Bad Köstritz: Discover the Park, Rose Garden and History

Bad Köstritz combines designed landscapes with local history and a variety of routes. Köstritz Park, the rose garden, the town walk and a signposted network of hiking trails each offer a different focus.

Landscape Park and Rose Garden

Köstritz Park is an English-style landscape park covering more than 30 hectares. The rose garden has its own clearly dated history: Ernst Rudolf Zersch laid it out in 1936 at the instigation of the Köstritz gardening association Flora. The aim was to enhance the townscape and create a public recreational space. Visitors can therefore explore both the history of a park and a specific town-planning project.

Town Walk and Hiking Trails

The 4-kilometre town walk follows the sights of Bad Köstritz. Circular routes start and end in the town centre at the Palais or the Heinrich Schütz House. Other options include the 27-kilometre signposted network of hiking trails around Bad Köstritz and the Archaeological Hiking Trail. Both are suitable for hiking and Nordic walking. For planning your day, you can compare a single town route with a larger network of trails and an additional hiking trail. Check local conditions before setting out.

Geology and Local History

Geology is also part of Bad Köstritz’s character: at the Dreistöckiger Steinbruch quarry, horizontal Zechstein limestone beds lie on vertically standing Culm slate layers. This geological formation adds a distinctive natural aspect to the themes of parks and hiking trails.

A monument in the town centre commemorates Julius Sturm, the Köstritz pastor and poet. He became part of literary history as a devout poet of secular verse. The Baroque Palais offers another historical highlight: after the great fire of 1779, it was built on the site of the fire as a prestigious residence for members of the count’s family. Literary history and architectural history thus stand side by side as distinct cultural themes.

Culture in the wider Greiz travel destination

The wider travel destination of Greiz offers additional, distinct cultural attractions. Since 2010, the Upper Castle in Greiz has housed the permanent exhibition “From the Land of the Vogts to the Principality of Reuss Elder Line”. It explores the history of the Vogts, lords, Imperial Counts and Imperial Princes of Reuss, as well as the associated culture of small-state residences. The museum also offers a multimedia historical experience featuring a computer-animated building history and an interactive journey through time.

The Lower Castle in Greiz houses a museum and a textile demonstration workshop. Operating since 1998, the workshop showcases the production and history of the Greiz textile industry; children and adults can take part in the manual production process. The Summer Palace in Greiz offers an architectural contrast: built as a summer residence for the Princes of Reuss Elder Line, it is one of the earliest Neoclassical buildings in Central Germany. In the wider travel destination, you can choose between exhibitions and museum displays, textile handicrafts and architectural history.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf, Moschwitz, Zeulenroda-Triebes, Langenwolschendorf, Greiz, Harth-Pöllnitz, Hohenleuben, Zadelsdorf.

Back to the main travel overview: Greiz.