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Elevation: 1,634 ft
GPS: 49.69429, 11.3049
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Shared By: Shawn Heath on May 29, 2008 · Updates
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Description Suggest change

Home to the legend Wolfgang Güllich and his über famous Action Directe (9a). Also the birthplace of the Redpoint (Rotpunkt) by Kurt Albert. Because of this, it's not surprising that this place is best known for hard sport climbing (there are currently 173 routes graded 5.14a or harder here). It's sort of the anti-Elbsandstein; not that that's a bad thing!

There are over 10,000 known routes in this gigantic area, and some crags are very secluded, so you'll want to plan ahead before just cruising over. You have a choice of over 1500 crags to visit spread over an area of 2,723.5 square miles. To clarify, this is not a system of crags but rather a collection of cliffs and free-standing towers spread over a large area.

Also, the type of stone is limestone, and it is characterized as being very pocketed. The rock is anywhere from slabby (though often with sections which could be overhanging), to overhanging. Routes here are typically between 8 and 30 meters (~24-100 ft.), but some can be up to 40m long! The vast majority are 25m or less.

Bouldering is also possible in the Frankenjura (pronounced with long a like in "watch" and the j is said like a "y", thus: Frahnkinyurah) and there are many many boulder problems here. To accomodate (and spur) the growing popularity of bouldering, 3 new bouldering gyms have opened in the past 2 years in just the area around Nürnberg, and one of the gyms has already been expanded to become the largest bouldering gym in Germany. Nevertheless, you won't find a bouldering guidebook for the region because there is a tacit consent not to publish one in any form (Boulderappell).

Beer gardens abound and there is never a shortage of good food to be found in any of the villages or small cities within the Frankenjura. Climbing is very popular here, so expect to meet other climbers at the crag, and don't be too surprised if some of the popular routes at the popular crags are a bit polished. You may even have to stand in line if you're projecting a particularly popular route.

Here's a fantastic website with lots of information: climb.frankenjura.com/deuts… (EDIT: This website is still usefull for some information, but now requires paid membership to access the topos.) Here's the UKClimbing write-up of the area, and of particular interest is the section at the very end titled "Anything else I should know": ukclimbing.com/articles/pag… Here's DMM's write-up of their visit to the Frankenjura in 2012: dmmclimbing.com/knowledge/d… and from 2011: dmmclimbing.com/news/tag/fe…

Finally, please, if you're going to toprope a route here, hang 2 quickdraws or a locking carabiner at the top and let your rope travel through that rather than the fixed protection. Many routes also only have a single bolt at the top and continually wearing this bolt down by top-roping is DANGEROUS!!! Not just for you but also for others who climb after you. Please be mindful and courteous.

Getting There Suggest change

From frankenjura.com:
Northern Frankenjura lies in southern Germany, specifically in Franconia (the northern part of Bavaria), and thus in the middle of Central Europe. The area is limited in the west by the city of Bamberg and the region Nuernberg-Fuerth-Erlangen. At its eastern edge are the cities Bayreuth and Amberg-Sulzbach.
There are a lot of motorways coming in from all directions: From north or south you will reach Frankenjura by using the A9, from Frankfurt is the A3, & from Heidelberg the A6. Coming from Tschechien (east), take the A6.

Relying on trains and buses here is difficult, despite Germany's otherwise fantastic infrastructure. The areas East of Nürnberg are the most accessible with the train (from Velden down to Etzlwang). Look at the map of train tracks below and compare it to the map of the crags to the left.
I highly recommend you rent a car for your visit. Not only will it be easier to reach the crags since you can follow the given directions, but you'll also be able to reach camping areas and you have the freedom to go do something else on rest days. Having said that, driving in Germany is a little different. Many, but not all, rentals are automatic, so request one if you can't drive a stick. In general, stay concentrated while driving, pay extra special care in towns and drive like you see others driving and you'll be okay. But if you really want to know the differences, here's a detailed description: bfgnet.de/hive-europe/files…

Climbing Terms in German

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Here is a list of some climbing terms which may help you on a trip to the Frankenjura, Italy, or France: bergsport-kolb.de/download/…

Climbing Seasons

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Spring - often wonderful weather and not much rain. This season (from late March to early June) lends itself best to climbing in the Frankenjura. In the early part, you may suffer through steep hikes through dead leaves and it may be very cold, especially in the morning, and it may even still snow on you. Also, rock may be wet due to melting snow. However, there is surely another exposed area which is dry. Mid to late Spring is perfect.

