Cave dwellings Altenburg

Short description

There is a lot to see on this tour:

• Shepherds Farm
• Quarry
• Altenburg
• Water Cave
• Stairway to Heaven
• Pastor Rock
• Cave dwelling at Altenburg
• Oil Mill Pond
• Franciscan Chapel
• Town Hall
• Cave dwellings on Shepherds Hill

Description

Discover on your tour:

1. Shepherds Farm
   Old manor from the Thuringian era (5th century). Later used as a shepherds farm. Stones from Altenburg were likely used for its construction. Extensively restored after 1990.
2. Quarry
   Somewhat hidden behind the Shepherds Farm is the quarry where stones were extracted for prominent buildings in the episcopal city of Halberstadt.
3. Altenburg
   In pre-Germanic times, the caves served as a refuge castle. In 1177, Bishop Ullrich built a castle. His opponent, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, destroyed the castle under construction. The princes of Saxony jointly rebuilt it. Later, it served as a summer residence for the bishops of Halberstadt. The castle was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years War.
4. Water Cave
   Originally an underground chamber of the castle. There was a very productive well in the manor. A concrete basin was built in the water cave. Water was pumped up from the manor. The basin served as a reservoir supplying the manor, school buildings, the nursery, the castle, the parsonage, the train station, and the inn Deutsches Haus.
5. Stairway to Heaven
   Access to Altenburg from the manor. Cleared by job creation measures in 1990/91.
6. Pastor Rock
   Interesting rock formation on the western spur of the mountain. It is said to have been the favorite spot of a Langenstein pastor.
7. Cave dwelling at Altenburg
   From 1746 to 1916, the warning service cave dwelling was inhabited. Hermann Heydecke was the last cave dweller, passing away in 1975. In 1990/91, the cave dwelling was restored based on an old postcard and regained its current appearance.
8. Oil Mill Pond
   It served as a water reservoir for the oil mill located across the street. The water wheel was later replaced by an electric drive. Mill operations ceased in 1965.
9. Franciscan Chapel
   In 1977, the church in Langenstein was demolished. The Protestant church community was able to share the Catholic Franciscan chapel. In 2003, the church community regained the bell from the old church. This led to the idea of a bell tower. In 2003, the bell was mounted in the newly built tower. The topping-out ceremony was on October 31, 2003.
10. Town Hall
    The building was originally the rectory of the village. Later, it became the seat of the Langenstein municipal administration.
11. Cave dwellings on Shepherds Hill
    In 1856, there was a housing shortage in the village. The mayor offered housing seekers a piece of rock to carve out their own dwelling, following the example of the dwelling at Altenburg. This was a temporary solution. The last dwelling was abandoned in 1912 after the last residents in the cave passed away.

Travel information

via B 81 from the direction of Magdeburg

via A 36 and B 81 from the directions of Braunschweig, Goslar, Hall

Parking information