Nature Park Trail Tour of Contrasts - RWW 1

You start at the parking lot of the Brandenburg Ruins on the wide, unpaved path uphill towards the castle. Perhaps the museum in the Kementate with the viewing platform is open? You leave the castle heading south. To the right of the sand court, you go up the beaten path and at the top turn left towards the east onto the Werra-Castle Trail X5. You now walk along the forest edge of the Göringer Stein Nature Reserve on the Werra-Castle Trail (X5), then turn right across a meadow and bend left to a beautiful viewpoint with a resting place overlooking the Werra Valley. Here begins a field path towards Göringen. At the bench with the large tree, you walk downhill northwards to Göringen. You cross the main road and make a detour to the Werra Barrage at the Green Belt Thuringia Nature Monument: during the German-German division, the river was extensively "sieved." Back in Göringen, you enjoy the buzzing insects and flowers in the Hortus Andersgarten, which almost invites you to linger. The bee paradise on the left before the entrance to the cemetery (prior registration is recommended) is worth pausing for and bowing to the diversity of plants and insects. From Göringen, you walk in a bend southwards to the Wartburg Trail (X9). This leads you to the "Tea House", a former reconnaissance bunker of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSSD), with a fantastic 360-degree view of the Elte and Werra Valleys. On the former Stechberg Park, there was a GSSD base. Today, butterflies and orchids thrive here. The small forest radiates an enchanted charm. In serpentine curves, it goes downhill. At the edge of the village of Lauchröden, you reach the main road and then turn left back to the parking lot.

Sturdy footwear

Rain clothing

First aid kit

GPS navigation device or smartphone and/or map material

The hiking trail requires sturdy footwear. You will hike partly on narrow paths. Avoid stepping on moss-covered stones and rocks due to the risk of slipping and watch out for deadwood, branches, and fallen trees.

Alertness is the best safety equipment.

Brandenburg Ruins: Coming from the A4 exit 38 Herleshausen on L3251, turn right onto K17 over the railway line continuing on Herleshäsuer Straße. In Wartha, turn right onto K505 via Göringen continuing to Lauchröden.

Lauchröden and Herleshausen lie on the Werra Valley Cycle Path.

The nearest ICE train station is in Eisenach. From here, bus lines 181 and 183 go directly to Lauchröden.

On weekdays, the city bus line 2 runs hourly from Eisenach to Lauchröden and back.

Use the German Rail travel planner for your journey planning at the following link:
→ Travel to Lauchröden (direct)

Parking is available on Kreisstraße 505 coming from Eisenach shortly before Lauchröden after the access to Brandenburg (Google NAV point)

Brandenburg Ruins + Werratalverein ZV Brandenburg e.V.

Werratalverein ZV Südringgau e.V.

Municipality of Gerstungen

Municipality of Herleshausen

Augustenau Castle in Herleshausen

The tour is located within the following protected areas:

Thuringian Forest Nature Park

Fauna-Flora-Habitat Area Werra up to Treffurt with tributaries

An oasis for insects, native plants, and trees is the Hortus Andersgarten in Göringen, to the left of the cemetery entrance.