Schmalkalden-Meiningen: Four Landscapes and Special Experiences

Schmalkalden-Meiningen brings together four very different landscapes: the Thuringian Forest, Rhön, Werra Valley and Grabfeld. This makes the region an appealing destination if you want to combine days in nature with culture, regional discoveries or activities on the water. On foot, the options range from challenging hikes to relaxed family outings. If you prefer to switch to cycling or water-based activities, you’ll find other distinct highlights. When choosing a holiday apartment, it’s therefore worth first considering what you want your holiday to focus on: trails and landscapes, Schmalkalden’s industrial history, water activities in Breitungen or attractions in Oberhof.

Experience the landscape: trails, waterfall and cave

In the Breitunger Seen nature reserve, there is a 3.5-kilometre hiking trail with seating areas. The trail combines exercise with the chance to take a break along the way. Another natural attraction is the Trusetal Waterfall: it plunges 60 metres over a granite formation in three cascades. Visitors can also climb the 228 steps beside the waterfall. Those particularly interested in caves and their formations can visit the Goetz Cave in Meiningen. It is Europe’s largest accessible fissure and crevice cave; its fissures and crevices reach heights of up to 50 metres, and it is 500 metres deep.

The Rennsteig is another option for active days: in the Prachtregion, it is a hiking trail where you can discover natural treasures. For cycling, the Rennsteig in the Thuringian Forest offers natural-surface cycling routes with beautiful views and fast, sporty descents. The Werra Valley Cycle Route, meanwhile, is ideal for multi-day cycling tours, with its impressive river scenery. These differences can help you plan your holiday: would you like to take a longer cycling tour, make hiking the focus, or combine experiences in nature with other excursions?

Schmalkalden: nougat and the history of craftsmanship

At the Viba Nougat World in Schmalkalden, visitors can see melt-in-the-mouth nougat being made in a glass-walled workshop. In hands-on confectionery courses, participants pour chocolate, decorate nougat and create pralines. This makes it possible to devote an outing to the art of confectionery, rather than simply sampling its finished products. The Viba Nougat World is just a few minutes’ walk from Schmalkalden’s bus and railway stations.

The “Neue Hütte” blast furnace museum presents another side of the region’s history. The blast furnace complex dates back to 1835; local iron ore was smelted there using charcoal to produce pig iron until 1924. The exhibitions cover the nearly 1,300-year history of iron and steel goods production in the Schmalkalden region, including the well-known “Schmalkalden articles.” A 45-minute guided tour explores the history and operation of the blast furnace. The Metalworking Museum shows how nails, pliers and corkscrews have been made for centuries in authentic workshops. If you’d like to include culture and craftsmanship in a day of your holiday, you can choose from different themes, including confectionery, ironworking and metalworking.

Water sports and winter sports as distinct highlights

At the Kiessee lake in Breitungen, pedal boats and rowing boats can be hired for an outing on the water. Stand-up paddleboarding is also available at Breitungen lido, where pedal boats and rowing boats can also be hired. Canoe trips on the Werra offer a different perspective on the river. If you’d rather plan your days around water activities, you can take these options into account when choosing where you’d like to stay.

For winter sports, Oberhof has alpine slopes for fast descents. Oberhof’s snow park offers freestyle skiers and snowboarders features including straight boxes, butter boxes, A-frame boxes and various tubes. Cross-country skiing is possible even in summer at Germany’s first indoor cross-country ski centre in Oberhof. During the colder months, groomed cross-country trails and ski touring routes are also available in the Thuringian Forest and Rhön, the landscapes that make up the Prachtregion. This gives you a choice of different winter activities, from cross-country skiing to downhill runs and freestyle.

Which holiday apartment is right for you therefore depends above all on which aspects of the region you want to focus on. Schmalkalden is a good place to look if you want nougat and industrial history to shape your trip; Breitungen is a point of reference for water activities, while Oberhof is the place for winter sports. If you want to combine several interests, compare the places and experiences you’re interested in before deciding where to focus.

More places in the region

For more places to choose from, see: Birx, Brotterode-Trusetal, Springstille, Benshausen, Oberschönau, Oberhof, Floh-Seligenthal, Roßdorf, Unterkatz, Ellingshausen, Obermaßfeld-Grimmenthal, Kaltensundheim, Grabfeld, Schwallungen, Rhönblick, Frankenheim/Rhön, Henneberg, Vachdorf, Hümpfershausen, Wallbach, Kurort Brotterode, Altersbach, Bermbach, Fambach, Friedelshausen, Schmalkalden, Steinbach-Hallenberg, Struth-Helmershof, Wasungen, Wernshausen, Oepfershausen, Walldorf, Rohr / Thüringen, Zella-Mehlis, Meiningen, Erbenhausen, Kühndorf, Sülzfeld, Schwarza, Christes, Rotterode, Trusetal-Laudenbach, Breitungen/Werra, Viernau, Jüchsen, Unterschönau, Rosa, Trusetal and Kleinschmalkalden.

For the broader travel overview: Thuringia.