Mantelburg-Weg HRW 12

Lauenstein Castle - The Mantelburg

In the Middle Ages, Lauenstein Castle, which is located just three kilometers from Probstzella, also belonged to Thuringia, or more precisely to the Orlamünde dominion. A Heinrich von Lauenstein is named for the year 1222. Today, the castle is divided into an Orlamünde building and a Thüna building named after the later owners.

The legend of the Mantelburg, one of the best-preserved and most beautiful knights' castles in Germany, tells that Lauenstein Castle was built on the 550-metre-high mountain cone high above the Loquitz as early as 915 by the Frankish King Conrad I as a bulwark against the advancing Sorbs and Wends. The castle romantic Dr. Erhard Messmer, the savior of Lauenstein Castle - an inscription above the entrance gate commemorates him - wrote about the hilltop castle in the Thuringian-Franconian Slate Mountains in an article in the FWV magazine:

"The history of Lauenstein Castle is like that of a very eventful human life. Happy and eventful days in colorful alternation, times of hardship, tribulation and humiliation follow wealth, splendor and opulence."

The beginning of a humiliating degradation started in 1806, when the royal Bavarian judge Sondinger preferred to reside in nearby Ludwigsstadt rather than at the already dilapidated "Mantelburg". In 1815, the Bavarian government decided to sell the "old rock nest" to a citizen from the surrounding area. When the owners became impoverished in the 1860s, the castle fell into the hands of its creditors. In order to at least make some money, they rented out the magnificent rooms to over 20 poor families. The castle seemed to be doomed for good.

Due to the poverty and ignorance of its last tenants - slate makers, slate quarrymen and forest workers - the castle's rooms suffered immeasurable damage. "The Gothic columned halls on the first floor housed the stables for rabbits, goats, pigs and other domestic animals. The imposing knights' hall had degenerated into a laundry room and workshop and the magnificent rooms on the upper floors had been converted into small apartments by knocking down partition walls and nailing up the carved ceilings. In the face of such blatant neglect, the question ... arises: How long will it be before this proud monument to ancient chivalry shares the fate of so many German castles?", we learn from Dr. Messmer.

Lauenstein Castle was spared this fate. In 1896, Dr. Erhard Messmer bought the completely run-down castle for 14,000 marks in order to renovate it within a few years in a "late historicist" style and equip it with appropriate furnishings. A short time later, the battlements, a main ornament of the inner courtyard, were added. One of the rooms particularly worth seeing is the prayer room. Biblical wall frescoes from the time the Thüna wing was built can be seen here. These include the Baptism of Jesus, the Last Supper and other depictions. He also used the castle as a hotel.

As early as 1899, there is talk of thousands of visitors to the castle, including architects, painters, art lovers, antiquity researchers and artists, as guests of the "Franconian-Thuringian border station". Three German presidents - Lübke, Heinemann, Carstens - have been visitors to the Mantelburg and, if you like, Theodor Heuß, who belonged to a circle of scholars at the castle as a young man in 1917. Ringelnatz was also a popular castle guide who was always up for a joke with Dr. Messmer.

During the First World War, the medieval castle served as a military hospital and convalescent home, and during the Second World War, from 1943, it housed a German counterintelligence office. After Lauenstein Castle was taken over by the Bavarian state in 1962, renovation work lasted for 13 years.

The legend tells that the castle was built by the Frankish King Conrad I. However, the construction probably dates back to the 12th century, is not verifiable and remains legendary. The castle has its origins in the middle of the 12th century. It was first mentioned in a document in 1222 as Lewinsteine. The lords of Könitz are named as the builders. Later owners were the Counts of Orlamünde.

At present, the castle is still owned and maintained by the Bavarian state. It continues to shine in all its splendor and beauty and invites all interested people to a worthwhile visit.

Pure culture and nature - that's how you could describe this main circular hiking trail. The Mantelburg castle, the Griffel slate quarries, the church and Tanzanger in Ebersdorf, the Marienkapelle chapel, market square and slate museum in Ludwigsstadt, the historic Thünahof farm, the "gold village" of Steinbach an der Haide with the still jointly used planting garden (planting bed) and the church bring many events in the past of our Franconian Forest homeland back to life in a vivid way. On two longer and sometimes quite steep climbs, we get to know the "typical" ("slate") Franconian Forest with its narrow valleys and wooded steep slopes on this beautiful, varied hike. For long stretches, we enjoy the tranquillity of the wide forests far away from any disturbing interference. The magnificent views between Ludwigsstadt and Ebersdorf, above the Lauenstein settlement, and on the heights between Thünahof and Steinbach an der Haide are also a special experience. In addition to the four main towns, the valley landscapes of the Loquitz and Fischbach rivers, the Fischbachsmühle mill and the particularly scenic plateaus around Ludwigsstadt are further highlights of the hike. - Refreshment stops.

