Greußen Between Urban History and Landscape
Accommodation in Greußen
Greußen lies at the foot of the southern slope of the Hainleite hills, in the Thuringian Basin, in an agricultural area. This location gives the town a distinct landscape setting; historic buildings, waterways and squares come together in the townscape. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Greußen, you can plan your stay around this very mix: discover local history or explore other themes in the Kyffhäuser district.
Market Squares, Waterways and Townscape
The town hall is a useful reference point for finding your way around the townscape. The long market square lies on one side of the building, with the Töpfermarkt (Potters’ Market) on the other. This makes it possible to distinguish two different squares around the town hall, rather than seeing the town centre as a single market area.
The listed Helbe system also shapes Greußen’s history and character. The Helbe River runs through its centre; the artificial Schwarzburger Helbe lies to the north and the artificial Sächsische Helbe to the south. The system dates back to the 13th century. Today, only the raised outline of the former town moat remains: it is bordered by a green belt and, in places, small gardens.
Preserved sections of the town wall reveal a double defensive wall, though they are considerably lower than they once were. Together with the filled-in moat, they make changes to the townscape visible: Greußen’s historic fortifications can be read in different ways through the surviving sections of wall and today’s green space.
Local History and Places of Remembrance
Since September 2008, the Greußen Local History Museum has been housed in the town hall. It was modernised and expanded on the basis of Paul Lürmann’s extensive collection. The town hall is therefore not only a prominent landmark between the two squares, but also home to the local museum.
The Protestant Church of St. Martini largely took its present form after the great town fire of 1687; remains of the previous building were used during its reconstruction. Its organ has a history of its own: Tobias Gottfried and Heinrich Gottfried Trost built it between 1701 and 1704.
Next to the town hall stands the Greußen Piglet, an enlarged replica of a Germanic cult figure dating from 200 to 300 AD, found near Greußen. Another chapter of the town’s history is commemorated by a monument erected in 1990 in the grounds in front of the State Secondary School, formerly the Bürgerschule (civic school). It commemorates the first victims of Stalinism in Greußen in 1945/1946. It names 38 affected “Greußener Jungs” (“boys from Greußen”); 24 of them died at the Sachsenhausen special camp.
Open-Air Pool and Planning Your Day
Greußen’s open-air pool has a swimming pool and a separate non-swimmers’ pool. Facilities also include a 3-metre diving tower, two 1-metre diving boards, starting blocks, a water slide and a volleyball court. If you plan a day at the pool, check its seasonal opening dates in advance. This lets you include it in your holiday plans without assuming that it is open year-round.
When choosing a holiday apartment, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: would you like to concentrate on Greußen’s townscape and history, or also visit places in the Kyffhäuser district? This lets you tailor your search to the kind of trip you have in mind, rather than assuming accommodation features that do not help you decide on a location.
More to Explore in the Kyffhäuser District
Other places in the Kyffhäuser district offer their own attractions. The Barbarossa Cave is an anhydrite cave between the districts of Rottleben and Steinthaleben in the municipality of Kyffhäuserland. Five miners discovered it in 1865 in connection with the resumption of copper shale mining. The cave was named after the legend of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa’s return.
At the Sondershausen Adventure Mine, guided tours take place year-round at a depth of 670 metres, including an approximately two-hour truck tour through the underground labyrinth. The Funkenburg Archaeological Open-Air Museum in Westgreußen appeals to different interests: its unique reconstruction of a Germanic settlement in Germany is set on a striking hill spur above the Helbe Valley. Its hands-on educational activities include pottery, baking, wool processing, fishing-net making and archery.
The Wiehe Model Railway offers a completely different focus: its exhibition, open year-round, covers 12,000 square metres. Underground tours, archaeological reconstruction and a large model railway exhibition each have distinctly different themes. If you are planning your stay to include more than Greußen’s local history, you can weigh up these different offerings according to your interests.
Discover More Destinations
Heldrungen, Oberheldrungen, Oldisleben, Westgreußen, Helbedündorf, Wiehe, Nausitz and Bendeleben.
For the overview of the wider area, see: Kyffhäuser district.
