Attractions and Places To See in Rohrbunner Forst - Top 17

Directly next to the Echterspfahl

Is at the top of the road

Here the "Eselsweg", an old trade route running north-south, along which animals heavily laden with salt were formerly transported from Bad Orb, crosses the old postal route running east-west from Würzburg to Frankfurt am Main. It was once a meeting place for the hunters and beaters of the Prince-Electors and Bishops of Mainz. The name goes back to the legend according to which the three Echter brothers, who were all active as robber knights and were pursued by Emperor Barbarossa's troops, met there from time to time and tied their horses to the metal rings of the post. The "Eselsweg" is today a quality long-distance hiking trail of 111 km.

Nice little bar in the forest.

Brilliant piece, but be careful: at the end of the first single trail section there is a high step onto the wider path.

Unfortunately, the Echterspfahl restaurant no longer exists. It was a nice place to stop and have a rest.

The Echterspfahl is a prominent point on the ridge of the Eselshöhe in the Spessart. Here the Eselsweg, an old trade route that is now a long-distance hiking trail, runs north-south and crosses the old east-west post road from Würzburg to Frankfurt am Main, today's state road 2312. It is historically documented that this prominent point was a meeting place for hunters and drovers of the archbishops and electors of Mainz when the forest belonged to the Electorate of Mainz. When the territory passed to the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Bavarian forestry authority set up a forestry office here. This was the border of the Bavarian state forest to the forest property of the descendants of the Echter family, today's Counts of Ingelheim. The forester at the Echterspfahl soon received a license to serve his guests food and drinks. This is how the "Echterspfahl" excursion restaurant was created, which has unfortunately been closed since the end of 2019. The name "Echterspfahl" goes back to a legend according to which three brothers of the Echter family worked as robber barons in the nearby Odenwald. Pursued by the troops of Emperor Barbarossa, they retreated to the Spessart and settled in three different places for security reasons. From time to time they met at this striking location for meetings and tied their horses to a post that was provided with three metal rings. These three rings are also said to have been the origin of the Echter family's coat of arms, which shows a white, diagonally left bar, in many depictions also diagonally right, in a blue shield, which is covered with three blue rings. The coat of arms with the three blue rings is now part of the coat of arms of the district of Aschaffenburg as well as part of the coat of arms of the municipalities of Mespelbrunn and Dammbach.

THE LEGEND OF THE ECHTERSPFAHL: THREE BROTHERS FROM THE ECHTER KNIGHTLY FAMILY LIVED IN THE CASTLE IN WECKBACH (IN THE ODENWALD). THEY HAD SUCCEEDED IN THE ROBBERY AND BECAME THE TERROR OF THE WHOLE AREA. THE EMPEROR AT THE TIME, FREDERICK THE REDBEARD, ORDERED THEM TO STOP THEIR DISHONEST TRADE; BUT THEY PAID NO MATTER AND CONTINUED TO ROBBERY. THE EMPEROR NOW DECLARED THEM AND TOOK A SMALL ARMY TO THE ODENWALD TO PUNISH THE DISOBEYED. BUT THEY FLEW FROM THEIR CASTLE INTO THE REMOTE VALLEYS OF THE SPESSART. FOR SAFETY'S PURPOSES THEY SEPARATED AND EACH BUILT A SMALL CASTLE, ONE NEAR PARTENSTEIN, THE OTHER NEAR LINDENFURT AND THE THIRD NEAR A SPRING CALLED ESPELBORN. THEY LIVED HERE IN COMPLETE SOLITUDE AND ONLY RARELY MET EACH OTHER ON THE HILL WHERE THE FORESTRY HOUSE NOW STANDS, ON THE STATE ROAD BETWEEN ASCHAFFENBURG AND WÜRZBURG. THEY TIE THEIR HORSES THERE TO A POST WITH THREE RINGS ATTACHED TO IT. WHEN THEY LATER LEARNED TO RESPECT THE LAW AGAIN AND THE EMPEROR WAS NO LONGER ANGRY WITH THEM, THEY RETURNED TO THE ODENWALD. BUT SINCE THEN THEY HAVE CARRIED A SILVER POST WITH THREE BLUE RINGS IN THEIR COAT OF ARMS TO REMEMBER THEIR STAY IN THE SPESSART. AND THE PLACE WHERE THE ECHTER BROTHERS GOT TOGETHER IS TO THIS DAY CALLED THE "ECHTER POST". RIGHT NEXT TO THE FORESTRY'S HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST YOU CAN STILL SEE A POST WITH THREE IRON RINGS ON IT. IT IS ALSO STORED THAT THE THREE ECHTER BROTHERS TIE THEIR HORSES TO THIS POST WHEN THEY RODE FROM MESPELBRUNN CASTLE TO HUNT IN THE WIDE SPESSART FORESTS.