Bad Staffelstein: City History, Brine and Trails

Bad Staffelstein combines local history with experiences centred on brine, mathematics and public art. You can choose different focuses when planning your trip: a visit to the town museum, time in the spa park or trails dedicated to particular themes. The town is also a shared starting and finishing point for cycling tours.

City History and Cultural Sites

Since 1990, the Bad Staffelstein Town Museum has been housed in the former school building, which was built in 1856. Exhibits include archaeological finds from Staffelberg, documents on the town’s development and testimonies of faith. There are also minerals and fossils from the Franconian Jura, as well as an account of how the Obermain Therme came into being. A separate section is devoted to the master of arithmetic Adam Ries(e). The museum thus brings together natural finds, local history and the art of calculation.

Another historic landmark in the townscape is the town hall, now considered a symbol of Bad Staffelstein. Much of its ground-floor masonry dates back to the late Middle Ages. The building was affected by the town fires of 1473 and 1684. The market square lies beside the half-timbered town hall and hosts the annual Brewers’ Festival on 15 August, the Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary.

Spa Park, Graduation Towers and Thermal Brine

As you stroll through the spa park, you can breathe in brine misted through the graduation towers. Admission to the park is free, and it is open at all times. The graduation towers have their own seasonal schedule: they are open daily and free of charge from Easter until late autumn. Since Easter falls on a different date each year, it is worth checking the dates for your planned visit.

The Obermain Therme in Bad Staffelstein also offers bathing in thermal brine. It has Bavaria’s warmest and strongest thermal brine. You can therefore experience brine in two different forms: as mist at the graduation towers in the spa park and while bathing at the thermal baths.

Trails with Different Themes

The Adam Riese Adventure Trail brings mathematics and local history together in an interactive discovery tour. Its ten stations explore the numerals 1 to 9 and 0. Brain teasers and hands-on features invite you to calculate, experiment and discover. The stations are located at Aqua Riese, in the spa park, at the Obermain Therme, around the railway station, along Bahnhofstraße, at the town wall behind the town museum and at the Tourist Information Centre. The trail thus links its mathematical challenges with several named places in Bad Staffelstein.

Another walking route, the Sculpture Trail, leads from the spa area and the Obermain Therme along the Lauterbach into the town centre. It features the works “Apollo and Daphne” and “Rising Up”. While numbers and puzzles take centre stage on the Adam Riese Adventure Trail, sculptures shape the theme of this route. Six selected cycling tours start and finish right in Bad Staffelstein.

Events and a Closer Look at Lichtenfels

The lake stage in the spa park is a major venue for a wide-ranging programme of cultural events. Together with the annual Brewers’ Festival, it brings together two different event locations: the lake stage in the park and the market square by the town hall.

In the wider destination of Lichtenfels, the Basketry Culture Trail is a themed route in its own right. This 14-kilometre circular trail connects Lichtenfels and Michelau along nature-rich paths through the Main floodplains. Its 23 information boards cover the history and tradition of basket making, the basket industry and the basket trade along the Upper Main. Near Oberwallenstadt, highlights along the route include a willow labyrinth for children, a willow shell at the river swimming area, a woven tipi at the Oberwallenstadt local recreation lake and other woven art installations.

Discover more destinations: Schwabthal, Marktzeuln, Lichtenfels, Marktgraitz, Ebensfeld, Burgkunstadt, Weismain, Altenkunstadt.

Back to the main travel guide: Lichtenfels.