Rock climbing at Frankenjura

Frankenjura is regarded as one of the top areas for sport climbing in Europe, and is the largest and best climbing area in Germany.  It is located between the cities of Nuremberg, Bamberg, and Bayreuth in northern Bavaria, in southern Germany. In this large area, there are approximately 1,000 crags spread out in a beautiful forest terrain, making Frankenjura a perfect holiday destination for rock climbers all over Europe.

The majority of the routes at Frankenjura are short powerful single pitch sport routes that are either vertical or overhanging.  The character and style of climbing is on excellent quality white and grey limestone rock that is full of finger pockets and holes, producing very athletic routes.  Frankenjura boasts in excess of 14,000 routes meaning there is something for climbers of all abilities from beginners, intermediate climbers, through to top end hard climbers.  The grades range from UIAA 3 (F3) through to UIAA 11+ (F9a). 

The map shows the main sport climbing areas at Frankenjura, where there are in access of 14,000 routes.

The best time to climb at Frankenjura is from April to the end of October.  Most of the crags are situated in deep woods or face north that mean climbing is agreeable during the whole summer.  The optimum time to climb at Frankenjura is from June to September, hence why it is a popular holiday destination for rock climbers from all over Europe.

The crags are scattered all over the area, so having a car brings you to a lot more places than just one area. It’s very common to make a quick change of the crag during the day depending upon the sun and heat, or the difficulty and length of the routes.

There are so many routes that the rock climbing guidebooks for Frankenjura are split into 2 volumes. The main publishers are Gebro Verlag and Panico.

Gebro Verlag has produced Franken 1 (published 2023) that covers the northern half of the Frankenjura rock climbing area between the cities of Bamberg and Bayreuth. 17 major climbing areas are covered, detailing over 6,750 routes. Franken 2, (published 2024) covers the southern half of the Frankenjura rock climbing area to the east of Nuremburg. 17 major climbing areas are covered, detailing more than 7,750 routes.  

Panico has produced Frankenjura Band 1 (north) and Frankenjura Band 2 (south) that between them cover over 13,000 routes. These guidebooks, published in 2024, have a unique code to download an App to the full guidebook that is free of charge for both iOS and Android devices.

Buy rock climbing guidebooks for Frankenjura from our shop.

Frankenjura has many good campsites, and almost every village whatever its size has Bed & Breakfast or small hotels.