Kassel Loop Cycle Route 4 - Stage Neukirchen (Knüll) - Homberg

First the Rotkäppchenland railroad track, then quiet country roads, well signposted, undulating, suitable for families to a limited extent

Difficulty level: rather challenging
Trail quality: ★★★☆
Signposting: ★★★★

Cycle to Zella on the wonderful Rotkäppchenland railroad cycle path. Here you have the option of continuing to Ziegenhain and avoiding the long detour via Willingshausen.

However, if you follow the GPX route, the route takes you over undulating countryside to Willingshausen, an artists' colony co-founded by Ludwig Emil Grimm. Here you can visit the Malerstübchen museum and the Willingshausen art gallery. The route continues through the Schwalm to Treysa. Another nice little half-timbered town. In the Bahnhofstraße you can see some figures that bring the world of fairy tales, legends and sagas to life.
At Treysa, the Schwalm-Efze cycle path R 14 sets the direction.
The next stop is Ziegenhain, a former fortress and confirmation town since 2017. The castle complex now serves as a prison and cannot be visited. In the Schwalm Museum, you can admire the "fairytale" Schwalm costume, among other things. The young girls' red caps are said to have caught the eye of the Brothers Grimm.
After Frielendorf, the Silbersee lake offers an ideal rest stop, as you can stop for a bite to eat, swim or go boating. In Sondheim, the route changes from the R 14 to the R 5. The route now leads along low-traffic routes to Caßdorf and from there up to Homberg (Efze).
The market square of the stage town impresses with its fairytale half-timbered ensemble. Right in the middle is the "Brüderchen und Schwesterchen" fountain. The ruins of Hohenburg Castle tower above Homberg, which can only be reached on foot or by pedelec or mountain bike from the north.

*************************************************Services

on site:

• Treysa train station: bike boxes, charging facilities for e-bikes
• "Deutsche Einheit"cycle station in the Junker-Hoose-Str. area in Schwalmstadt-Ziegenhain

• Charging points: Ziegenhain: Alleeplatz, Hotel-Restaurant Rosengarten, Hotel & Restaurant Landgraf
  
  Charging stations Treysa: Hof Gundlach Sport & Mode, town hall, Marktplatz 1, in front of the Schwalm-Galerie, Gasthaus "Am Brauhaus"
• Special public transport offer: Line 470 takes bicycles Treysa - Bad Hersfeld