Stützerbach: Goethe, Glass and the AtemWeg

Stützerbach combines Goethe history, a technical glassmaking tradition and a trail featuring breathing exercises. If you are looking for a hotel, these themes can shape the focus of your trip: literary history, technology and an outdoor activity offer different options. The wider travel destination of Ilmenau adds further cultural and nature-related themes.

Goethe and the history of glassmaking in Stützerbach

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Stützerbach thirteen times from 1776 onward and stayed at the Gundelach House, now a museum. His connection with the town is therefore tied to a specific building. The ground floor of the Goethe House Museum in Stützerbach has an exhibition on the history of technical glass in Stützerbach. Glassmaking and glass processing have had a major influence on the town. The house and exhibition thus bring together two different perspectives: Goethe’s stays and the technical glassmaking tradition.

Another connection to the history of technology: the first X-ray tube was developed and tested for the first time in Stützerbach. Together with the history of technical glass, this is a distinct aspect of the town’s history that you can consider alongside its connection with Goethe.

Nature and the AtemWeg

Stützerbach lies within a zone of the Thuringian Forest UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The AtemWeg offers a different focus: at eleven stations, it presents exercises to strengthen lung and heart function, as well as breathing techniques, breathing relaxation and breathing meditation. The trail’s content is thus clearly focused on the body and differs from the town’s cultural and historical themes. If you want to plan your trip around nature or breathing, you can include these stations as a distinct focus.

Ilmenau: more cultural and nature-related themes

In the wider travel destination of Ilmenau, the 20-kilometre Goethewanderweg (Goethe Hiking Trail) connects the places where Goethe worked, from Ilmenau to Stützerbach. While the Gundelach House marks a specific connection with Goethe in Stützerbach, this route links the places where he worked in both towns. This distinguishes a single place associated with Goethe’s history from a route with two named endpoints.

Ilmenau’s local mountain, Kickelhahn, is 861 metres high. Its 21-metre observation tower is one of the town’s landmarks. At the Lindenberg Trail Park in Ilmenau, three different trails invite you to go mountain biking; check current local information before setting out. The Ilmtal Cycle Route is also among the cycling options associated with Ilmenau, though route conditions can vary.

For winter, Ilmenau has numerous ski trails and winter hiking routes: they run from Ilmenau to the Rennsteig and from Auerhahn to Kickelhahn. Snow and trail conditions vary by season, and route availability is not guaranteed. Take current conditions into account when planning.

Ilmenau’s cultural history is also reflected in a variety of places. The Coin Cellar is located right next to the Old Mint and offers insights into the 16th century. The Miners’ Chapel is on Sturmheide, in the middle of the former Ilmenau copper and silver mining district and below the spoil heap of the former “Gottes Gabe” mine shaft. The chapel houses an exhibition on Ilmenau’s copper shale mining.

Discover more destinations: Herschdorf, Gehren, Geschwenda, Ichtershausen, Friedersdorf, Pennewitz, Gehlberg, Ilmenau.

View the wider travel overview: Ilm District.