The Frankenjura

The Frankenjura


A few years ago when I was living in Sheffield there were a group of guys who I used to climb with who were constantly going on about the Frankenjura. Before then I hadn’t heard much at all about this place. But from the way they kept banging on about it there must have been something good there. So one summer a few years ago I went and checked it out.

Where is it and when's best to go?

The Frankenjura is a large climbing area which is found to the North East of Nurenberg in Germany. There are approximately 1000 crags scatted around the forests.

Spring until autumn are the times to go. Though if you are wanting to guarantee climbing then go in the summer. You could be unlucky in the spring and autumn and get a lot of rain. The summer heat isn’t too much of an issue, many of the crags are in the trees so you have direct protection from the sun.

Climbing Style

The Frankenjura has an image of being all Action Direct style mono pulling through impossible angles. Yes there is a lot of this, but there are also plenty of excellent routes at all grades.

The rock is generally excellent quality pocketed limestone with vertical to overhanging being the norm. The routes themselves tend to be short, generally around 10-20m and can be very bouldery.

The Frankenjura is home to the Redpoint, so not surprisingly it’s the bolted routes that are the main event.

There are some trad routes up some of the larger cliffs. There is also a lot of bouldering, however finding out about it is very tricky. There has been an agreement not to publicise the locations of most of the spots. You will probably be able to pick up a bit of info when you are out there. But I wouldn’t go there to just boulder unless you had some good contacts. Also many of the routes are like bouldering in the sky, so get a rope on!

The Redpoint

The term redpoint originated in the Frankenjura. Redpointing is a climbing term for climbing a bolted route in one go after practice. The name Redpoint comes from a German term rotpunkt (point of red) which came about because at the base of many routes that were not climbed fully without aid, a red circle was marked. And when the route was completed in one go it was filled in (ie with a red point)

About the Guidebooks

There are actually quite a few guide books about the area. In the UK the two GEBRO Verlag guides written by Ulrich and Harald Röker are probably the most popular, helped by the fact that they are written in German and English. The two guides Franken 1 and Franken 2 cover Band 1 (North) and Band 2 (South) respectively. I had a fair bit of use of Franken 1 but unfortunately Band 2 was not out at the time, so I used a different guide and in my opinion was less useful for non German speakers.

There are a lot of routes in the Frankenjura, (approx 7000 according to the guides) and as previously mentioned spread out onto many crags too.

The sheer number of routes and crags means a lot of information for a guide. This needs to be clear, concise and accurate. The GEBRO Verlag guides certainly fit the bill.

Have a look at the example page pictured. It has the crag name and in the star what grade range the best routes are in (Grades are UIAA). Then thankfully there are very good descriptions (in English) of the approaches otherwise you would never be able to find half of the climbing, as some of the crags are very secluded, but walk-ins are generally short. There is also a quick summary on the crag itself.

All the crags have a sketch diagram, which gives a very accurate representation of the shape of the crag plus other information such as crag heights and aspect. Whilst the routes themselves do not have a description, just a name, the lines can be easily picked out the crag. It’s a case of join the dots (well crosses) on the page with the bolts in the rock.

Crag Recommendations

There are so many crags and I think as a local you would struggle to climb on them all, let alone a visitor. Out of the ones I visited these are the crags I would point out to the first time visitor.

Bärenschluchtwände - One of the larger and more popular crags. A good concentration of routes in the harder grades but plenty to go at 7a and above

Stadeltenne - One of the best crags in the Frankenjura, Some vertical climbs on excellent rock and some classics on the overhanging sections. Best Grades 6b to 7c.

Zwergenschloss – One for the beasts. There are some easier climbs but the main events are 7c and above. Some impressive routes through cave roofs.

Weißenstein - Roadside access, vertical wall climbing on excellent holds. The Right side of the crag has some popular overhanging routes. Out of the crags I visited this had the highest collection of lower grade climbs. Best Grades in the French 5’s into the low 7’s

Schlossbergwand – One of my favourite crags I visited, 44 routes with the best range of grades being 6c to 8b.

Travel Tips & Accommodation

There were a few of us that went, and by different means. I shared the driving there, but I was flying back. The nearest airport is in Nuremberg, though the flights to the UK can be a bit limited and not as cheap as some budget airlines. But it does get you nearer to the Frankenjura than by flying to Frankfurt.

A car is pretty much essential I would say. You could do it without but your crag options would be reduced severely.

I stayed at Gasthof Eichler which is the main Climber’s Campsite, it's all very friendly (and not too busy) and there was a great mix of folks there. There are a few small huts which can be hired but you would have to get them booked in advance. There is also a small bar for a quality beer after a long day.

The other main campsite is under the Bärenschluchtwände Crag. This is a bigger campsite and is a lot more family orientated.

Provisions can easily be picked up in the local villages, including some amazing cakes especially from the cake shop in Obertrubach. In fact they were so good that we occasionally had some for breakfast and then for dinner!

On my rest days I was usually on belay duty so only saw a limited amount outside of the climbing spots. However there are a couple of swimming pools dotted around and plenty of small picturesque villages to have a nosey around. Nurenberg is also worth a day visit too.

I would definitely recommend the Frankenjura to pretty much anyone, excellent routes, in a lovely German Rural Forest setting, there’s a lot going for it.

Links

Buy the Guides Here

Gasthof Eichler Camping website

climb.frankenjura.com Site with a database of routes and crags

GEBRO Verlag See more information on the guides plus their other area guides.