkunftsverzeichnis-eisenach-marburg/
This list includes hotels, pensions and private rooms (Zimmervermietlung), as well as some albergues (Pilgerherbergen). I had a bit of a luxury camino and mostly stayed in hotels and private rooms. I usually phoned around upon arrival on my place of destination, and usually managed to find a room for 25-35 euro -including breakfast. I splashed money twice by staying in a hotel in a castle in Spangenberg and Creuzburg.
There are quite a lot of Pilgrimherbergen. I can’t really comment on them, as I only stayed in the one in Homberg (which was excellent and very centrally located). Previously, on the Via Regia, I did mostly stay in albergues and they were excellent. Remember German albergues are a bit different from Spain. They are usually not staffed by a hospitalero, but run by locals (church volunteers or the vicar him/herself). This means you have to phone up to announce your arrival and arrange to receive a key. This usually worked fine for me. According to the list, many albergues on the Elisabethpfad seem a bit more basis and may not have showers. The use of a kitchen is often possible.
Apart from the albergues, the German guidebook also contains contact numbers of churches in almost all villages. I was told that churches can be of help finding a bed, but I did not use this possibility as I did not want to bother them and I could afford a private room or hotel.
Planning
The planning of stages is very flexible, because there are many accommodation options (also if you only want to stay in albergues).The accommodation list mentioned above also states which services are available in villages, like a shop or a bar/restaurant. This is very usefull, as in many smaller villages there is more or less nothing. Or the restaurant you are looking forward to, may be closed because of a rest day. Just to be sure, I always carried enough food for one day with me. However I did mostly eat out, which is mostly doable for app. 10 euro.
Just for reference my stages were : Eisenach – Creuzburg > Dattenrode > Waldkappel > Spangenberg > Marsfeld > Homberg > Friedenfeld > Treysa > Stadahlendorf > Amoneburg > Marburg.
Hope this is usefull. Marc.
Background
The Elisabethpfad is a German pilgrimage, ending at the grave of Elisabeth von Thuringen (also referred to as Elisabeth of Hungary) in the Elisabethkirche in Marburg. It is also possible to walk from Cologne or Frankfurt. It was a very important German pilgrimage in the 14th and 15th century, which has become popular again in the last 20 years. Some more background information about Elisabeth can be found in this article: http://stelizabethaiea.com/Our-Parish/Our-Saint-St-Elizabeth-of-Hungary
There is an excellent website providing all kinds of information: http://www.elisabethpfad.de/home/ The website is all in German though. As far as I know, there are no English guidebooks. I used the German guidebook (which can be ordered from the website). A credential can also be ordered from the website.
Walking
The Elisabethpfad is passing through hills, farm fields, the occasional forest and many little villages and towns. Most walking is on hard surface, but it is all on quiet roads, farm tracks and (very quiet) cycle tracks. There are no particularly hard parts or steep climbs, there’s no walking on busy roads, and no slogs through industrial areas, which make it a very pleasant walk - as far as I’m concerned.
The way passes many small villages. Most of them go back to the middle ages and have a church, which is usually open, and where you can also get a stamp. Occasionally there are bottles of water for pilgrims, which felt very welcoming. In fact local people are mostly friendly and welcoming, and seem happy to see pilgrims passing through their villages.
The first 30 km from Eisenach are still in the former East Germany, passing the former inner German border. Some traces (former watch towers) can still be seen. The path also passes some charming little towns (Homberg, Ziechenhain, Treysa and Amoneburg) with a medieval centre (Altstadt) where one can easily spend a free afternoon. Marburg is a beautiful town to end a pilgrimage. There is no compostela as a reward, but a final stamp can be obtained from the little pilgrim center opposite the Elisabeth church.
Waymarking is more than excellent. There are a lot of signs, of many sorts. The signs of the Elisabethpfad have a white E on a red background. The Jacobian way more or less follows the same route, so shelves are all around and give you the pleasant feeling that if one just keeps walking one will eventually end in Santiago. The total length of the Elisabethpfad is 193 km, the Jacobian Way is 178 km The path also runs parallel with local cycle routes, which are also signposted. This means there are often three different waymarkers all pointing in the same direction. All in all (and combined with the excellent maps in the German guidebook) it is quite hard to get lost
If you expect to meet a lot of other pilgrims or when you are eager to form a camino family, walking in Germany is probably not a good idea. During my two weeks I saw one other pilgrim in the distance, but did not actually meet him. On arrival in Marburg I learned that three other pilgrims had arrived the same day, but I have not actually seen or met them.
Accomodation
A full list of all accommodation options can be found on the German website : https://www.elisabethpfad.de/servic...isse/unterkunftsverzeichnis-eisenach-marburg/
This list includes hotels, pensions and private rooms (Zimmervermietlung), as well as some albergues (Pilgerherbergen). I had a bit of a luxury camino and mostly stayed in hotels and private rooms. I usually phoned around upon arrival on my place of destination, and usually managed to find a room for 25-35 euro -including breakfast. I splashed money twice by staying in a hotel in a castle in Spangenberg and Creuzburg.
There are quite a lot of Pilgrimherbergen. I can’t really comment on them, as I only stayed in the one in Homberg (which was excellent and very centrally located). Previously, on the Via Regia, I did mostly stay in albergues and they were excellent. Remember German albergues are a bit different from Spain. They are usually not staffed by a hospitalero, but run by locals (church volunteers or the vicar him/herself). This means you have to phone up to announce your arrival and arrange to receive a key. This usually worked fine for me. According to the list, many albergues on the Elisabethpfad seem a bit more basis and may not have showers. The use of a kitchen is often possible.
Apart from the albergues, the German guidebook also contains contact numbers of churches in almost all villages. I was told that churches can be of help finding a bed, but I did not use this possibility as I did not want to bother them and I could afford a private room or hotel.
Planning
The planning of stages is very flexible, because there are many accommodation options (also if you only want to stay in albergues).The accommodation list mentioned above also states which services are available in villages, like a shop or a bar/restaurant. This is very usefull, as in many smaller villages there is more or less nothing. Or the restaurant you are looking forward to, may be closed because of a rest day. Just to be sure, I always carried enough food for one day with me. However I did mostly eat out, which is mostly doable for app. 10 euro.
Just for reference my stages were : Eisenach – Creuzburg > Dattenrode > Waldkappel > Spangenberg > Marsfeld > Homberg > Friedenfeld > Treysa > Stadahlendorf > Amoneburg > Marburg.
Hope this is usefull. Marc.