We head north along Heinleinsweg and follow the castle trail markings (to Lauenstein!) over the railroad bridge to a fork in the path, where we follow the field path on the right to the forest with wonderful views of Ludwigsstadt and the charming surrounding countryside.

We walk through well-kept sections of forest to the forest exit, then across a meadow to a road. There we turn right and continue in a straight main direction with a beautiful view of Ebersdorf and the Taugwitz valley before turning left downhill to reach a land consolidation path. It takes us slightly downhill to nearby Ebersdorf with the Tanzanger at the church, which is well worth seeing. We should not miss this detour!

After the bus stop at the end of the local road "Im Geschwende", we follow the main road briefly to the right, then left between the houses for a short distance uphill, then soon turn right in the open and then left again uphill through a hollow path on a steep path in the forest. When we soon cross a forest road, we pass former Griffel slate quarries (information board!). We continue walking steeply uphill.

Approx. 300-400 m after the forest road, we have to turn off to the right on a path (watch out for MZ!). Continuing slightly uphill on beautiful forest paths, we reach the beginning of a forest road at a turning point, which leads us through the forest into the open. Before the path descends to the settlement, we turn sharp left and follow the path slightly uphill. Out in the open, we enjoy the fantastic view.

We walk in a wide right-hand bend through the fields with changing, always impressive views of the Mantelburg, embedded in a beautiful landscape. We soon come to the Lauenstein ring road. We follow it briefly downhill and turn left onto a field path before reaching the settlement. With beautiful views, we walk through the meadow to the forest and then immediately turn right briefly and quite steeply downhill and then continue along the dam of the Kirchbach pond.

A soft, natural path leads us to the right, accompanied by the Lauensteiner Märchenpfad. From far below, the Kirchbach stream greets us from its narrow forest valley. We continue on a fairly level path. The first views can be seen from the top of the sports field as we descend steeply to Lauenstein.

In the village, the Markgrafenweg leads us uphill to the picturesque Mantelburg castle. We walk down the access road on the other side of the castle, then only briefly down the main road. We soon turn left onto a path and follow it steeply downhill in the village. We briefly turn right onto a local road, take a sharp left and walk downhill on a meadow path to the right before the last houses, crossing the B 85 to the parking lot.

We walk to the right, pass the former train station, cross the Loquitz valley on a meadow path to the Kneipp facility with a treading pool and arm bath on the other side of the valley. We turn left onto the road, after 200 meters turn left again onto a path above the Loquitz and walk to the Fischbachsmühle (café and chocolate shop).

There we turn right into the Fischbach valley and walk steadily slightly uphill on a forest path, then quite steeply uphill on a tarred farm track to the heights in the gold village of Steinbach a. d. Haide. Here there are wonderful views of the heights of the Thuringian Slate Mountains; to the north on the heights: Großgeschwenda.

Before we turn sharp right again on the main road with our hiking trail, we first get to know the Gold village, which is well worth seeing, with its beautifully designed plant garden and the parish church of St. Elisabeth. We then leave the village on the road to Ludwigsstadt and turn off the road in a right-hand bend and walk straight ahead along the field and farm track uphill to the forest on the heights.

At the end of the forest, we turn right and walk in the forest, along the edge of the forest and soon downhill on a field path to the left. We enjoy the views of the Wetzstein with the Altvaterturm tower, the wind turbine on the Lauenhainer Höhe and the view from the Sommerberg over the Loquitztal valley with Ottendorf to the Winterberg.

Our circular route takes us across the meadows and then, shortly before Ludwigsstadt, downhill on the paved road "Am Sommerberg" to the Marienkapelle chapel and along the main road to our starting point. On the way, we enjoy the wonderful view of the town's landmarks on the market square with St. Michael's Church and, behind it, the dominant, 200 m long and 26 m high Trogenbach viaduct of the Munich-Berlin railroad line.