Discover Steinbach-Hallenberg: crafts, Hallenburg Castle and nature

Steinbach-Hallenberg brings the history of metalworking to life in workshops preserved in their original condition. You can also enjoy walks with views of the town and surrounding mountains, wildlife watching at the game enclosure, and seasonal activities such as blacksmithing demonstrations and horse-drawn carriage rides. This gives you a choice between crafts, local history and outdoor experiences. If you are looking for accommodation in Steinbach-Hallenberg, the mix of activities you want for your day can help guide you: should your stay focus mainly on workshops and history, the landscape, or both?

Crafts to see in action

At the Metalworking Museum, visitors can explore workshops preserved in their original condition and see how people once worked there. The museum includes three historic workshops: a nail smithy, a corkscrew workshop and a file-making workshop. Their different names show the range of workplaces on display. Rather than offering an abstract overview, the museum focuses on specific forms of metalworking.

The permanent exhibition “Ons Schdaaimicher,” which opened in January 2022, offers insights into the way of life, linguistic development and club life of the people of Steinbach-Hallenberg. This broadens the focus beyond the workshops to life in the town. From April to October, blacksmithing demonstrations take place on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. As this is a seasonal activity, check the dates before you travel.

Hallenburg Castle and its history

Hallenburg Castle was built around 1212 on older building remains. A walk uphill offers views of Steinbach-Hallenberg and the surrounding mountains, combining a historic site with an outdoor walk. To access the tower, you may need to collect the key from the Tourist Information Office. In honour of Hallenburg Castle, a castle festival is held every five years as a major town celebration.

Circular trail, hiking plateau and carriage ride

In the district of Unterschönau, a circular trail about 3 km long runs alongside the Unterlautenberg game enclosure. Red deer, fallow deer, mouflons and goats can be seen in the enclosure. The approximate trail length makes it easy to gauge as a walk; wildlife watching gives this outing a different focus from a museum visit or a walk to the castle.

Knüllfeld is known as Steinbach-Hallenberg’s hiking plateau. During the summer holidays, horse-drawn carriage rides to Knüllfeld and back to the town centre are regularly offered in cooperation with Fuhrbetrieb Falk Nattermann. Along the way, you can enjoy views down into the valley and of the surrounding mountains. This offers a choice of different ways to experience the landscape: walk up to Hallenburg Castle or take a carriage to Knüllfeld. Ride dates are published in the events calendar; check it before your trip.

Getting your bearings in the town centre

The Steinbach-Hallenberg Tourist Information Office is centrally located in the town centre, directly opposite the Metalworking Museum. For longer stays, free parking is available on Bismarckstraße or Hennebergstraße, behind the town church. This practical information complements your decision about which experiences you want to shape your stay: historic workshops, scenic walks or seasonal activities.

More topics in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen destination

The wider Schmalkalden-Meiningen destination offers other distinct visitor experiences in Schmalkalden. At the Viba Nougat World, visitors can see soft, melt-in-the-mouth nougat being made in a glass-walled workshop. Hands-on confectionery courses include pouring chocolate, decorating nougat and creating pralines; course times and booking conditions may change. The “Neue Hütte” Blast Furnace Museum in Schmalkalden is a blast furnace complex dating from 1835, where local iron ore was smelted into pig iron using charcoal until 1924. This gives the region’s range of topics a span from confectionery to the history of ironworking.

Discover more destinations

Bermbach, Trusetal-Laudenbach, Schwarza, Springstille, Altersbach, Vachdorf, Rosa, Breitungen/Werra

For the overview of the wider destination: Schmalkalden-Meiningen.