Pennewitz: Trails, Views and Village Life

Pennewitz combines hiking and cycling routes with striking views, a Neo-Romanesque village church, local festivals and air sports. When planning your trip, you can choose between outdoor activities, culture and recurring events. Each of these different themes gives the village its own character.

Hiking, Cycling and Views

Pennewitz is connected to the Pilzsteig and Lutherweg hiking trail networks, as well as the Waldrandroute, which opened in 2017. The village is a suitable starting point for easy hikes and bike rides. This puts two different types of activity at the heart of your plans: you can follow hiking trails or plan a bike ride. In Pennewitz, there is an information board at the playground along the Waldrandroute.

The landscape can also be explored through clearly defined viewpoints. The 499-metre-high Buchenberg offers views south towards the Langer Berg. North of Pennewitz, a panorama opens up across the airfield and the Paulinzella monastery forest, taking in the Reinsberge and Singener Berg. This gives you both a southern view towards the Langer Berg and a northern panorama featuring two named mountains. Nearby, the striking Fürst-Karl-Günther-Denkmal monument stands on the Langer Berg and is considered a popular regional excursion destination.

Village Church and Local Festivals

The Protestant village church in Pennewitz was built in the Neo-Romanesque style and consecrated in 1867. Stained-glass windows in the chancel add a specific decorative detail to its architectural character. Its history, architectural style and windows offer different points of interest for anyone interested in a place’s culture.

The local calendar also includes celebrations held at different venues. The Pennewitz 2001 e.V. Kirmes association holds the Kirmes festival every year on the first weekend in November at the village community centre. The play and sports field is also used for local celebrations, including the annual New Year’s bonfire with refreshments. The Kirmes at the village community centre and the New Year’s bonfire at the play and sports field therefore differ both in occasion and location. If you would like to plan your trip around the Kirmes, check the current dates and arrangements for the relevant year.

Air Sports: A Distinctive Feature of the Village

Pennewitz has an airfield for recreational and sport aviation. It is used mainly by gliders, powered aircraft and ultralights. Scenic flights offer the chance to explore Pennewitz and its surroundings from the air. Air sports therefore add to the perspectives available when hiking, cycling and taking in the landscape. If you are interested in a scenic flight, check the latest details of the available options in advance.

In the wider destination of Ilmenau

In the wider destination of Ilmenau, Kickelhahn makes its own distinctive mark on the landscape: the 861-metre-high mountain is Ilmenau’s local mountain, and its 21-metre-high observation tower is one of the city’s landmarks. The 20-kilometre Goethewanderweg is also in Ilmenau. It connects places associated with Goethe, from Ilmenau to Stützerbach. Alongside Pennewitz’s local attractions, the wider region thus offers mountain and hiking destinations clearly associated with Ilmenau.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Elgersburg, Kirchheim, Ichtershausen, Frankenhain, Elxleben, Herschdorf, Gehlberg, Frauenwald.

Back to the wider travel overview: Ilm-Kreis.