Many roads lead to Rome.
More and more people want to make a pilgrimage not only to Santiago de Compostela, but also to reach the eternal city on old pilgrimage routes. Similar to the Ways of St. James, the route of the VIA ROMEA from Northern Germany to Rome was forgotten for many centuries. But for some years now, it has been possible to walk on this old pilgrim route.
The VIA ROMEA of Abbot Albert of Stade is not to be confused with the Via Francigena, the currently most famous pilgrim route to the eternal city. The VIA ROMEA runs vertically from Stade to the south via Austria and the Brenner pass and only meets the Via Francigena on the last section, west of Viterbo.
In his description of Abbot Albert of Stade’s itinerary, the following places appear: Stade, Celle, Rietze, Braunschweig, Hornburg, Wernigerode, Hasselfelde, Nordhausen, Bad Langensalza, Gotha, Schmalkalden, Meiningen, Bad Neustadt, Münnerstadt, Schweinfurt, Würzburg, Ochsenfurt, Aub, Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Marktoffingen, Donauwörth, Augsburg, Igling, Schongau, Oberammergau, Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Brixen, Bozen, Trient, Padua, Venedig, Ravenna, Forli, Arezzo, Orvieto, Viterbo, Rom. These form the “basic framework” of the VIA ROMEA today.
VIA ROMEA TOTAL ROUTE IN GERMANY
All information about the route:
From Stade to Mittenwald (Scharnitz), the VIA ROMEA takes you across Germany. Download GPX track, elevation profile, figures & data on the overall route, …
In Germany, the VIA ROMEA is divided into 12 sections.
IN AUSTRIA, THE VIA ROMEA GERMANICA IS DIVIDED INTO 4 SECTIONS:
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1. Mittenwald - Seefeld TirolMittenwald - Grenze - Scharnitz - Giessenbach - Schlossberg - Seefeld in Tirol
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3. Seefeld Tirol -Innsbruck
Seefeld in Tirol - Engelhof - Reith near Seefeld - Leithen - Zirler Wald - Ruine Fragenstein - Zirl - Kranebitten - Airport - Innsbruck
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3. Innsbruck - Matrei am Brenner
Innsbruck - Poltenhütte - Vill - Igls - Patsch - Mühltal - Ellbögen - Oberellbögen - Pfons - Matrei am Brenner
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4. Matrei - Passo del Brennero
Matrei am Brenner - Tienzens - Mauern - Steinach am Brenner - Steidlhof - St. Jodok am Brenner - Nösslach - Gries am Brenner - St. Sigmund - Brennersee - Passo Del Brennero
IN ITALY, THE VIA ROMEA GERMANICA IS DIVIDED INTO 6 SECTIONS:
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3. Emilia - Romagna
Polesella – Ferrara – Traghetto – Argenta – Campotto - Argenta – Valli di Comacchio – Casalborsetti– Ravenna– Forlì - Ravenna – Cervia – Forlimpopoli – Fratta Terme - Castrocaro – Forli – Cusercoli - Cusercoli – Santa Sofia – Bagno di Romagna – Valle Santa
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4. Toskana
Valle Santa – Chitignano – Subbiano – Capolona – Arezzo – Sassaia – Castiglion Fiorentino – Cortona – Pozzuolo Castiglione del Lago
SIGNPOSTING OF THE VIA ROMEA GERMANICA
The signpost for the pilgrimage route is the shepherd’s crook with the words “VIA ROMEA GERMANICA” on a blue background.
The route is signposted by means of stickers at prominent points along the entire route. In some places with a sticker with the logo and in some places with additional directional information using arrows. In some areas, the pilgrimage route has been incorporated into the local signposting system. Here you can also recognise the VIA ROMEA logo with the shepherd’s crook.
