The 15,4 km long Zirmgrat stage is one of the most beautiful sections of the Maximiliansweg, a long-distance hiking trail named after King Maximilian II, which leads through the entire Alps from Lindau on Lake Constance to Berchtesgaden. On the Zirmgrat stage, Allgäu holidaymakers have the opportunity to get to know this attractive long-distance hiking trail on a day trip that is not too strenuous. You can look forward to wonderful landscape impressions and interesting sightseeing highlights along the way.
The Maximiliansweg leads on two different routes from Lindau on Lake Constance along the Alps to Berchtesgaden. For the most part, its course is identical to sections of the European long-distance hiking trail E4 and the Violet Trail of the Via Alpina. The long-distance hiking trail was named after Maximilian II, who undertook an Alpine journey from Lindau to Berchtesgaden. Although the monarch traveled largely in carriages, he also covered parts of the route on horseback and on foot. Anyone who hikes on the Maximiliansweg will pass through a wonderful Alpine landscape and can look forward to numerous attractions along the way, such as the castles Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof. One of the most attractive sections of this long-distance hiking trail is the 15,4 km long Zirmgrat stage, which leads from Pfronten-Meilingen over the Zirmgrat into the historic Füssen old town.
The hikers pass the highest castle ruins in Germany and the mysterious Alatsee, which has become famous as the setting for a Allgäu crime novel. The starting point for the Zirmgrat stage, which is moderately demanding, is the parking lot in Pfronten-Meilingen. Starting from Füssen, take the B310 towards Weißensee/Pfronten. At the roundabout in front of Pfronten, take the third exit and a little later turn left onto König-Ludwig-Weg to get to the starting point of the tour. Alternatively, you can also get to Pfronten-Meilingen from the Füssen train and bus station with the 56 bus line. You need to plan around five and a half hours for the Zirmgrat stage. The hike is most beautiful in spring, when the Allgäu Alpine meadows are in colorful bloom.
At the parking lot in Pfronten-Meilingen, hikers turn right onto the Burgenweg, from which a path immediately branches off to the left that leads to the Schlossbergalm. This rustic mountain restaurant is a popular starting point for excursions to Germany's highest castle ruins on the Falkenstein. Hiking enthusiasts can enjoy coffee and cake here or fortify themselves with a delicious snack before climbing to the right on a forest path behind the Alpine playground to the castle ruins. Due to its exceptional altitude, Falkenstein Castle is one of the most notable sights in Allgäu. Count Meinhard II of Tyrol had it erected as an unmistakable display of power and threat in order to intimidate the Bavarian dukes with whom he was vying for the Hohenstaufen inheritance at the time.
During the Thirty Years' War, the castle - like the neighboring castles Eisenberg and Hohenfreyberg - was burned down by the Tyrolean state government to prevent it from falling intact into the hands of the advancing Swedish Protestant army. In the end, the destruction proved pointless because the Protestants never came to the region. In the 80er years of the 19. In the 19th century, King Ludwig II acquired the ruins in order to have a magnificent palace built in its place in the style of Neuschwanstein. The plans for this were already ready when the king 1886 died. So the Falkenstein dream castle never came to fruition. Today the ruin is a popular excursion destination, also because of a viewing platform on the castle grounds, which offers breathtaking views over the Alpine foothills.
From the castle ruins, hikers descend to the Mariengrotte and further to a road, which they follow to the junction towards Zirmgrat. On a forest path you cross this long ridge southwest of Füssen and once again enjoy fantastic views over the foothills of the Alps, which in good weather extend to the Zugspitze. The hikers then reach the cozy Salober Alm, which invites you to take a break with a delicious snack or warm hut meals. We then take a forest path down to the Alatsee, which is surrounded by dense rows of trees and is known as the setting for a Allgäu crime thriller with Inspector Kluftinger. At Alatsee, a path leads up to the Zwei-Seen-Blick viewpoint and then the Zirmgrat stage runs along narrow paths over the Hahnenkopfweg to the “Unterer Kobelweg” junction. This takes hikers to the Baumgarten city park, at the end of which they find themselves in the Füssen old town.
Reichenstrasse branches off to the left and the hikers have arrived in the pedestrian zone, at the end of which is the Tourist Information. There is a lot to discover in the Füssen old town after the beautiful hike: along the narrow, winding streets there are numerous medieval buildings, cute shops and nice places to stop for refreshments. It is worth visiting the historic churches in Füssen as well as the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang and the High Castle, which sits on a hill above the old town.
The Zirmgrat stage on the Maximiliansweg impresses with varied holiday impressions and offers the best hiking enjoyment. You can discover and experience a lot on this delightful tour.
