The best walks and hikes around Ahlstädt

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.

The Lange Bahn mountain hut is located in the middle of the forest at the end of the archaeological hiking trail and is a nice place to stop on a hike. Here you can get simple food and drinks. The hiking hut is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can find more information and the menu at https://lange-bahn.de/.

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 👍

Former mountain farm of the Commandery of Schleusingen (founded in 1291 by the Counts of Henneberg) of the Order of St. John ... ...Freely accessible via several hiking trails, including the Mäbendorf manor house, about 3.5 km from the north-northwestern district of Mäbendorf. The ruins are located in the forest just 100 m from the "Bergbaude Lange Bahn" tourist restaurant, connected to it by a footpath. Station on the 8.5 km long archaeological hiking trail between Dietzenhausen and Altendambach. Preserved: Excavated ruins of the main house with a small cellar, rising up to about 3 m. The adjacent farm building to the east has not been excavated. Information board from the Thuringian State Archaeological Office. (Source: https://www.alleburgen.de/bd.php?id=39670)

The mountain, which is forested up to the southern edge of the valley, belongs on the south side to the district of Grub and Eichenberg, both small forest villages near Themar in the Hildburghausen district. The Schneeberg is considered the highest point in the Little Thuringian Forest. A hiking trail runs over the forested Schneeberg as a connecting link from the Dolmar to the Rennsteig. (Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schneeberg_(Suhl))

Nice place to linger with a good information board about the fieldstone.

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.

The Henneberg Museum is an open-air museum on the grounds of the Veßra Monastery. You should plan at least 4 hours for a visit, including a coffee break, but you can easily spend more time here. There is not much to say about the monastery itself. It was founded as a noble monastery for the Henneberg region. Originally, monks and nuns were housed separately here. After a fire, the women's monastery was moved to Trostadt. The monks stayed here. After the monastery was abandoned, it was used as a weapons factory and porcelain factory. In 1939, the monastery church burned down and only a ruin remained. The Veßra Monastery Museum therefore now houses the following exhibitions: - a Henneberg village with houses that can be visited, including furnishings from different periods - history of transport - monastery history - south chapel with the presumed veneration of the Virgin Mary - history of the Henneberg House and the country - agricultural museum with equipment, work steps and large tractors from the GDR and Eastern Europe - a hydroelectric power station that can be visited The café with delicious cakes is particularly recommended. The two cinemas in the south chapel and in the agricultural exhibition were also very interesting. If you like, you can also take an audio tour on your smartphone, but the stations are arranged a bit confusingly.