Hotels/Accommodation: no business registered - register your business - vicinity search

Food & Beverages: no business registered - register your business - vicinity search

Nightlife/Scene: no business registered - register your business - vicinity search

Shopping & more: no business registered - register your business - vicinity search

Google Maps Landkreis Forchheim

County of Forchheim

Welcome to the County of Forchheim

The area of Franconian Switzerland is one of Germany’s oldest and most popular holiday destinations. Tourists are attracted by its picturesque countryside with old, distinct rural structures, its beautiful romantic valleys with majestic castles and mystic ruins. On their trip trough the county, hikers and cyclists will find idyllic little villages with well-kept half-timbered houses. Those interested in culture will find the Basilica Gößweinstein, the Franconian Switzerland Museum in Tüchersfeld or Castle Greifenstein in the Leiner Valley worth a visit.

For active travellers there is also a plethora of activities: aviation, golf, canoeing on the Wiesent River, fly fishing, climbing, a visit to the adventure park – the possibilities are unlimited.

A real highlight for guests interested in geology are the numerous caves in the area. Due to nature protection laws not all of them can be visited but the Sophienhöhle (Sophie's Cave,) the Teufels höhle (Devil's Cave) or the Binghöhle (Bing Cave) are definitely worth exploring.

There is hardly any industry in Franconian Switzerland. A special characteristic of the area are the mixed orchards around a region called “Walberla”. It is home to the largest cherry growing area of Europe and houses a renowned testing facility for cherries. Famous products of the area are the “Obstler”, a fruit brandy made in the numerous local distilleries, and other spirits. Another extraordinary fact about the area is its brewery-per-inhabitant ratio, with more than 71 breweries for 100 000 inhabitants! The county of Forchheim is also famous for its tradition of decorating their village fountains at Easter. From Good Friday until two weeks after Easter the fountains in more than 200 communities are beautifully decorated.

The biggest „Easter Fountain“ of the world, the fountain in Bieberbach (between Gößweinstein und Egloffstein) is decorated with more than 11,000 hand-painted Easter eggs!

The county used to be called “Muggendorfer Gebürg”. The first travellers visited the area at the beginning of the 19th century, the era of Romanticism. The “discoverers“ of Franconian Switzerland are the students Ludwig Tieck and Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, who came to Erlangen from Berlin to study law. At Whitsun 1793 they went on horseback from Forchheim to Ebermannstadt, Streitberg and Sanspareil and afterwards described their journey in such detail that readers were truly impressed. In 1815 the name “Franconian Switzerland” was first mentioned in a guide book.