Korbach: Fossils, Hanseatic town and gold mining
Accommodation in Korbach
Korbach combines medieval history with unusual insights into geological history and historic gold mining. The Korbach Fissure, the Old Town between two town walls and the paths around Eisenberg reveal very different sides of the town. When planning your stay, the main question is therefore which experiences you would like to focus on: culture and local history, fossils and rocks, or active hours on a bike.
Local history and fossils at the museum
The Wolfgang Bonhage Museum Korbach covers three topics that define Korbach: the world-famous fossils of the Korbach Fissure, the medieval Hanseatic town’s 1,000-year history and evidence of historic gold mining at Eisenberg. It therefore offers a shared starting point for people with different interests within a travel group. If you are especially interested in the town’s history, you can also combine your museum visit with the “Between the Walls” walk, which starts and ends at the town model by the museum.
The Korbach Fissure also tells the story of a distant past. It is a fossil site for Upper Permian vertebrates and, alongside the Messel Pit UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered the most important paleontological natural monument in Hesse. It is also the oldest known fossil-bearing fissure in Europe. At the GeoFoyer Kalkturm Korbach, you can explore the landscape and life of 250 million years ago. The rocks found around Korbach illustrate how this ancient landscape formed.
Discover the Old Town on a circular walk
The 2.1 km “Between the Walls” circular walk runs between the two medieval town walls, around the historic Old Town. At ten stops, visitors can learn interesting and curious facts about Korbach’s history and get to know modern aspects of the town as well. Its manageable length makes the route an exploration of the town in its own right, with historical themes alongside present-day Korbach. Starting and ending at the Wolfgang Bonhage Museum Korbach also makes it easy to connect the walk with the topics covered there.
Another way to discover sights in the medieval Hanseatic town is the Korbach Gold Trail: gold coins set into the ground point the way to the town’s attractions. At Eisenberg near Goldhausen, there is also the “Gold Trail” educational path. Mining relics can be seen above ground there, while further evidence of mining lies underground in the visitor mine. At the Eisenberg Gold Visitor Mine, visitors can experience historic mining up close.
A circular route and trails for active days
The Korbach Geo Trail is a circular route of around 20 km that connects the Korbach Fissure with Eisenberg near Goldhausen. Eisenberg is home to Germany’s largest gold deposit, a visitor mine and the “Gold Trail” educational path. The route thus links two of Korbach’s defining themes: fossils and mining. Take the approximately 20 km distance into account when planning your day and decide whether this longer circular route suits your excursion plans.
If you prefer mountain biking, you’ll find the Green Trails Korbach at Eisenberg near Korbach-Goldhausen. The 10 km of singletrack trails have been complete since summer 2023 and are linked into four circuits of varying difficulty. They offer fun riding for the whole family. The main entrance is on the southern edge of Korbach, at Südring, where you’ll find parking, rest areas and a bike repair station. A connecting trail leads from the car park directly to Eisenberg and the four singletrack trails in the Korbach trail area.
When choosing a holiday apartment in Korbach, it may be helpful to first consider the kind of activities you have in mind: local history and a walking tour, geological history or a bike ride each bring a different focus to your stay. That way, you can choose Korbach as a destination to suit the experiences your travel group would like to enjoy together.
If you’d like to explore other places as well as Korbach, you’ll also find pages for Hillershausen, Goldhausen and Lengefeld.
For the broader travel overview: Waldeck-Frankenberg.
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