Easy hikes and walks around Ahlstädt

The Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church in Schleusingen was once a castle church. By 1498, it was a Gothic hall church with a 44-meter-high steeple. It was built in 1235 and was expanded until 1729, and has been continuously restored to this day.

A legend about a water nymph tells of the origin of the town of Schleusingen, which is also the symbol of Schleusingen and can be seen on a sign on the town hall. A wealthy count was hunting in the forest and pursued a white deer, got lost, and spent the night at the foot of a rocky mountain. In a grotto, he saw a crystal pool containing a water nymph/siren wearing a glittering headband with the symbols SLVS and singing enchantingly. She confided in him that the white deer was her daughter, transformed by an evil sorcerer. The count helped the nymph slay the sorcerer through the power of the words adorning her headband, which meant: "She (namely the daughter of the water nymph) love and victory!" The count wetted the white deer three times with the water from the crystal spring, whose three sources represented the combined mountain waters: the Schleuse, the Erle, and the Nahe, whereupon the deer transformed into a beautiful woman. The count married her and called himself and his family "von der Brunstätt" (von der Brunstätt), founded the castle and the town of Schleusingen, whose name was formed from the three letters SLVS (Slavic: "Slavic: S ...

The German School is a significant half-timbered building dating from 1681 in the small town of Schleusingen in southern Thuringia. The Henneberg-style timber frame stands on a sandstone base and is covered by a hipped gable roof. The building has been municipally owned since 2017. Long periods of vacancy have left their mark on its structure. Following extensive renovation and restoration, a guesthouse and inn will revitalize the historic building located next to the new bus station.

At the confluence of the Erle and the Nahe, in the midst of the medieval small town of Schleusingen, rises the mighty Bertholdsburg Castle. From the 13th century, it served the Counts of Henneberg as their ancestral seat and is the oldest residential castle in Thuringia. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the fortified castle was converted into an early modern palace in the Renaissance style. Today, the castle houses the Natural History Museum. The 40-meter-high main tower offers a picturesque view of the southern foothills of the Thuringian Forest.

The Henneberg Museum Kloster Veßra is a 6-hectare open-air museum showcasing the history of the monastery, half-timbered architecture, the everyday history of the people of the Henneberg region, and agricultural technology. The museum grounds and the monastery buildings of the Premonstratensian Order are owned by the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation. There are the Veßra monastery ruins, the half-timbered houses with buildings from the Henneberg region, the largest collection of East German LPG agricultural machinery in Thuringia, a historic hydroelectric power plant with a mill race, exhibitions on the hard daily lives of the people, and a well-tended garden with herb gardens, flower meadows, and old fruit trees.

Very impressive building!

Bertholdsburg Castle is the most important secular building in southern Thuringia. The castle's origins probably date back to the 13th century.

Is now a guesthouse with excellent food