The Staffelberg
Everything about the Mountain of the Franconians
The Staffelberg is a 539-metre outlier hill in Upper Franconia, on the north-western edge of the Franconian Switzerland and only a stone's throw from Bad Staffelstein. Locals call it the "Berg der Franken", the Mountain of the Franconians, and anyone who has stood on top understands why: the plateau lies open above the Upper Main Valley, and on a clear day the view reaches from the Haßberge to the Rhön.
Together with Banz Abbey and the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen it forms the "trio" in the so-called Gottesgarten, the "Garden of God" — a term coined by the poet Victor von Scheffel. The Frankenlied, the Franconian anthem, also sings of the view from up here.
Where the Staffeln come from
The mountain owes its name to its shape. The flanks do not rise evenly but in clearly visible steps — the "Staffeln", German for steps or stages. What looks like a built staircase is geology: the steps trace the layers of Jurassic rock, because hard and soft layers weather at different speeds.
Menosgada — the Celtic town on the plateau
The high plateau has been settled by people for over 7,000 years. Its greatest time came in the late La Tène period: from about 150 to 50 BC a Celtic oppidum, a fortified town, stood here. We know its name from the Greek geographer Ptolemy — Menosgada, which can be read as "Main town".
How serious the Celts were about this town showed in the excavations from 2017 to 2019. They uncovered a pincer gate (Zangentor), a funnel-shaped gateway that forces attackers into a bottleneck: 7.1 metres wide and probably about 12.5 metres high — one of the largest of its kind known. Anyone walking across the plateau today is walking across the town plan.
Chapel, crosses and the parish fair since 1663
On the summit plateau stands St. Adelgunde's Chapel. It comes with four patriarchal crosses from before the 9th century, which once marked the chapel's legal district. They are still looked after today by the four neighbouring villages of Romansthal, Horsdorf, Loffeld and Stublang — each village has its own cross.
Since 1663 the Staffelberg parish fair (Kirchweih) has taken place every year on the first Sunday in July: a procession with the statue of Saint Adelgunde, followed by a Frühschoppen (a morning drink with company) and Kerwes doughnuts.
The Franconian flag on the summit
Above the plateau flies the red-and-white Franconian flag with the Franconian rake. The tradition goes back to the Staffelstein master carpenter Alfons Röder and has been continued since 1999 by the Fränkischer Bund e.V. Because the wind up here is rough and no flag survives a whole year, it is solemnly renewed every spring.
Two legends told up here
In the Querkeleshöhle (Querkele Cave) the "Querkele" are said to live, small dwarf-like mountain spirits. Near them, so the story goes, it is best to keep quiet.
The legend of the fish in the mountain tells of a golden fish in a hidden lake deep inside the mountain. When a fisherman tried to catch it out of greed, the fish vanished — and the lake with it. A reminder to be modest, as Franconian as it gets.
The ways up
Many paths lead up the Staffelberg, and none of them is long:
- Romansthal — the shortest: about 1 kilometre, 20 to 30 minutes along the old track and through the forest straight onto the plateau
- Loffeld — through the Löwenthal
- Uetzing — via the Uetzicher Kappl (a small chapel) or the "Alter Staffelberg"
- Horsdorf — past the only vineyard on the south slope
- Stublang — past the Spitzberg
- Wolfsdorf — along the Hasenweg
- plus the ascents from Vierzehnheiligen and from Bad Staffelstein
The Staffelberg is a protected natural monument. On the entire summit plateau cars, bicycles and e-bikes are strictly forbidden — the last stretch is on foot only. Sturdy shoes and weatherproof clothing are enough; it is usually windier up here than in the valley, and because the summit is exposed, sun protection is worth it when it is sunny.
A different mountain in every season
In spring and summer the Staffelberg belongs to the wide views, and at the summer solstice in June it gets properly mystical up here. In autumn the Main Valley changes colour below the plateau, and in winter the summit lies as a quiet field of snow above the fog.
A stop on the summit
The Staffelbergklause stands on the plateau. It is an independent business and not part of this project — for opening hours and menu it is best to look on their own website or on Google Maps.
BR Fernsehen, the Bavarian public broadcaster, devoted an episode of the series "Berghütten mit Marcus Fahn" (in German) to the Klause; it aired on Friday, 25 September 2026, at 19:30 and was available afterwards in the BR Mediathek.
The digital summit book
Once you have made it to the top, you can sign the digital summit book on this site. An entry is only possible if you really stand on the mountain; the site checks this with a short location request, without storing a movement profile. You can read the entries of others as well.
And if you want to know something beforehand, just ask the mountain itself: "Ask the Mountain" is this site's Franconian chat — you don't even have to be up there for that.