Blankenstein on the Saale and Selbitz

Blankenstein offers several specific points to consider when choosing a place to stay: its location on the Saale and Selbitz, hiking trails with different routes, and the “Rennsteig and Mee(h)r” Museum. If you are looking for a hotel in Blankenstein, you can plan your stay around whether hiking, the surrounding landscape or a cultural connection is most important to you. This lets you take a closer look at what the town has to offer.

Blankenstein between the Saale, Selbitz and the nature park

Blankenstein is located in the south of the “Thuringian Slate Mountains Upper Saale” Nature Park, on the Saale and Selbitz. The two rivers meet in the Blankenstein district. These details describe two different ways of understanding the location: the nature park places the town in a broader landscape, while the confluence marks a specific geographical point. If the landscape matters when choosing your destination, you can consider Blankenstein both in terms of its location in the nature park and its position on the Saale and Selbitz. This gives you a clear point of reference without presupposing any particular excursion plans.

A cultural point of interest

Another specific point of interest is the “Rennsteig and Mee(h)r” Museum in Blankenstein. It opened in 2018 in partnership between the Rosenthal Pulp and Paper Mill (ZPR) and the municipality of Rosenthal am Rennsteig. The opening year and partnership are part of the museum’s history. Alongside the rivers and hiking trails, you can also consider the museum as a cultural point of interest when choosing Blankenstein as your destination. If you do not want to judge Blankenstein solely by its hiking, you can also include the museum in your plans.

Hiking trails with different routes

The premium hiking trails Rennsteig, Kammweg, Frankenweg and Fränkischer Gebirgsweg lead to Blankenstein. Every year, around 15,000 to 20,000 hikers and cyclists come to Blankenstein via these trails or begin their runs and hikes here. For you, the trails are associated both with arriving in Blankenstein and with activities that start there. If hiking is the reason for your trip, the four names give you a specific starting point; they also distinguish the trails that lead to Blankenstein.

One option with a different route is the “Grenzgängerweg am Rennsteigbeginn” circular trail, also known as the “Wanderweg Rund um Rosenthal.” The Blankenstein chapter of the Frankenwaldverein laid it out in 1990. The loop is about 16 kilometres long and starts and ends at the Selbitz footbridge in Blankenstein. Both names refer to the same trail, not two different routes. The start and finish at the Selbitz footbridge clearly define the circular route; its approximate length helps you consider this hike as a focus in its own right.

Choose your stay based on the reason for your trip

When planning, it is worth taking a closer look at the difference between the types of hikes: the four premium hiking trails mentioned lead to Blankenstein, while the Grenzgängerweg is a loop that starts and ends at the Selbitz footbridge. When looking for a hotel in Blankenstein, you can base your choice on this specific reason for your trip. If you want to plan your destination around a circular trail, its route is a different point of reference from trails that lead into the town. If the landscape or a cultural connection matters more to you, you can also consider the clearly defined aspects of the nature park, rivers and museum.

Discover more travel destinations: Neustadt An Der Orla, Bad Lobenstein, Saaldorf, Bucha, Ziegenrück, Dittersdorf, Burgk, Lausnitz Bei Neustadt An Der Orla

Go to the main travel overview: Saale-Orla.