Discover Saale-Holzland: Forests, Trails, Culture

Saale-Holzland offers a range of ways to experience nature and culture: the Holzland is a hilly landscape with extensive forests; a quality hiking trail and a cycle route follow the Saale, while museums and historic sites offer further points of interest. As you plan your trip, you can start by considering whether you want to focus on trails through the landscape or on crafts, collections and architectural history.

Forests, trails and the Saale

The SaaleHorizontale quality hiking trail runs north to south along the Saale through the Saale-Holzland district. The Saaleradweg also runs north to south along the Saale through the district. This allows you to combine two different ways of getting around with the same geographical orientation: hiking the SaaleHorizontale and cycling the Saaleradweg.

Other hiking trails pass through the Zeitzgrund and are described as well developed. Canoe and inflatable-boat trips are among the most popular outdoor activities in the Saale-Holzland district. This offers different ways to spend active days: you can plan your stay around hikes, a cycling route or trips on the water, without having to fit every activity into a fixed itinerary.

The Gleistalhänge protected area also provides a specific setting for the landscape. It includes Beutnitz, Graitschen, Löberschütz, Poxdorf and Tautenburg, incorporates the former Poxdorfer Hang nature reserve, covers 277.02 hectares and was designated on 27 August 1999.

Castles, museums and crafts

The Dornburg Palaces form an ensemble of three palaces from different stylistic periods. The palace grounds are also home to the Bauhaus Workshop Museum Dornburg, housed in the former Bauhaus ceramics workshop in the Marstall building. Its permanent exhibition provides information about the site's history and displays outstanding exhibits. The palace ensemble and museum therefore offer different points of interest: the architecture of three periods and the history of a specific workshop site.

In Bürgel, the permanent exhibition at the Ceramics Museum illustrates the history of Bürgel's pottery craft, from its beginnings in the mid-17th century to the present day. An audio guide leads visitors to 22 stops in Bürgel and Thalbürgel. If you would like to take this tour, check that the audio guide is available before your trip. Schkölen Water Castle offers a different focus: its castle complex houses a museum with changing exhibitions.

Camburg's history reaches far back: the castle complex was first mentioned in a document in 1166; today, only the keep, which is more than 30 metres tall, remains. The Camburg Town Museum spans a chronology from Palaeolithic hand axes through tools and weapons from various cultural groups to the town's history in the recent past. The Kemenate in Orlamünde houses an exhibition on local history. Hummelshain Hunting Lodge was formerly a hunting residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg.

Choose the right focus for your accommodation search

When looking for accommodation, you can start with your travel interests: would you like to focus on hiking trails and the hilly forest landscape, are you more interested in the routes and activities along the Saale, or would you like to explore palaces, castles and museums? The places and attractions differ enough to help you tailor your choice to your preferred focus. If you would like to combine different interests, you can treat nature and culture as equally important parts of your trip planning, then choose based on the activities you prefer.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Tautendorf, Zöllnitz, Jenaprießnitz, Tautenhain, Jena, Hermsdorf, Waltersdorf, Dornburg-Camburg, Stadtroda, Eisenberg, Serba, Mörsdorf, Rothenstein, Reichenbach, Bad Klosterlausnitz, Seitenroda, Heideland, Weißbach, Kahla, Hügelland/Täler, Gösen, Crossen an der Elster, Schkölen, Golmsdorf, Hummelshain, Orlamünde, Neuengönna, Großbockedra, Renthendorf, Tröbnitz, Großlöbichau, Bürgel, Weißenborn.

Go to the higher-level travel overview: Thuringia.