Lauterbach (Hesse): Half-timbered houses, town history and the Volcano Cycle Path

Half-timbered houses on the market square, a centuries-old defensive tower and a museum with a historic classroom give Lauterbach (Hesse) its distinctive townscape. There are also opportunities for hiking and cycling, as well as the Volcano Cycle Path, which connects Lauterbach with Altenstadt and Schlitz. You can therefore focus your stay on town history and culture, or make outdoor activities and scenery the main attraction.

Old Town between the Market Square and the Anchor Tower

The market square has been the heart of Lauterbach since 1266 and is surrounded by numerous impressive half-timbered houses. The Old Town’s sights are easy to reach on foot—making it easy to explore Lauterbach by walking. The Anchor Tower is the last surviving defensive tower of the town wall. For more than 750 years, it has watched over the gate leading into the town.

The Protestant town church offers a different perspective: built from 1763 to 1768, it is considered one of Hesse’s most beautiful Rococo churches and a gem of the High Baroque. The market square, half-timbered houses, defensive tower and church thus represent different chapters in Lauterbach’s history. Visitors interested in historic architecture will find several such landmarks on a visit to the Old Town, rather than being limited to a single building.

Museum experiences and hands-on history

A guided tour of the Hohhaus Museum offers insights into the history of the house. Its exhibits include, among other things, archaeological finds from Wartenberg Castle and finds from burial mounds. In the Historic Classroom, visitors experience a school lesson as it would have been 100 years ago—an engaging way to explore the past that differs from simply viewing exhibits. As renovation work is being carried out at the Hohhaus Museum, check before your visit whether the guided tour and historic school lesson are currently available.

The “Lauterbacher Unterwelt” (“Lauterbach Underground”) tour also offers a special perspective on the town’s history. It leads into historic vaulted cellars beneath the former service buildings of the first Burg brewery, the town hall and the Posthotel Johannesberg. Everyday, cultural, social and economic history all come to life here. The museum, classroom and cellar tour each focus on something different: archaeological finds, a re-created school lesson or the history beneath the streets.

Cycling, hiking and places to visit nearby

Lauterbach offers plenty of opportunities for hiking and cycling on an active holiday. One specific cycling route is the Volcano Cycle Path: it follows a former railway line for 94 kilometres through the Vogelsberg and runs from Altenstadt via Lauterbach to Schlitz. Along the way, it passes through woodland and meadows. Its route through several towns offers a different experience from a stroll around the Old Town, where Lauterbach’s sights are easy to reach on foot.

Near Lauterbach, the Bachtour Lauterbach trail passes through the Münchswiesen, a protected area with rare flora and fauna. On this tour, Eisenbach Castle can only be viewed from the outside. The castle chapel is open to visitors; the key is available from the Burg-Post restaurant. These differences in access are important when planning: the castle can only be viewed from outside, while access to the chapel is available to visitors and requires picking up the key at the restaurant.

In the Vogelsberg: volcanic landscapes and other trails

The Vogelsberg is Europe’s largest volcanic region. The region’s natural heritage also includes the Vogelsberg mountain hay meadows, which are the largest protected areas of their kind in Hesse. In Schotten, an interactive museum at the Vulkaneum explains volcanism; a multimedia exhibition explores volcanism and geology in the Vogelsberg. At various experiment stations and with interactive exhibits, visitors can experience the past first-hand.

The trails and attractions in the Vogelsberg also offer a range of experiences. The treetop path on the Hoherodskopf is 500 metres long and features suspension bridges. The GipfelTour Schotten is a 14-kilometre route that takes in four peaks in the Oberwald, as well as mountain meadows and woodland with rugged basalt formations. The Weitblicktour Ulrichstein is a moderately difficult 11.6-kilometre circular route around Ulrichstein that passes through deciduous forests and varied, small-scale agricultural landscapes. For the rest of your trip, you can choose from routes of different lengths and landscapes without confusing them with the town experiences in Lauterbach.

Discover more destinations: Grebenhain, Schlitz, Schotten, Wartenberg, Romrod, Kirtorf, Homberg, Schwalmtal.

Back to the main travel overview: Vogelsberg.