Discover Dreba: Church, culture and pond landscape
Accommodation in Dreba
Dreba combines its own church history and cultural themes with the wider Dreba-Plothen pond region. The church, Dreba’s Kuhwiese and “Kultur im Kuhstall” offer distinctive points of interest; around Dreba, Plothen and Knau, the landscape opens up before you. When choosing a holiday apartment, you can consider whether your trip should focus on local history, the ponds, or the history of the town of Neustadt an der Orla.
Church and bell: history across several periods
A church was built in Dreba around 1500 and was dedicated to Saint Cyriacus before the Reformation. The 32-metre-high church tower was built in 1750. Another landmark in time is Dreba’s oldest church bell: it was cast in 1494, probably in the same Erfurt workshop as the Gloriosa bell of Erfurt Cathedral. The church building, bell casting and tower therefore represent different dates and aspects of local history. The dedication to Cyriacus leads to the history of religion, while the probable connection to the workshop draws attention to bell-making.
Sport and culture in Dreba
A skate park, football goals, and basketball and volleyball facilities were set up on Dreba’s Kuhwiese in 2019. This combination of skateboarding and ball sports adds a practical leisure dimension to the area’s architectural history. “Kultur im Kuhstall” brings together film screenings and dance. The Dreba Culture and Heritage Foundation also launched a culinary festival centred on carp. These different themes stand side by side: sports facilities on the Kuhwiese, film and dance at “Kultur im Kuhstall”, and carp as the focus of the festival initiated by the foundation.
Ponds, wildlife and plant life
Around 600 ponds still remain in the area around Dreba, Plothen and Knau. Some are drained for fishing each year, an occasion celebrated in the villages of the pond region with traditional fish and game weeks. The pond landscape is therefore both a natural environment and the setting for a tradition associated with fishing.
Species found in the Dreba-Plothen pond region include the northern crested newt, otter, moor frog, edible frog, European tree frog, white stork, black kite, kingfisher, green sandpiper, northern lapwing and bluethroat. Plants found there include arnica, dragon’s mouth, broad-leaved marsh orchid, lesser water lily and Alpine pondweed. These species are found across the pond region as a whole, not in every individual pond. Hike 8 offers another way to experience the landscape: it passes through the Dreba-Plothen pond region towards Neustadt an der Orla.
Neustadt an der Orla as a destination in its own right
The wider travel region also includes Neustadt an der Orla, with its own historic landmarks. The Late Gothic town hall grew out of the “stone house” that Landgrave Balthasar gave to the town in 1364 and which initially served as a storehouse. Extensions and alterations were completed in 1509/10; it remains the seat of the administration to this day.
The market fountain was built in 1987 to mark the town’s 700th anniversary. The octagonal fountain basin bears the guild signs of craftspeople who had been based there since the Middle Ages. The Luther House on the market square was built before 1450 and underwent several phases of construction. It is largely accessible to visitors with limited mobility; a lift provides access to various floors. Check the current conditions before your trip. The Museum of Local History presents the town’s history in 13 themed exhibition rooms.
Discover more destinations: Plothen, Wurzbach, Ziegenrück, Burgk, Tanna, Kospoda, Ranis, Krölpa.
For the wider travel overview: Saale-Orla.
