St Elizabeth's Path (Elisabethpfad)

In short: St Elizabeth's Path (Elisabethpfad): from Eisenach to Marburg. Length: around 190 km from Eisenach, duration: about 1 week. Best time: Spring to autumn.

Overview

Elizabeth of Thuringia lived at Wartburg Castle and went to Marburg after her husband's death, where she cared for the poor and the sick. After her canonisation in 1235, her tomb in St Elizabeth's Church became one of the great pilgrimage destinations in the Empire.

Today two main routes lead to Marburg: one comes from Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, the other from Frankfurt am Main. They run through low mountain ranges and small half-timbered towns.

You can walk either in a week, and both connect well by train. That makes St Elizabeth's Path a good choice for a first pilgrimage.

Main stops: Eisenach, Wartburg Castle, Marburg, Frankfurt am Main, Wetzlar.

From Wartburg Castle to St Elizabeth's Church

Starting at Wartburg Castle makes sense, as Elizabeth lived there as landgravine. The goal is St Elizabeth's Church in Marburg, built over her tomb from 1235 and one of the earliest purely Gothic churches in Germany.

Along the way you pass forest, fields and small half-timbered villages. There are hardly any big differences in height. The route from Frankfurt goes via Wetzlar and suits anyone coming from the Rhine-Main area.

A route for your first pilgrimage week

With daily stages of around 20 kilometres you reach the end in about eight to ten days. Trains serve both ends, so getting there stays simple. You stay in inns and guesthouses, and in small places you should call ahead.

Planning your stages

How long you need depends on your daily distance. The table works this out for 190 kilometres, with one rest day a week.

Who is this route for?

This route suits a first pilgrimage well. You need no mountain experience, normal basic fitness and broken-in shoes are enough.

What does the route cost?

With an albergue or simple guesthouse and one hot meal, 60 to 80 euros a day is usually enough. Over about 11 days that comes to roughly 650 to 900 euros, plus travel and gear. This is a guide figure.

You can find more routes under Pilgrimage routes in Europe, Pilgrimage in Germany, sorted by religion under Christian pilgrimage routes.