The best walks and hikes around Neuenmarkt

July 1870 brought the Franco-Prussian War. 39 men from Wirsberg and the surrounding areas participated in the conflict with the western neighboring state, which ended in February 1871 with the capitulation of France in Versailles (and with the founding of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors of the palace there). All Wirsberg participants in the war returned safely. In 1889, the Kaiser Monument was erected at the behest of Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold "as a reminder of the glorious war of 1870/71".

Wirsberg, probably founded at the beginning of the 13th century, is already mentioned as a market town in documents at the end of the 13th century. The reconstruction of Wirsberg after the looting and burning on February 1, 1633, during the Thirty Years' War, lasted for decades. In 1701, with the inauguration of the Old Town Hall, the last vacant lot on the market square was closed. As part of urban development funding, the Wirsberg market square was redesigned in 1995. Today, it is both an eye-catcher and an attraction.

In September 1981, the new town hall replaced the previous Old Town Hall, which is now used by the Diakonie as an office, on the market square. It was created by converting the former schoolhouse and was designed to be modern and accessible. Since 2020, Mayor Jochen Trier (Parteilose Wählervereinigung) and his team have been steering the fortunes of the 1900-inhabitant community from here, which is a climatic health resort and known beyond Bavaria as the "wedding village".

Beautiful hiking trail. Easily manageable with children. With an educational trail about railways and bridges.

Since June 26, 1746, St. John's Church, built in the Margravial style over more than four years, has shaped the town center of Wirsberg in its current form. The sacristy, designed in the Gothic style, forms a contrast to the baroque exterior of the Evangelical Lutheran parish church. A special feature is the oil painting "The Throne of Grace" from 1539, whose style and coloring are reminiscent of the circle of the artist Lucas Cranach. Underneath the current church are the foundations of medieval predecessor churches.

Wirsberg also owes its historical significance to this crossing over the Schorgast. Located on important trade routes, such as the connection between Nuremberg, Plauen, and Leipzig, simple wooden bridges had been built here repeatedly in the past. However, these were often damaged or destroyed by floods, ice drift, and the massive wear and tear from heavy wagons, which transported copper ore, among other things. At the beginning of the 18th century, it was decided to build a stone bridge here. The Schorgast Bridge, which can be seen here today and which the locals call "Wernersbruck", was built in 1711 as a two-span sandstone ashlar bridge. In 1995 and 1996, it was extensively renovated by the district of Kulmbach and the market town of Wirsberg to preserve a historical piece of Wirsberg's history.

The cemetery chapel was built around 1600 with the creation of the cemetery on the Lindenberg. Demolition material from the nearby Romanesque St. Leonhard's Church, built between 1109 and 1143, was also used to construct this passage chapel with a steeple and the cemetery wall. St. Leonhard's had been abandoned in 1528 and fell into ruin.

From this small pavilion with benches, you would certainly have a great view of Wirsberg if someone would trim the trees. In May 2026, you could (unfortunately) only see a lot of green from here.