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Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt

Probstzella

Lauenstein Castle – Cook's Grave loop from Probstzella

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt

Probstzella

Lauenstein Castle – Cook's Grave loop from Probstzella

Moderate

4.7

(24)

101

hikers

Lauenstein Castle – Cook's Grave loop from Probstzella

04:40

15.5km

480m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: May 13, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Thüringer Schiefergebirge/Obere Saale

Naturpark Frankenwald

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

219 m

Haus des Volkes Bauhaus Ensemble

Highlight • Monument

The Thuringian industrial pioneer Franz Itting, who had already built a power plant in Probstzella in 1909, commissioned the "Haus des Volkes" (People's House) in 1925. The socially minded entrepreneur wanted to create a cultural center for the region and enable "ordinary people" to enjoy high-quality cultural offerings. The building was constructed by the architects Alfred Arndt and Ernst Gebhardt as a hotel and multi-purpose hall by 1927. The interior was designed entirely by artists from the Bauhaus Dessau.

After the Second World War, the building was used by the GDR as a customs office, and the event hall hosted various performances and celebrations. In 1970/1971, the building was expanded to include a restaurant, which reopened after renovation in 2005. In addition to the hotel, the building houses a theater and concert hall, as well as the central exhibition on the origins of the German Green Belt. A Franz Itting Museum has also been located here since 2014.

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3.03 km

Former Border Tower

Highlight • Monument

The three-story, authentic GDR border tower houses the exhibition "Perpetrators, Victims, Accomplices." Created by journalist and author Roman Grafe ("The Border Through Germany") at this historically authentic location, it is a permanent exhibition chronicling the actions and omissions of those responsible for the border regime. It also highlights successful and failed escape attempts at the border in the Probstzella area. A section of the border fence and border pillars have also been preserved. This site is not only intended to commemorate the inner-German border, but also to honor the Green Belt as a special habitat. The key to the tower is available against a deposit at the Haus des Volkes (People's House) or at the Probstzella municipal administration.

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5.36 km

Fischbachsmühle - Confiserie Lauenstein

Highlight • Cafe

Factory outlet Lauensteiner chocolates and café in the old mill building.

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8.43 km

Lauenstein Castle

Highlight • Castle

This hilltop castle, originally part of the Orlagau region, was built over a thousand years ago in the midst of a clearing on the upper reaches of the Saale River and its tributary, the Loquitz. It was first mentioned in a document from 1222. Via the Counts of Orlamünde (1250) and the Knights of Ghüna (1506), the castle finally passed to the Margraves of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Bayreuth in 1622, falling to Prussia in 1791 and Bavaria in 1803. In 1896, the castle romanticist Dr. Erhard Messmer from Halle an der Saale acquired the completely neglected castle complex, had it renovated, and refurbished. Katharina von Orlamünde was born at Lauenstein Castle in the 14th century. She is said to haunt the castle to this day as the restless ghost known as the "White Lady."

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10.2 km

Cook's Grave

Highlight • Historical Site

One of the 13 stations on the 5.7-kilometer-long Fairytale Trail features the cook's grave as its theme—albeit not particularly child-friendly. The alleged gravestones are presumably fragments of former boundary stones here on the historic border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The legend, however, is based on a true story: At the end of the 16th century, under the rule of the Knights of Thüna, a cook from Lauenstein Castle was buried alive and then impaled for infanticide. The harsh punishment corresponded to the then-current legal code, the "Sachsenspiegel" (Saxon Mirror) of 1235.

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10.9 km

Thuringian Warte Observation Tower

Highlight • Viewpoint

The 26.5-meter-high observation tower on the Ratzenberg (678 meters) is only about 200 meters from the state border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The inner-German border strip, now protected as the "Green Belt," is still clearly visible here. The 34-ton square steel structure was intended to stimulate tourism. The tower was inaugurated on June 17, 1963, the Day of German Unity, which commemorated the popular uprising in the GDR on June 17, 1953. The keynote speaker was Rainer Barzel (CDU), then Federal Minister for All-German Affairs. The Thuringian Lookout became a magnet for visitors who wanted to see Thuringia, including Federal President Heinrich Lübke in October 1964. The tower, partially renovated in 1993 and 2012, houses a permanent exhibition about the inner-German border.

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11.1 km

View of the valley in Naturpark Frankenwald

Highlight • Viewpoint

If you come from the tower, you will pass by here quickly, otherwise a very nice foretaste

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13.8 km

View of the Bauhaus and Probstzella

Highlight • Viewpoint

This beautiful view results over the beautiful meadow

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15.5 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

8.86 km

2.94 km

1.38 km

1.08 km

673 m

442 m

109 m

Surfaces

4.82 km

3.25 km

2.62 km

2.22 km

1.92 km

581 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (670 m)

Lowest point (340 m)

Weather

Sunday 28 June

23°C

18°C

97 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

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Lauenstein Castle – Cook's Grave loop from Probstzella

Haus des Volkes Bauhaus Ensemble

Former Border Tower

Fischbachsmühle - Confiserie Lauenstein

Lauenstein Castle

Cook's Grave

Thuringian Warte Observation Tower

View of the valley in Naturpark Frankenwald

View of the Bauhaus and Probstzella

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