St. Sebastian

Introduction: This cache is especially for all geocachers staying at the Mövenpick Hotel Frankfurt-Oberursel. It's a beautiful hotel with a very nice bar but unfortunately it's located in an industrial area. So if you stay there on a business-trip or for a fair in Frankfurt take a little walk through the fields and the old village center of Stierstadt, the village where I grew up.

How to get there
a) If you prefer walking the street, turn right on the Zimmersmühlenweg until you reach the train station for the S-Bahn (Stierstadt Bahnhof). Underpass the rails and head left along the embankment. On the main road (Tanunsstraße) turn right after the restaurant (Hirsch / Sportsbar) and follow the little roads uphill. If you're not yet standing right in front of the lime-tree turn right on the Gartenstraße.
b) If you'd like to see a little bit more of the area, turn right when you exit the lobby and follow the road to the railroad crossing at N50 11.602 E8 35.007. Do a 180° turn and follow the street on the other side of the tracks (Gattenhöferweg, Telekom-Facility). At the next fork of the path you can decide if you'd like to follow the way left beside the railroad tracks (you'll reach the train-station described in a)) or turn right to south-west along the fields and orchards. Then you'll walk through residential areas until you finally end up on the main road (Tanunsstraße / Italian restaurant). Cross the street and enter the little passage at house No. 29 (newspaper-shop) and turn left when you reach the little stream. At the playground turn right and follow the way down- and uphill.
c) If you come by car: Parking isn't easy inside the village center. It's only allowed on clearly marked places. A car-park is right next door at N50 10.882 E8 34.922 accessible only from N50 10.868 E8 35.042 (Steinbacher Straße)!
d) Public transport (RMV): "Stierstadt Altes Rathaus" (bus) or "Stierstadt Bahnhof" (train, S-Bahn)

No matter how you get here. Look out for the church and the lime-tree in front on the little plaza. Enter the churchyard (not the cemetery nearby!). In the south-west corner you'll find a cross with a little labyrinth in front. The labyrinth was build in commemoration of the World Youth Day 2005. The cache is hidden behind the base on the ground.

History: A chapel, with tower, dedicated to St. Sebastian was built in 1348 in Stierstadt, then a "small church" was erected in 1670 on the foundations of the chapel. The leaning roof of the tower occurred while they used younger and older beams to build the truss. A new church was build next to the listed tower and consecrated in 1971. You can see the layout from the old church if you take a look at GoogleEarth. Inside the church the Stations of the Cross are carved in clay and mounted as a frieze on the walls. (taken from: Kirchenführer: Kirchen im Hochtaunuskreis, p. 60/61) The lime tree in front of the church is 350 years old.
If you want to take a look inside you can get the key in the office across the street (open Mon 10-12am, Tue 3-4:30pm, Fri 10-11am).

*The parish council allowed to hide this cache on their property.