Auengrund: Nature, Trails and History

When planning a stay in Auengrund, nature and local history stand out as two readily accessible themes. In Auengrund, natural hiking trails through extensive woodland invite you to hike and cycle. Other highlights include the Wiedersbach valley, several other named landscapes and historical traces in a number of villages. You can therefore choose your focus depending on whether you would rather spend your time outdoors or take a closer look at individual places and their history.

Hiking between woodland and the Kesseltal valley

One specific route is the 7.5 km-long “Crocker Kesseltal” Nature Park Trail. It leads around Crock through a varied natural landscape on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest. The steady ups and downs cover around 200 metres of elevation. The route length and elevation profile give you more specific guidance for the hike than the general descriptions of hiking and cycling trails through the woodland. Check the current trail conditions before setting out.

The landscape around Wiedersbach

Wiedersbach lies in the valley of the stream of the same name, is surrounded by mountains and is located in the Hildburghäuser Wald Landscape Protection Area. The Elsterbachtal and Dinkelshaak nature reserves, the Wiedersbach moors and the Ratscher Reservoir surround the village. Looking at Wiedersbach, you will find a valley, mountains and several named natural and waterside landscapes side by side. By contrast, the Nature Park Trail near Crock describes a specific route with its own distance and elevation profile.

Local history and historical traces

The church tower in Wiedersbach dates back to 1601. A landwehr was built in the Poppenwind district; it was formerly also called “Lampr”. Another kind of historical tradition is associated with the Vogelherd, a hill near Poppenwind: a castrum or Henneberg castle is said to have stood there even before the village was settled. Oral legends are still associated with the site today. Here, you will encounter a church tower with a known date and a named landwehr, as well as a former structure described explicitly as a possibility passed down through tradition.

Crock also offers a glimpse into more recent local history. In the 1970s, Crock clubs created a swimming pool and an open-air stage with cultural and leisure activities on their own initiative. Schwarzbach has a karting track described as the largest outdoor karting track in southern Thuringia. If you would like to include the karting track in your plans, check the latest access information beforehand.

More nature and culture in Hildburghausen District

In the wider Hildburghausen District travel destination, an extensive, contiguous woodland is part of the Thuringian Forest Nature Park; the district is also shaped, among other things, by the Vessertal Biosphere Reserve. Cultural attractions offer different focal points: the Hennebergisches Museum Kloster Veßra is a 6-hectare open-air museum with four thematic areas: monastery history, half-timbered architecture and everyday life in the Henneberg region, as well as agricultural technology and sustainability.

The German Castle Museum at Veste Heldburg is dedicated to the history and culture of castles in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Its permanent exhibition is laid out as a tour through the entire fortress and shows how castle architecture changed from one era to the next. The Natural History Museum has a vaulted room with knight’s armour and two-handed swords, as well as large-format secco wall paintings depicting the legend of Hercules, dating from around 1600. A different span of time is reflected in the preserved palace garden in Hildburghausen: it was laid out as a Baroque garden around 1700 and converted into a landscaped park around 1780.

The regional trails also differ in their activities and themes. The Mühlenwanderweg (Mill Hiking Trail) in the municipality of Straufhain is about 7 km long and passes through an area where nine grain and sawmills once operated; information boards at the former mill sites provide details about the facilities. The trails in the Werra Valley are suitable for hiking and cycling; from Themar downstream, you can also go canoeing. In the district, the Werra Valley Cycle Route passes through the Werra floodplains and is especially popular for cycling downstream. For visitors who enjoy winter sports, the municipality of Masserberg, with its districts of Heubach, Schnett and Fehrenbach, has more than 70 km of cross-country ski trails and numerous ski touring routes. Trail lengths and grooming can change seasonally; check this information before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Wiedersbach, Brattendorf, Schwarzbach, Erlau, Sankt Kilian, Heldburger Unterland, Oberstadt, Lichtenau.

For the wider travel overview: Hildburghausen-Suhl.