Walk to Steinegg Forest Chapel
Maria Hilf forest chapel behind Steinegg castle — woodland walk, local legend and peaceful hillside views in the Northern Black Forest.
The Maria Hilf forest chapel sits in the woods behind Steinegg castle — on an overhanging rock about 200 metres from the castle courtyard. The path leads through pines and the quiet hillside between Steinegg and Hamberg.
A local legend tells how the chapel came to be: during the Thirty Years' War, when Steinegg castle was under threat, ladies of the Gemmingen-Steinegg family fled into the forest beneath this very rock. In their distress they vowed to build a chapel to Mary on the protecting stone if they were spared. A spider is said to have spun a web across the entrance to their hiding place — so the enemy found no one there.
The vow was kept: Sebastian Forster founded the chapel in 1683; Karl Dietrich Anton von Gemmingen had it rebuilt in 1739. The small site still feels like a quiet witness to that story.
Ideal for half a morning: view Steinegg castle from outside, walk on to the forest chapel and on the way back visit St Wendelin chapel with wide views over the meadow orchards — on foot or by bike via Hamberg–Steinegg. Especially when soft light filters through the trees and the air feels especially clear.