Oepfershausen: Art, Culture and the Rhön

Oepfershausen combines a distinct focus on art with historic monuments and a long-distance hiking trail. The Kunststation Oepfershausen is located right in the village, within the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. Different interests come together here: you can explore artistic activities, discover the village’s monuments or include the HWO2, which passes through Oepfershausen, in your travel plans.

Art at the Kunststation Oepfershausen

The Kunststation has a printmaking workshop, a ceramics workshop, two light-filled painting studios and a small library of art books. The different spaces give the venue an identity that extends beyond any single artistic discipline. If you are interested in a particular activity, check its availability directly with the Kunststation.

There is also a mobile project: a converted wagon that serves as a camera obscura is used by the Kunststation for a project featuring photography activities. These include taking photographs with pinhole cameras and making cyanotypes. The annual programme also provides an opportunity for people to come together: once a year, the Kunststation holds a themed group exhibition and issues an open call to artists of all ages. If you would like to visit an exhibition during a specific travel period, ask for details about that year’s event.

Monuments and Local History

Oepfershausen’s cultural and artistic monuments include the castle, the church rebuilt in 1718, and the half-timbered house at Wiesgarten 31. The year 1718 makes the church a notable landmark. Together with the castle, these three buildings represent different aspects of the village’s historic architecture. They offer a cultural counterpoint to the Kunststation’s artistic activities and the long-distance hiking trail through the village.

Hiking the HWO2

The 96-kilometre HWO2 long-distance hiking trail connects Wasungen with Schlitz. Its route passes through Oepfershausen and by the village district of Wahns. This makes the village part of a wider hiking route, rather than simply a destination for a visit to the Kunststation or its monuments. If you plan to include the trail in your itinerary, check the latest route information before setting out. When choosing where to stay, you can weigh up whether art and architectural heritage or a long-distance hike should be the focus of your trip.

Wasungen as a Distinct Regional Highlight

The wider destination of Wasungen offers additional attractions that you can consider separately from Oepfershausen’s own highlights when planning a longer holiday. The Wasungen Forest Botanical Garden covers about five hectares. It is home to 162 genera of woody plants, with 1,700 different species and varieties. Expert guided tours are available for a fee by advance booking. The Wasungen hiking trails also offer destinations in their own right: Circular Route 1 goes around the Forest Botanical Garden, Circular Route 2 around the Rupperg to the Kleine Zehn Buchen, and Circular Hiking Route 3 around the Mordtal to the Oberwallbachsmühle.

Wasungen also offers a cultural highlight in the form of carnival, whose main event is a historic parade held every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. The date therefore depends on the carnival calendar. When looking for a holiday apartment, you can first decide whether you want to focus mainly on the Kunststation, monuments and HWO2 in Oepfershausen, or on Wasungen’s distinct garden, hiking and cultural attractions.

Discover more destinations: Erbenhausen, Kaltensundheim, Frankenheim/Rhön, Meiningen, Bermbach, Rosa, Struth-Helmershof, Rotterode.

Back to the main travel overview: Schmalkalden-Meiningen.