Fockendorf: Paper History and the Pleiße Floodplain

Paper-making and technical traces

Fockendorf was first mentioned in a document in 1272. A later development shaped the town for centuries: a paper mill operated here from 1692 to 1995. In 1861, it became a paper factory when a paper machine was commissioned. These milestones make it possible to trace the transition from a mill to mechanised paper production.

The factory's history was also connected to the Leipzig–Hof railway line. A cable car, nearly two kilometres long, was built in 1898 to supply raw materials and transport the paper factory's products. Remains of the installation can still be seen in the landscape today. As well as exploring the history of paper-making, visitors can learn about the routes once used to move materials and products.

Museums: paper, crafts and heritage

The Fockendorf Paper Museum holds a collection of original handmade papers dating from around 1500 onwards. This offers a glimpse into an earlier period than the local paper mill, which began operating in 1692. The Fockendorf Local History Museum also has an original Altenburg costume in its collection. The exhibits thus extend beyond local industrial history to include another regional item.

In the hand-papermaking area of the Fockendorf Local History and Paper Museum, visitors can make paper themselves. The opportunity to take part may depend on the museum's current programme, so check in advance whether you can participate during your visit. This hands-on activity complements the view of paper as a collection object with the experience of making it.

Water and scenery around Fockendorf

The Pleiße is dammed by the Windischleuba Reservoir just south of the town. Water power also has a direct historical connection to Fockendorf: a new hydroelectric plant was installed in the Pleiße millrace in 2007, at a site where a hydroelectric plant had already existed since around 1692. The Pleiße floodplain forms the landscape setting for the town; the paper mill, cable car and hydroelectric plant bring technical developments from different periods into focus.

The Altenburg region as a wider travel destination

Those looking beyond Fockendorf to the wider Altenburg region will find other cultural and landscape highlights. The Red Spires are the surviving Romanesque towers of a former Augustinian canons' monastery and are recognised as a cultural monument of national significance. Altenburg Residence Castle stands on a porphyry rock and houses the Castle and Playing Card Museum. The Playing Card Museum is one of the oldest and most extensive museums of its kind in Europe.

The landscape of the Altenburg region also offers something different: it is characterised by gentle hills, extensive forests and idyllic bathing lakes. The Pleiße Cycle Route runs through the region. The Neuseen-Challenge is a modern long-distance hiking trail through the region, marked by a bright neon-yellow shoe. The Luther Trail also runs through the Altenburg region and can be walked as a pilgrimage route. Alongside Fockendorf's paper-making and technology history, visitors can choose from the region's own cultural, landscape and hiking themes.

Choose the right focus for your trip

When looking for a holiday apartment, it helps to start by deciding what kind of trip you want: would you like to focus on Fockendorf's paper-making and technology history, or also explore the cultural and landscape highlights of the Altenburg region? These are two different ways of planning: the specific appeal of the town itself, on the one hand, and the wider range of themes across the region, on the other. Choose where to stay according to which of these themes you want to shape your trip.

Discover more destinations

Burkersdorf, Pleiße floodplain, Lumpzig, Gößnitz, Nobitz, Langenleuba-Niederhain, Nischwitz, Vollmershain

For the wider travel overview: Altenburg region.