Flying high with goat riders

This tour takes you to lofty heights, even without the billy goats of the legendary band of robbers. On the way to Hofstadt, the loess plateau arches up to a slight elevation that is visible from afar. An ideal gallows site, where many a suspected buck rider met a sad end after being forced to confess. As we hike, we come across farms dating back to the 17th century, one of which is said to have been a meeting place for the gang. At the old pastorate in Alt-Merkstein, a moat bears witness to the need to protect oneself against raids in those days and the gravestones in the cemetery bear the names of old Bockreiter families. On the high-altitude hike across the Hochfeld, you can make out 20 church spires on the horizon. And if you climb the 260 meters of the Adolf slag heap, you have mastered the highest peak in the region.