The Hainich

Explorations in the South

Main attraction of Hainich

If you want to visit Hainich, you should decide: pure nature or action, north or south, day trip or vacation. The Hainich is big and has a lot to offer.

View over the Hainich from north to south from a height of 120 meters in early autumn

For the purposes of this article, we chose nature, the south and a day trip. So a classic hike. We start just outside of Craula at the Hainichbaude. At the Craulaer Kreuz we go straight to Hainich's main attraction: its trees. They are allowed to do whatever they want here, even after their death.

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Dead trees in a beech forest in the Hainich National Park in Thuringia.

There are various circular routes in this section of the Hainich. At 17 kilometers, our tour ended up being longer than expected. In addition to the beauty of the forest, this is also due to the stories we encounter along the way.

Sad event

We are partly on the famous Via Regia, which ran along here in the Middle Ages. This is a feeder to various branches. As early as 1554, this signpost in the form of an iron hand pointed

Medieval Iron Hand signpost in Hainich National Park.

Traveler paths to different destinations. The numerous crosses in the forest also largely date from this time. They are often based on a sad event. This one commemorates a hunter killed by a bear in the 15th century:

The Ihlefeld Cross in Hainich National Park commemorates a hunter killed by a bear.

Aside from such human dramas, nature always tells us its own stories.

Beech trees that have grown together seem to kiss each other in Hainich, a forest area in Thuringia.

Medieval packing station

Sometimes the fate of a tree is directly linked to the history of the people in the area. According to their vows, begging monks who offered their services in the form of pastoral care and nursing care here in the 15th century were not allowed to own any property. “Payment” for their services is therefore made via an oak tree where gifts are deposited. In order to protect them until they are picked up, a medieval packing station is being built. A box-shaped depression is quickly made into the tree to protect the gifts from the weather.

The tree, which has since been called the beggar's corpse, has survived, although its current shape can be traced back directly to its time as a packing station.

Begging corpse, one of the oldest trees in Thuringia in Hainich, was used to give gifts to begging monks.

After a few more stories and a jungle path, we reach the edge of the Hainich near Bischofroda. What a look:

View from the edge of the Hainich to Berka vor dem Hainich.

From here it goes back uphill. About this valley

A valley on the southern edge of the Hainich a national park near Eisenach in Thuringia.

we reach the Hainich high trail again, which has been known as Rennstieg for centuries. The sun is slowly setting. And once again the Hainich shows us with a new look that we have only discovered a fraction of its diversity.

Sponges in the last sunlight on a tree in Hainich National Park near Craula.

When we leave him at Craulaer Kreuz, it is clear: we will be back.

Conclusion:

In the section of the Hainich we visited, nature and stories about the Hainich come together in a pleasant way. The whole thing is well signposted and the lovingly designed boards about stories and places merge the individual experience into an impressive experience.

Sign to the Mülverstedter Kreuz in the Buchenwald Hainich, a national park near Eisenach in western Thuringia.

Overview

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