Hohndorf offers various trails that showcase different aspects of the town’s history and mining heritage. Options include a circular trail crossing several municipalities, a route to historically significant sites in the municipality, and the Hohndorf circular hiking trail. Each route has its own focus: the Steinkohlenweg has a clearly defined route length, while other trails highlight historic buildings or traces of mining.
Circular Trails with Different Focal Points
The 18-kilometre Steinkohlenweg is a circular hiking trail that crosses the municipalities of Oelsnitz/Erzgebirge, Hohndorf, Gersdorf and Lugau. It is marked with 80 uniform signs. A brochure for the Steinkohlenweg offers six suggested tours with maps. This lets you choose a route based on a specific distance and several map-based suggestions.
The “Historisches Hohndorf” (Historic Hohndorf) trail focuses on the history of the town. It connects historically significant sites and buildings in the municipality, including the town hall, church, Rappelkiste kindergarten and Glück-Auf School. The Hohndorf section of the mining educational trail, which has 43 stops in total, also offers a thematic selection. These stops include Vereinigtfeld Shaft I, Vereinigtfeld Shaft III, Helene Shaft, Ida Shaft and Bergmannsplatz.
Mining Heritage and Views on the Circular Hiking Trail
The Hohndorf circular hiking trail is rated moderate and runs along paved paths and roads. It starts and ends at the car park of the “Walderholung” country hotel and restaurant, Fleischerberg 21. Check the route details and access to the car park locally before your hike. The circular hiking trail also connects to the Hohndorf Wartehalle bus stop, served by bus routes 117 and 139, and Hohndorf Mitte on railway line 523. Check the connections before you travel.
The route heads towards the former Vereinigtfeld Shaft and passes the spoil heap of the Vereinigtfeld shafts, which is completely overgrown. The trail also reaches Knappenweg, a former miners’ settlement. The circular hiking trail also includes the Schnitzerheim, with a mechanical Erzgebirge model mountain and a model of Vereinigtfeld Shaft Tower I. These stops illustrate different aspects of mining history, from the former settlement to a model of the shaft tower.
From the Waldeck viewpoint, you can look out over Hohndorf’s lower village and the residential area by Lichtenstein Forest. At 460 metres above sea level, the trail also offers panoramic views of Hohndorf as a miners’ village in the area of the former Vereinigtfeld shafts. The two descriptions of the viewpoints offer different clues to the landscape features you can look out for along the way.
Discover Local History Digitally
Another way to explore Hohndorf’s past is the digital history tour. It tells the stories of historic farms, traditional inns and former craft businesses. Historic images, documents and an interactive map help you identify and understand buildings around the town. In addition to the routes, the focus is therefore also on the stories of the buildings and former businesses.
When planning your trip, you can first decide whether you would prefer a longer route crossing several municipalities, a trail to historic sites, or the circular hiking trail rated moderate. For the latter, the path conditions, start and finish point, and the bus stops listed above provide practical orientation. Check transport connections before setting off and local route details before starting your hike.
Discover more destinations: Schlettau, Thum, Jahnsdorf/Erzgebirge, Olbernhau, Heidersdorf, Stollberg, Aue, Annaberg-Buchholz.
See the overview of the wider travel region: Erzgebirgskreis.
