From the castle’s lower parking lot, the trail leads over idyllic paths into the historic Old Town to the market square with its historical fountain. Perched majestically on a promontory overlooking the town, the fortified Harburg Castle has a history dating back to the 11th century. Striking landscape formations line the course of the Wörnitz – the only flowing water that streams out of the Ries. The trail leads over species-rich dry grassland to the Mähhorn above Huisheim, which offers magnificent views of the entire Ries. At the Geotope Kalvarienberg Gosheim, a quarry provides insights into the geology of the eastern crater rim. The trail travels through forests across the Schwalb valley and then above the Wemding quarry. The Wemding Walderlebnispfad (woodland-experience path) brightens up the end of the stage with puzzles and information about the forest and its inhabitants. The first stage ends at the tourist-information office with the nearby Geopark Info-Point Wemding.
Harburg – A site to remember:
The gently flowing Wörnitz is the only stream that flows out of the Ries Crater, and here, at the intersection of the Swabian and Franconian Alb, it created a breakthrough valley lined with the striking rock formations of the crater rim. On a block of the crater rim at this special location, the Staufer family built the fortified castle first mentioned in 1150.