Glasmacher-Weg

We start our hike at Lauenstein Castle and walk around it downhill along the castle road. Passing the large parking lot and continuing in a straight main direction, we immediately take the small path to the sports field and walk steeply uphill with occasional beautiful views.

At the fork in the path in front of the sports facility, we turn left along the slope and are accompanied for a while by the little church stream in its narrow bottom on a pleasant path and trail. At the Kirchbach pond, we leave the FrankenwaldSteigla Wetzsteinmacher-Weg, which had accompanied us for part of the way. We walk along the dam of the pond and straight ahead again briefly but steeply uphill to a road. We follow it to the left and continue on a fairly level path through the fields until the houses of the vacation settlement appear on the left and we come to the ring road. This leads us uphill to the right for about 200 meters. There we turn left onto a field path and walk straight ahead for about 500 m past a field barn. We then turn left and walk along a natural field path to the left again, passing a second field barn.

The Glasmacherweg continues until we come to a road coming from the bottom left, into which we turn sharply to the right. We follow it and enjoy a fabulous view back to the Mantelburg castle along the way, embedded in an impressively beautiful landscape. We now turn right towards the forest and follow the forest path until we come to a turning point, where we turn left and follow a hunter's path slightly uphill to a forest path. This, and natural paths, take us into a sparse forest quite steeply downhill to the left. At an information board (Griffel slate quarry), we cross a forest path and continue downhill in the forest until we reach a field path through a short hollow path in the open shortly before Ebersdorf, which we follow downhill to the left into the church village.

The main road leads us briefly to the right to the bus stop. A recommended detour: continue along the road for a short distance to the Tanzanger near the beautiful Maria Magdalena parish church. Surrounded by old lime trees (2 lime trees, 1 oak tree as a natural monument), the village green has been used as a dance floor for the famous church fair (early August) since time immemorial. The 18th century Angerhäuschen serves as a music gallery. Dancing takes place in traditional costumes. On the Monday of the fair, the men's procession is the highlight.

At Geschwende, we leave the church village at the bus stop and reach a farm track. It leads us out of the village through the open fields. Shortly before the forest, we leave it to the left onto a field path leading to open heights. There the view sweeps back to Ebersdorf, the Taugwitz valley and (from left) the wooded heights, towards the Rennsteig and the Thuringian border. On a dirt track, we turn left and head in a straight line towards the road. We follow it only a few meters to the left, then turn right and reach the forest on a meadow path at a right angle. We walk along a pleasant path over a longer stretch in the forest slightly downhill back into the open. With a wide, beautiful view of Ludwigsstadt and its beautiful surroundings, we reach a field path far below, which turns sharply uphill. This is our glassmaker's path.

We now have a choice: we can follow the road with the Burgenweg trail further slightly downhill. We then cross the railroad bridge to reach the outskirts of Ludwigsstadt in the Loquitz, Hassbach and Trogenbach basin. The slate museum, the Marienkapelle chapel and the former town hall built in 1746 at the market fountain, a two-storey building with a simple half-timbered upper floor and mansard roof, and the market square itself are recommended for a detour into the town.

If you don't want to do this, turn sharp right at the aforementioned point. We walk uphill on a pleasant field path to a farm track. We follow this uphill for a long time to the radio mast and enjoy the wonderful views back to the Altvaterturm tower on the Wetzstein. Now our path continues fairly flat and for a long time through large clearings and various conservation areas until we reach the alternative Rennsteig trail (blue "R"). We enjoy the occasional views of Ebersdorf, the surrounding countryside and far into Thuringia. On the way to the alternative Rennsteig trail, the abandoned Schallersbruch quarry with its viewing platform, wooded fields and meadows provide a delightful change of scenery. We follow the alternative Rennsteig trail for approx. 2 km to the right until we reach a road. While the alternative Rennsteig continues straight ahead in the forest, we now turn left onto the Birkenschlagweg and follow the forest path straight ahead to the Steinbach-Kleintettau road and the "original Rennsteig".

We cross the road and follow the actual (white) Rennsteig trail on the other side of the road for about 100 meters to the right. Then we turn left on the elevated road, follow the forest road in the woods and after a while come to a crossroads. Keeping slightly to the right, we continue until we finally turn right for a short stretch of path, only to immediately follow a forest path slightly downhill to the left again. We need to be careful, as our glassmaking trail soon leads to the left on natural paths and trails past the water house and the Evangelical Church of the Resurrection, built in 1950, to the road to Kleintettau and over the district road and a few steps into the village.

The Tettau district is considered the cradle of glassmaking in the north-western Franconian Forest. The first glassworks with four houses was established in 1641. Kleintettau is divided by the Seligengrund (side valley of the Kleine Tettau) into a western clustered settlement and an eastern street village. The nearby Birkenschlag (749 m) is the highest point in the Tettauer Winkel and in the district of Kronach. In the village, we turn right on the main road and soon left again onto a local road and follow it along the edge of the village until it ends.

A detour into the village (glass café, glass flacon museum) is worthwhile beforehand.

We turn right towards the forest and, keeping to the right, walk along the edge of the forest past the sports field to a forest road. This takes us slightly uphill to the right. There we turn right and now walk on comfortable forest paths and trails through a wide, well-kept forest area in natural silence. We only have to be careful when our Glasmacherweg branches off to the right from the forest road. On pleasant, comfortable paths, our hiking route leads slightly downhill past the church to Tettau.

The weather vane of the Protestant church ad Portam coeli (To the Gate of Heaven) greets you from afar; the Catholic branch church Christkönig was built in 1954. The settlement on the Holzschlag (tete = cut, hew, blow) was first mentioned in 1194. The Tettau, a former raft stream, rises near Spechtsbrunn am Rennsteig and flows into the Haßlach near Pressig. It forms the Bavarian-Thuringian border along a stretch of road and flows through Thuringian territory for 5 km (as far as Heinersdorf).

The main road leads us through the elongated village. We then walk along a footpath and cycle path to Alexanderhütte. We walk along the main road briefly to the left, then turn right twice uphill towards the forest and walk uphill along the Fuchsgartenweg until just before the hill. There we leave our path to the right and continue on level, natural paths through various sections of forest with scattered deciduous trees and many open spaces. We cross several forest paths and finally, back in the open, enjoy a charming view of the heights around the village of Langenau. The same path, later a paved farm track, takes us past the sports field with the same beautiful view into the center of Langenau, the end point of the Glasmacher Trail.