Easy hikes and walks around Grimmelshausen

In the GDR, the most important retail companies were the Handelsorganisation (HO) and Konsum. HO was a state-owned enterprise, while Konsum was a cooperatively organized chain. Both had a wide network of outlets, including department stores, grocery stores, and specialty shops. Konsum was particularly active in rural areas and was designed to ensure the supply of the local population. Members of the consumer cooperatives received discounts on their purchases, which were issued as consumer vouchers and paid out at the end of the year.

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.

A visit that is worth it. It is definitely worth seeing. I am impressed. Respect for how much effort goes into keeping everything in order 👍

Even before the seemingly massive rockslide in 1595, rocks had repeatedly fallen off this mountain. The perfect place to live - thought an entrepreneur who originally came from Themar and made a name for himself in Berlin with a horseshoe-shaped leather bag. Wealthy but in poor health, he eventually returned to his homeland. He wanted to build his retirement home here on the Iltenberg (formerly Öltenberg), where he had often been as a child. In 1932 he moved into the villa, of which only old photos exist. Unfortunately, it was demolished during the GDR era. Only a few remnants remain. You can still wander through the former access gate, walk on the cobblestones of the courtyard and visit an old cellar vault. A detailed information board on site tells the full story.

There are two benches here - one of them slightly elevated. From here you can enjoy a beautiful view of Themar and the surrounding area. Perfect for a relaxing break.

Below the steep edge of the cliff, a huge sea of rocks beckons, with large chunks of rock that give little indication of the force that came from the rock fall. A legend that is described in full very close to the former Villa Iltenburg tells of another rock fall in 1137. There is no clear evidence of this, but it seems likely. According to the legend, there was once a place called Dörfles, which was inhabited by gypsies or Wends, who were not tolerated in Themar, but were important during the market or for entertainment. Just as the Veßra monastery was founded, a monk set out to visit them, but they threatened him and chased him away. He cursed the inhabitants and wished that the mountain would fall on them as a punishment from God. Only one 16-year-old girl showed interest in his teachings. He met with her regularly outside of the town. He begged her to leave the place, because after every winter, new cracks appeared in the rock. After two years, it finally happened and the mountain broke off one night. When the residents of Themar left the next morning, the village of Dörfles had disappeared and all the residents had perished.

There is a slightly elevated rest area on the Werra Valley cycle path with a good view of the rock fall from 1595. In that year the entire mountainside broke off and slid into the valley. Incidentally, it is assumed that a collapse occurred as early as 1137.

There is no place to rest at the edge of the forest, but the beautiful view over the Werra valley to Themar and back to the Enchanted Mountain forces you to stop.