Discover Schmerbach

Discover Schmerbach through three specific themes: the old running fountains in the village, two festivals with different traditions, and Regional Route 2, “Am Großen Inselsberg,” which passes through the village. This gives you several starting points for planning your trip: a festival held during the year, a traditional craft, and a connection to a regional route. The Fountain Festival takes place every year on Whit Sunday; the Charcoal Burners’ Festival takes place in the first week of July.

Festivals rooted in history and craftsmanship

The Fountain Festival centers on a specific historical event: in 1861, the wooden troughs at the public fountains were replaced with stone ones. The festival commemorates this change. It takes place every year on Whit Sunday. The Charcoal Burners’ Festival, by contrast, preserves the local tradition of charcoal making. Guests can watch charcoal being made around the charcoal kiln; the festival takes place in the first week of July. The two dates have different focuses: on the one hand, the history of the fountains; on the other, a local craft. If you plan your trip around one of the festivals, check the date for the year you intend to travel. For trip planning, these offer two distinct perspectives: remembering a specific change made in 1861 and observing a production process.

Fountains in the village, a route through the region

The old running fountains shape Schmerbach’s village character and were incorporated into the redesign of its streets and squares. Their significance therefore extends beyond the festival: they are also a feature of the village’s design. The regional route connection is equally specific: Regional Route 2, “Am Großen Inselsberg,” passes through Schmerbach. This gives you two different perspectives for finding your way around: the fountains as a local feature and the route as a regional path.

More cultural attractions in the wider destination of Waltershausen

The wider destination of Waltershausen also includes cultural attractions in Schnepfenthal. The GutsMuths Memorial Hall Schnepfenthal is a venue for sport and culture. It provides information about history, nature, GutsMuths and the Rennsteiglauf, and has established itself as a gallery hosting special exhibitions. Outside the hall, information panels about GutsMuths and his pupils stand alongside trees from every continent. Schnepfenthal’s attractions also include the historic cemetery in Hardt, an old manor house and the Salzmannschule grammar school.

In Waltershausen itself, the Church of Our Lady of Help is considered Thuringia’s first major Baroque centralized church building and a forerunner of Dresden Frauenkirche in its floor plan and construction. The church organ has three manuals, 53 sounding stops and 2,806 pipes. Tenneberg Castle also makes an architectural statement: its ballroom dates from 1719, is one of the castle’s three surviving Baroque rooms, and features a ceiling painting by Johann Heinrich Ritter, a court painter from Thuringia.

Discover more destinations: Winterstein.

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