Monsheim
Monsheim, the eastern gateway to the Zellertal, welcomes me with bright blue skies and sunshine. The wine town offers, among other things, a beautiful town hall, the residential tower in the district of Kriegsheim, the Monsheim Castle and various wineries that invite you to stop for a bite to eat. I start my Tour indicated with just under 10 km and 2.5 hours of pure running time, from the train station - with hiking boots, backpack, water bottle and lunch box.
Heading north, I march through the tranquil streets of the town and am soon in the vineyards of Rheinhessen. Thanks to the good signage - the signposts each show me a "Z" with an arrow - I won't need the navigation app on my smartphone this day. I hike through the Zellertal vineyards, which are known for characterful, hearty and fruity wines of the About 40 vintners and wineries that exist here.
Zellertalweg
The Zellertalweg is a total of 45 km long and there are various partial stages and circular routes. Today I'm on the easternmost circular route and already pass the first vineyard cottage on the route. Most of them are visible from afar with their white tops and they serve as a rest stop, shelter from bad weather or as landmarks for hikers and cyclists.
View to the Odenwald
After a fork to the right, the path goes straight up, past vines, to the height from which you have a great view. To the left into the entire Rhine plain and at the very back you can see the hills of the Odenwald.
To the right on the green hills of the Zellertal and the wine villages Mölsheim and Wachenheim. On the high trail I march up to Mölsheim and take a break there at the "Wine Rest with Weiblick" a. On Sundays and holidays there is a catering with regional wine and delicacies.
Important Info: Unfortunately, due to the Corona restrictions, the Wine Rest with Wine View is still closed for the time being. Please inform yourself on the website when it will start again.
Mölsheim is a traditional wine village, which among other things also has a listed farmhouse, which is one of the oldest secular buildings in the district. Who would like to stop here, which offers among other things also the Old distillery or the Restaurant Klöteralso known as Chicken Ranch, with a panoramic terrace. Strengthened, we continue from Mölsheim on the Zellertalweg, over a green, rustic and partly shady path down into the valley to Wachenheim.
Wachenheim
Wachenheim is virtually at your feet during this section of the route; it can look back on a rich history and was already mentioned in the Lorsch Codex in 765. Once downstairs, I head straight for two Wachenheim institutions in the main street. First I visit the Vinothek Westwind. Here you can not only taste delicious wines, but also look at an exciting architecture. A mix between modern vinotheque and traditional winery was skillfully created, which fits well together and sets its own accents in the Zellertal.
Equally worth seeing is the Lüll Castle Estate, also in the main street. The castle estate, built in the 14th century, with its listed farm buildings also has a beautiful and worth seeing historical park. In addition to wine tasting, the castle estate regularly hosts festivities and on Sundays until the end of August the "Picnic in the Park".
I leave Wachenheim behind me and hike in an easterly direction for a short and shady stretch along the little river Pfrimm, before it goes steeply up the vineyard again. Now I'm back in the middle of the vineyards, with a beautiful view of the Zellertal, and I soon pass two more vineyard cottages that invite you to linger.
The sun is still shining in the sky when I reach the western part of Monsheim. The last meters through the town to the train station, the starting point of my hike, run almost by themselves. As a conclusion of the hiking tour a stop in the Café Noisette which is located directly in the station building.
Conclusion:
The circular hiking trail Monsheim - Mölsheim - Wachenheim is a beautiful and varied section of the 45 km Zellertal trail. It is family friendly and offers - besides two ascents and one descent - mostly flat paths.
There are plenty of places to stop along the Zellertalweg, and you should definitely include a wine tasting. Because a hike in Rheinhessen without Rheinhessen wine is possible, but pointless (loosely based on Loriot). Monsheim is, in my opinion, the perfect starting point for the tour. You can park your car at the train station and there is also a bike service station and a battery charging station. It is also possible to travel by train or bus.
Until 2018, an excursion service ran on weekends on the Zellertalbahn between Münchweiler - Dreisen - Marnheim - Albisheim - Harxheim - Wachenheim and Monsheim. It is planned to reactivate this service. Further information and maps are available in the Tourist-Info Monsheim, which is only a few minutes walk from the train station.
6 Responses
Not very helpful because the post doesn't contain any info about the condition of the trail, so you don't know if the trail is good to walk on even if the weather is a bit worse, for example after rain.
Hello S. Knoll,
the procurement of the path is a mixture of gravel, asphalt and paved dirt road. You can hike it well in bad weather, such as when it has rained.
Unfortunately, rail traffic has been suspended since 2018.
Hello Stefanie,
thanks for the info and we have updated that in the article.
How long is this route?
Hello Willi Sprengler,
the circular route is, as described at the top, just under 10 km long. Many greetings, Heiko Müller