Summer - In the early parts (early June through mid July) and then again near the beginning of Fall (September) you can have great conditions in the shade and under tree canopies. However, during the middle of Summer (mostly August) you can enjoy climbing easy and moderate routes and enjoying great beer gardens, but ticking off hard projects is made practically impossible because the humidity causes you to just grease right off the holds. This period typically only lasts 2 or 3 weeks.

Fall - Through most of Fall you can expect good climbing conditions. November, however, is notorious for being a rainy month. There are tons of overhanging crags which shelter you from the rain, but after weeks of it, even the most water resistant crags can get sopping wet.

Winter - Climbing in the Frankenjura during Winter is truly an art. It can be done, but dedicating a climbing trip to the Frankenjura during Winter is for the foolhardy. If you're naturally extremely lucky, please come visit and bring good weather with you. If not, fly to Turkey, Greece, Spain or Italy, or one of the Mediterranean islands.

I created this area page to house a quick-link listing of crags to help you decide where to go depending on when you're here and what the weather's like: 1 - So much to do, where do I go?

Climbing Gyms

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For those rainy days where you just can't find any dry rock (or can't climb the dry routes), there are an assortment of Gyms in the area:
magnesia-klettern.de/ Arguably the best sport climbing gym, and also one of the only ones!
cafekraft.de/ Nürnberg's premier bouldering gym which started a bouldering revolution here.
blockhelden.de/ Located in a village south of Forchheim and north of Erlangen. Bigger than Cafe Kraft but lacking a "cool factor".
boulderhalle-e4.de/ ANOTHER bouldering gym! The newest one, also in Nürnberg.
climbing-factory.de/preise.… In my opinion not nice at all, but they do offer sport climbing instead of just bouldering.
sportcentrum-nbg.de/ Another climbing gym which is pretty small because it has lots of other sport possibilities. Has both climbing and bouldering.
boulderhalle-frankenjura.de/ The only bouldering gym I'm aware of that's actually in the Frankenjura.

Camping

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Here's a list of campgrounds available in the Frankenjura, along with their location. The 3 most popular climber campgrounds where you'll most likely be able to jump into another group if you're solo are "Bärenschlucht", "Eichler", and "Zur guten Einkehr".
Camping Waldmühle: Guest house with camping. Two cabins and a mobile home are also available to book. Address: Freienfels 31, 96142 Hollfeld
Camping auf dem Kormershof: Camping with showers. Address: Allersdorf 10, 91327 Gößweinstein
Campingplatz Betzenstein: Camping, rooms, imbiss, sauna, steamroom. Address: Hauptstr. 69, 91282 Betzenstein
Camping "Eichler": Camping with showers, rooms, food, and supplies. Haselstauden and Untertrubach (Oma Eichler's Campground) Address: Wolfsberg 43, 91286 Obertrubach
Camping "Bärenschlucht": Address: Weidmannsgesees 12, 91278 Pottenstein
Camping "Bieger": Address: Rothenbühl 3, 91320 Ebermannstadt
Frankenalb-Camping: Address: Nürnberger Straße 5, 92268 Etzelwang
Camping Moritz: Address: Moritz 14, 91327 Moritz
Camping "Steinerner Beutel": Address: Hauptstr. 146, 91344 Waischenfeld
Gasthof "Alte Post": Address: Hausnummer 7, 91282 Leupoldstein
Gasthof "Kroder": Address: Hausnummer 43, 91327 Schlaifhausen
Gasthof "Zur guten Einkehr": Address: 91327 Morschreuth
Heuhotel "Fischbeck": The most interesting offers of all here. Here you can sleep on hay, and a large "farmer's breakfast" is served the following morning. After hiking, climbing, nordic walking, whatever, you can come back for grilled food and great beer. Address: Hauptstraße 27, 91247 Vorra / Pegnitz

Area Organization

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A note on the organization of the Frankenjura page: each of the areas listed on the left of this page are parking areas from which you can reach your desired crag. Sometimes a crag/area has its own parking lot, but many times several crags may be reached from one parking area. Therefore, if you don't see what you're looking for right away, do a quick search on it in the search field at the top right of this page. If you don't find it, it may be because it has a special character in the name. Search for a route at that crag and you may then find it. However, as of 2015, approximately 10% of the routes in the Frankenjura are documented here.

1,493 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Frankenjura

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 8
Panische Zeiten
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Panische Zeiten Weißenstein
 8
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
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