Page 196 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

194  EASTERN GERM AN Y THURINGIA  195

7 Thüringer Wald (Thuringian Forest) 2 Trusetal 3 Schmalkalden
The magnificent waterfall This charming little town,
Narrow, winding roads lead through the mountains, which are in Trusetal, the work of packed with timber-frame
houses, attracts visitors to the
densely covered with spruce forests. Small towns, charming 1 Friedrichroda human hands, was built Wilhelmsburg, its Renaissance
in the mid-19th century.
spas and wintersports resorts nestle in the valleys, while the The Neo-Gothic Reinhards- Another site worth visiting is palace, and to Neue Hütte,
ruins of once fearsome castles occupy the hilltops. This is prime brunn castle in Friedrich- the nearby Marienglashöhle an interesting old smelting
walking country, and Gotha is the best starting point for a roda was the place where in Friedrichroda, an unusual plant dating from 1835.
Queen Victoria met her
walking holiday. For a longer hike, stop in Ilmenau, and from fiancé, Prince Albert von crystal grotto. 0 km 10
there follow the upward trail marked G, to a hunters’ shelter Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, 0 miles 10
and a foresters’ lodge. in 1840.

Erfurt Weimar
Eisenach
Gotha 4 Oberhof
This is a popular wintersports
Gera
Gera resort, with excellent ski-jumps.
In the summer it is worth
visiting the Rennsteiggarten,
the town’s botanical gardens
with a vast collection of
Alpine plants.
Bad
Salzingen JJ 5 Suhl
Famous from the 16th
9 Drei Gleichen century as a centre of
T
This name, meaning “three of T H arms manufacture,
H
the same”, refers to three castles – Werra Ü Suhl’s history can today
Ü
R
Mühlburg and Burg Gleichen have R I I Rudolstadt be gleaned in the
stood in ruins for centuries, but N G J J local Waffen museum
N
G
the third castle, Wachsenburg, J J (armaments museum).
has survived and now serves as Bad
a hotel. Zella-Mehlis E R W A L Blankenburg
JJ
E R W A L D D
Meiningen
Schwarza Off-map
Werra label
J J
6 Ilmenau
This small university town, teeming
Hildburghausen Eisfeld with life, is the starting point of the
so-called Goethe-Wanderweg, a
Tips for Walkers walking trail leading to all the places
where the famous poet once stayed.
Length: 150 km (90 miles). 7 Paulinzelle
Stopping places: inns and The 12th-century
restaurants in every town.
8 Arnstadt Suggestions: walk along the Romanesque abbey, Key
This picturesque town, once the home of Goethe-Wanderweg trail, from now in ruins, was once Suggested route
Johann Sebastian Bach, features a town Ilmenau. Train journey by the a home for Benedictine
hall in the Mannerist style, an early-Gothic Thüringerwaldbahn, from Gotha monks, but it was later Other road
church and a Baroque palace that is now via Friedrichroda to Tabarz. abandoned during Scenic route
home to a wax museum. the Reformation.

For map symbols see back flap

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