Discover Goldhausen: Gold Trail, Mining and Eisenberg

Goldhausen combines landscape, geological history and the traces of mining in an unusual way. The village is located on the western slope of the 562 m-high Eisenberg. Paths around the mountain lead to historical and geological insights, while the Zechenhaus and the Eisenberg Gold Trail vividly illustrate the area’s former gold mining. If you are looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Goldhausen, you can choose your accommodation according to whether you mainly want to hike, cycle or explore the mining history.

Eisenberg Gold Trail: Hiking with Mining and Landscape Experiences

The first section of the Eisenberg Gold Trail leads through Goldhausen and around the ruins of Eisenberg Castle, with the Georg-Viktor Tower, to the summit of Eisenberg, using 11 information stations and outdoor station 12. This section is approximately 3.3 km long. The Eisenberg Gold Trail can be walked in about 2 to 3 hours. The route also includes steep forest sections for which sturdy footwear is required. Plan the tour according to your fitness level on the day and the desired route length.

The ruins of Eisenberg Castle are surrounded by a rampart and moat and are located in the higher areas of Eisenberg at around 560 m above sea level. One of the Gold Trail’s stations is the St. Georg Mine. Beneath a wooden roof is the entrance to a 56 m-deep, almost vertical tunnel running along a particularly productive gold vein. In this way, the route combines physical activity with concrete insights into the history of gold mining.

Geology and Digital Insights at the Georg-Viktor Tower

The Georg-Viktor Tower PANORAMA incorporates 250 million years of geological history into the present-day landscape. Between March and October, an AR experience featuring geological landscape reconstructions is also available from the viewing platform of the Georg-Viktor Tower. Anyone interested in how the landscape was formed will find a special perspective at Eisenberg, combining views of the surroundings with informative visual content.

The quarry offers a view of the collision of rock layers 300 million years ago, which is clearly visible in the almost vertically positioned slate layers. The Korbach GeoPath complements this perspective: The approximately 20 km circular route connects the Korbach Fissure with Eisenberg near Goldhausen.

Gold Panning, Museum and Visitor Mine

Gold panning has also been offered at the Zechenhaus since 2011. The museum room, opened in 2018, presents the formation of gold and the history of mining. A guided tour through the visitor mine in the former mining settlement of Goldhausen offers an educational underground mining experience. Access is partially accessible: The tunnel entrance can only be reached on foot via gravelled and relatively steep forest paths. This information is particularly important for planning your day if you would like to combine a visit to the mine with other stops.

Active Days on Eisenberg

For cyclists, the Green Trails Korbach are located on Eisenberg near Korbach-Goldhausen. They comprise 10 km of singletrack trails, completed in summer 2023. The trails are linked into four loops with different difficulty levels and offer fun for the whole family. This makes it possible to accommodate different activity preferences when planning your trip without losing sight of the Gold Trail or the geological sites.

The Goldhausen hiking car park is located on the outskirts of Goldhausen and can be reached via Turmweg. When looking for a suitable holiday apartment or holiday home, it is worth defining your personal priorities in advance: A trip involving hikes on the Gold Trail, visits to the Zechenhaus and a guided tour of the visitor mine follows a different daily rhythm from a stay focused on cycling routes and geological experiences.

If you would like to discover more places, you can also visit the pages on Hillershausen and Lengefeld.

For the overview of the wider area: Korbach.