There is a little church in Hesseland / Far away from all the roads / There is a quiet prayer in the forest / God will have mercy.” The Friedberg local poet Adolf Weckerling could hardly describe the place of worship between the Wetterau communities of Assenheim and Florstadt more accurately in terms of location and atmosphere in his poem “Maria-Sternbach”. But how does it get to the forest, far from any habitation?
Nothing reminds us anymore that the Sternbach church was once the center of a small village. After the residents, the houses in their town, which was abandoned around 1500, disappeared. Sternbach’s star began to decline when it came under the tutelage of the overpowering Cistercian monastery of Arnsburg near Lich. Since neighboring Wickstadt was expanded into a large farm (“Grangie”), this meant heavy taxes for the surrounding area that the Sternbachers could hardly afford.
The village perished, only the church remained. Not only did she outlast her community, she was there long before. With regard to the missionary activity of Irish-Scottish monks, a foundation appears in a deed of donation as early as 778. However, it is only in the Romanesque nave that the earliest construction work can be seen. Under Arnsburg patronage it received a late Gothic choir; the wood-carved furnishings come from the Baroque period. Later, facilities such as an outdoor pulpit were added for the growing crowd of pilgrims, whose veneration was the sculpture “Mary with the Child” made in the 15th century and, as evidenced by the votive plaques in the chapel annex, still is.
Like the Sternbach church, Wickstadt’s baroque church remained Catholic in a purely Protestant environment, although it fell to the Protestant Counts of Solms-Rödelheim after Arnsburg Monastery was abolished in 1803. Until a few years ago there was no sign of an end to the flourishing abbey. At the same time as the mother house, Wickstadt was almost completely rebuilt or rebuilt in the 18th century. Accommodation as well as large warehouses and stables were built, culminating in 1792 in a stately administration building with a mansard roof and four round corner towers.
All of this is well-preserved, including a fortified warehouse built around 1400. The function alone has changed after decades of continued existence as a farm property. Since the reduction in (leased) arable farming, the stables and barns have often been empty, while the buildings are used by companies, craftsmen or private individuals. The address is still exclusive. There is no property outside the one kilometer long surrounding wall – only a quiet connection with the Sternbach church.
Directions:
The hike begins at the Messeplatz bus stop next to the B 275 in the center of Nieder-Florstadt. Behind it, on Willy-Brandt-Straße, there is plenty of parking space independent of the supermarkets. To take a look at the first house on the square, the privately used baroque palace of Baron von Löw zu Steinfurth, walk a few steps beyond the Nidda; Otherwise, before the bridge, turn right onto the path alongside the river.
Even close to buildings, the water has been partially renatured. Small groynes and stone steps are noticeable, but above all trees and bushes, which also accentuate the confluence with the Horloff. The natural spectacle continues beyond Ober-Florstadt to a large play and leisure area.
This requires us to move a little to the right, and even then, once again in the open, we stay at a distance from the deepened Nidda. You can then turn your back to it by bending to the right. At the front, on the main road, you can choose to go straight into the gently sloping agricultural land – here with the rarity of walking on old basalt pavement – and then turn left at the intersection after 500 meters onto the asphalted farm road.
Or you can follow the cycle/footpath next to the road for a bit to get a view of the Am Mähried nature reserve; maybe even a few steps further than the crossing point after 400 meters. With a bit of luck you can spot gray herons in a small biotope or storks that have not yet traveled south. The special feature of the 100-hectare protected area is its extensive meadow areas, which are suitable for rare ground-nesting birds.
From the street crossing it is now a grassed path that connects to the paved one. It leads for a long time through open fields with the image of rolling fields up and down hills that is so typical of the Wetterau. However, there are larger forests: after 1500 meters we head towards trees on the right, although we are still kept away.
Only a little behind the large courtyard, at the intersection on the right – there is a wooden “insect hotel” – you are led towards the forest, but not into it. Just before that, turn left past the sports grounds and soon along a large orchard, before the next football pitch follows a little further down, to the right. We leave it on the left, still in front of the trees, then right with the white line into the forest and 250 meters further left.
From now on there is only one direction in the varied deciduous forest – straight ahead, even if you cross a country road after a good two kilometers. Excluding Wickstadt, Florstadt can be reached about 400 meters further to the right. To get to the Sternbacher Church, go straight ahead at the white line for a while until it leads to a more shaggy passage on the left. This makes you all the more surprised when you stand in front of the church, whose strong yellow hardly differs from that of the autumn-colored oak and beech trees.
After walking all around, keep straight ahead to the nearby intersection, where the green X sign takes over on the right. It accompanies a winding path amidst jungle-like growth one kilometer into the Nidda Valley. Well in front of it, the X turns left and points to the bridge near Wickstadt on the right.
This path tends to be inconsistent when wet. Paved paths are available as an option. First continue straight ahead, then turn right on asphalted terrain between the edge of trees and fields towards the easily overlooked Wickstadt complex. Either way, the outer wall sets the direction with a curve to the right until an entrance opens up at the level of the weir reservoir. The area is open, except the area around the baroque manor building.
For the way back you could return directly to Florstadt to the right of the entrance through fields. The variant directly next to the Nidda is nicer. Back at the bridge, we turn left onto the bank path and faithfully follow every bend in the river to the starting point.
Directions
Florstadt is ten kilometers west of Friedberg on the B 275; the starting point in the Nieder-Florstadt district. Public
Transport: with line 1 hourly bus connection (two hours on Sundays) from Friedberg (RB or S 6); Messeplatz station in Nieder-Florstadt.
Worth seeing
One of the early Christian nucleuses of the Franconian Empire arose in Wetterau, which has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the Sternbach Church near Florstadt, first mentioned in 778. Only it remained from a village that was abandoned around 1500 under the tax burden of the Arnsburg monastery. As patrons, the monks had a late Gothic choir and facilities for pilgrims added, which is why the church is also called “Maria Sternbach”. The Cistercian monastery ran one of its assets in neighboring Wickstadt. There is still a fortified warehouse (around 1400), the court chapel from 1714, the late baroque manor house with four corner towers and agricultural facilities made of basalt, including the one kilometer long surrounding wall. In Florstadt there is a (private) castle and the early classicist parish church with rounded corners from the 18th century.
