Ilm District: Culture, Trails and Landscapes
Accommodation in Ilm District
The 21-kilometre Pilzsteig trail leads from Gehren via the Langer Berg to the European Mushroom Park in Gillersdorf, then continues through the Reicheltal valley to Neustadt am Rennsteig. It has a clear focus on hiking, while other attractions in Ilm District add cultural, scenic or sporting highlights to your trip.
Museums and cultural attractions
The Baroque doll town “Mon plaisir” is located in the Neues Palais in Arnstadt. The Thuringian Forest Creative Museum in Großbreitenbach includes the 1st German Dumpling Press Museum. Other places to visit include the Bunker Museum in Frauenwald, the Rennsteig Museum in Neustadt am Rennsteig, the Thermometer Museum in Geraberg and the Dwarf Museum in Gräfenroda.
In Gehren, the Town and Castle Museum presents the history of the princely family and the castle. Today, the castle ruins and park serve, among other things, as a venue for cultural events, including the large Castle Park Festival in August. Another leisure attraction is the “Volle Rose” show mine in Langewiesen.
Public art also shapes some routes: along the two-kilometre Kleinbreitenbach Art Hiking Trail, artworks adorn the Romanesque fortified church, the cemetery, the church forecourt, the village and the path at the edge of the village. The walk is shaped not only by the route itself, but also by its design.
Hiking trails and landscapes
Trail lengths and themes offer different starting points for planning. The approximately 6.5-kilometre Climate Trail in Geraberg is an educational trail with more than 20 information panels. The Thuringian Climate Trail explains natural phenomena related to weather and climate in an accessible way, based on scientific knowledge. Designed as a children’s trail, the four-kilometre Dwarf Trail in Frauenwald is suitable for hiking with children; it starts and ends at the Frauenwald Tourist Information Centre.
The landscape can also be explored using specific landmarks. The Langer Berg is a ridge in the northern Thuringian Forest, 808 metres high, seven kilometres long and about two kilometres wide. It also forms the watershed between the Ilm to the west and the Saale to the east. The hiking area on the 600-metre-high Muschelkalk rock of the Reinsberge offers views across the foothills of the Thuringian Forest. In clear weather, the panoramic view from the 861-metre-high Kickelhahn, Ilmenau’s local mountain, extends as far as the Harz.
For longer hikes, the 135-kilometre Panoramaweg Schwarzatal passes through the districts of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Ilm District, Hildburghausen and Sonneberg, connecting the Rennsteig with the landscape of castles along the Saale. The Rennsteig crosses Ilm District from Oberhof towards Masserberg. The Goethe Hiking Trail links landscapes of the Thuringian Forest with the places where Goethe worked in Ilmenau and the surrounding area, as far as StĂĽtzerbach.
Cycling tours and regional specialities
Cycling routes also vary in length and character. The Ilmtal Cycle Route is 123 kilometres long, has a four-star certification and runs for 45 kilometres through Ilm District. The Ilm-Rennsteig Cycle Route follows a former railway line from Ilmenau to Großbreitenbach or Neustadt am Rennsteig. It connects the Ilmtal Cycle Route with the Rennsteig Cycle Route, is almost entirely paved and signposted as a cycle street. The 54-kilometre Bach Cycle Experience Route passes through towns and landscapes in the districts of Gotha and Ilm District that shaped Johann Sebastian Bach’s childhood and youth.
Specialities mentioned in Ilm District include Thuringian dumplings, Thuringian Rostbrätel and Thuringian Rostbratwurst. The 1st German Bratwurst Museum is located in the Holzhausen district. If you are looking for a hotel in Ilm District, first decide what you want to focus on: cultural attractions, hiking or cycling.
Discover more destinations: Stützerbach, Arnstadt, Gehlberg, Großliebringen, Frauenwald, Ilmenau, Geschwenda, Friedersdorf, Herschdorf, Wachsenburggemeinde, Geraberg, Schmiedefeld Am Rennsteig, Neustadt Am Rennsteig, Großbreitenbach, Altenfeld, Frankenhain, Bücheloh, Behringen, Elgersburg, Kirchheim, Elleben, Gehren, Plaue, Ichtershausen, Gräfenroda, Pennewitz, Langewiesen, Wipfratal, Ilmtal, Wolfsberg, Stadtilm, Elxleben, Bösleben-Wüllersleben, Möhrenbach.
See the regional travel overview: Thuringia.
