Kindelbrück: Gründelsloch, City Gates and the Stone Age Trail

Kindelbrück offers several starting points for planning a trip: Gründelsloch to the west of the town, the city gates as local sights, the SSG Kindelbrück club swimming pool, and the “Stone Age Trail” as a route to Kindelbrück. If you are looking for a hotel in Kindelbrück, these topics can shape the focus of your stay: nature, local sights, swimming with regulated access, or a route coming from the direction of Griefstedt.

Gründelsloch to the west of the town

Gründelsloch lies west of Kindelbrück. It is a karst fissure spring and a water hole said to have no bottom. The almost circular pool of water is approximately 22 metres in diameter and 9 metres deep. The spring discharges around 15,600 litres of water per minute and is considered the strongest spring in Thuringia. The measurements describe the pool, while the discharge rate captures another aspect of this natural feature. Together, they make Gründelsloch a distinctive local attraction for anyone interested in nature and springs.

City gates and the SSG Kindelbrück club swimming pool

The city gates are among Kindelbrück’s sights. The SSG Kindelbrück outdoor pool, by contrast, is not open to the public. Visitors who ring the bell and become day members can use it. Check the conditions of use before your visit. The club pool has beach areas, a football pitch, a large sunbathing lawn and slides; check the availability of these facilities in advance, too.

These local visits are therefore quite different: the city gates are a sight in town, while the outdoor pool has a specific access requirement. Information about the facilities will help you assess the swimming options; it does not change the fact that access is not public.

The “Stone Age Trail”

The “Stone Age Trail” was completed in summer 2022. Near Griefstedt, it branches off from the Unstrut Cycle Route, runs alongside an extensive game enclosure and continues to Kindelbrück. Three points help you find your way: the junction near Griefstedt, the trail alongside the game enclosure, and Kindelbrück as the destination. The route offers a different connection to the area than the sights within the town itself, as it leads to Kindelbrück from the direction of Griefstedt.

In the wider Sömmerda travel destination

Sömmerda also offers its own historical points of interest within the wider travel destination. The town park in Sömmerda was created as a public garden and opened at Whitsun in 1903. According to historical chronicles, the listed Erfurt Gate was built in 1395 as an entrance to the town’s existing fortifications. It was one of the first of five city gates in the town wall, which was expanded from 1589 onwards. Thanks to continuous restoration and renovation, the historic town wall is well preserved.

The Historical and Technical Museum in Sömmerda presents 200 years of industrial development: from the founding of the Dreysesche Gewehrfabrik (Dreyse rifle factory), through Rheinmetall’s production sites, to the office machine factory in the former GDR. In Rohrborn, a district of Sömmerda, there is a woad mill that has been restored to its original condition. At the annual Mill Day on Whit Monday and the Woad Mill Festival in August, woad is milled there as it was in the past, and visitors can learn about the old tradition. Check the current festival dates before visiting.

For hiking and cycling, Rastenberg offers further independent options within the wider Sömmerda travel destination. The 91.7-kilometre Finne Hiking Trail is a long-distance hiking trail in central Germany; one section can also be walked as a circular trail in the Rastenberg area. Separate from this are dedicated circular trails, a geological nature trail and cycling routes that start at the town hall or the forest swimming pool and are located in the Finne landscape conservation area.

Discover more destinations: Beichlingen, Kannawurf, Weißensee, Buttstädt, Bilzingsleben, Großrudestedt, Kölleda, Markvippach.

Back to the wider travel overview: Sömmerda.