A particularly beautiful hiking trail

The hiking trail from Blankenhain to the Carolin tower is marked with a yellow and white marker. From the market square, the approx. 4.5 km long path runs along fields and an orchard. Then the path leads uphill through coniferous forest to the top of the 497 m high Kötsch.

After climbing the tower (only possible on Sundays) you can see the villages of Kiliansroda, Mechelroda and Linda to the north. Further down the Ilm valley you can see the village of Mellingen, the classical city of Weimar at the foot of the Ettersberg and the Buchenwald memorial, erected in 1950.

Good views – from Kyffhäuser to Schneekopf

With good visibility, you can see Hainleite and Finne, in between the Kyffhäuser with Barbarossa monument and the Brocken (1142 m above sea level), the highest mountain in the Harz. Luxurious eyes recognize the towers of the Eckartsburg (Eckartsberga). To the east, Fuchsturm, Jenzig and Lobdeburg near Jena as well as Kahlaer Leuchtenburg become visible in the mountains of the Saale Valley. To the southwest are Schneekopf (978 meters above sea level) and Großer Beerberg (982 meters above sea level) near Oberhof – the picturesque mountains of the Thuringian Forest.

Children can let off steam in the meantime at the nature playground. In addition, large meadows invite you to play and romp around, as well as many benches and seating areas to rest. An adventure trail around the Carolinenturm provides information about nature and history of the area for young and old.

Traditions lived

The Kötschberggemeinde e. V., which is in charge of the excursion destination, invites people to the mountain every year at the time of the summer solstice to welcome the summer with Kötschberglauf and a bonfire. The Christmas run, which takes place every year on Boxing Day, is also part of the tradition.

For the hungry, the Müllershausen forest restaurant can be found at the foot of the Kötsch. In the summer months you can enjoy your cool drink in the beer garden.

On 27 August 2002, the eve of the 251st birthday of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the Goethe Garden House II was opened overlooking the Toskana Therme in Bad Sulza. As the name suggests, the Goethe Garden House II is an exact copy of the original garden house in Weimar. It was built in 1999 as part of the Weimar City of Culture Year in the park on the Ilm River in order to preserve the original.

In 2002 it was moved in its entirety to Bad Sulza and placed below the Toskana Therme. Unlike the garden house in Weimar, visitors can touch the furniture there and also use it for resting.

It is used for various exhibitions and readings. In addition, the rooms can be rented for events. The registry office also has a branch there, so that weddings can be held in the historical ambience.

Two thousand years after the birth of Christ, the small Bergen church was threatened by decay. But a fortunate confluence of initiatives and commitments by Bergen’s citizens, as well as the wise cooperation of decision-makers, has resulted in the site now shining in new splendour. The Irish-American painter and peace activist Matt Lamb – President of the Mitwest Partons of the Art of the Vatican Museums and Director of the Vatican Museum Fondation in New York – had previously painted churches in the Vatican, Chicago, Westminster, Barcelona, Petersburg and Tünsdorf (Saarland). Now the 75-year-old expressed the wish to be able to decorate one last place of worship.

The intensity of the colourful painting surprises and impresses, stimulates conversation and makes one fall silent. It symbolically depicts the Christian history of salvation in all its magnificence, the “work of God and Jesus Christ from God’s commission to Jesus to save the world to the redemption of the world” (Matt Lamb on his work). The result is a place of worship that is unique for Thuringia, for all of Germany.

The Renaissance residence of the Vitzthum family

In the 13th century, Apolda Castle was inhabited by the Vitzthum von Apolda family, around whom various legends have grown up, such as that of little Katharina. The Vitzthums Moritz and Christoph, under whom the population suffered greatly, had a Renaissance complex built. This Vitzthum building was an unadorned functional building, not a representative building. Some remains of the walls and the barrel cellars date from this time. After the death of both lords of the castle, the Vitzthums became increasingly impoverished. The last of the lords of Apolda died in 1631.

Reconstruction of the castle

The castle was given to the University of Jena, which converted it into an estate after the 30 Years’ War. As a result of constant extensions, stables were built in the 18th century. It served as a court until 1833. It was not until the fall of communism in 1989/90 that the castle became a cultural centre for the local population. Today, the Vitzthum building houses offices of the city administration, the Apolda cultural association, the music school and the registry office. The castle hall is the venue for events and once a year the venue for the Apolda Cabaret Days.