Greußen lies at the foot of the southern slope of the Hainleite in the Thuringian Basin, in an agricultural area. In town, the Town Hall, market squares and historic sites help visitors understand different facets of the town’s history. The Helbe System and the outdoor swimming pool add further local features to the picture.
Town Hall, Market Square and Landmark
The long Market Square lies on one side of the Town Hall, with Töpfermarkt on the other. This makes it easy to see how the two squares relate to one another. Since September 2008, the Greußen Local History Museum has been housed in the Town Hall. It was modernised and expanded using Paul Lürmann’s extensive collection. The Town Hall thus combines a prominent landmark in the townscape with the local history museum.
Next to the Town Hall stands the “Greußener Schweinchen” (“Little Greußen Pig”): an enlarged replica of a Germanic cult figure found near Greußen. The original dates from 200 to 300 AD. Its location beside the Town Hall and the replica make the object a distinctive focal point in the townscape; its history extends far beyond the figure’s present-day appearance.
The Helbe System and Historic Traces
The protected Helbe System consists of the River Helbe in the middle and two artificial branches: the Schwarzburger Helbe to the north and the Sächsische Helbe to the south. The system dates back to the 13th century. The name therefore refers to a system of several watercourses, not just the river in the middle.
The town wall and former moat also shape the town’s history. Sections of the wall survive alongside a double zwinger wall, though they are considerably lower than they once were. The filled-in moat is bordered by a green belt and, in places, by small gardens. The remains of the wall, green corridor and gardens reveal different aspects of the historic townscape.
Church and Remembrance
The Evangelical Church of St. Martini took on largely its present form after the great town fire of 1687; remains of the earlier building were incorporated. Its organ was built by Tobias Gottfried and Heinrich Gottfried Trost between 1701 and 1704.
A memorial erected in 1990 in the grounds in front of the state secondary school, formerly the Bürgerschule, commemorates the first victims of Stalinism in Greußen in 1945/1946. It names 38 affected “Greußener Jungs” (“Greußen boys”); 24 of them died at the Sachsenhausen special camp. The memorial site thus represents a specific chapter in the town’s history, naming both the group and the number of deaths.
Outdoor Swimming Pool and Regional Highlights
The town of Greußen’s outdoor swimming pool has a separate non-swimmer pool and a swimming pool. Facilities also include a water slide, a 3-metre diving tower, two 1-metre springboards, starting blocks and a volleyball court. If you are planning a visit, check in advance when the pool is open for the season.
The wider Kyffhäuserkreis travel destination offers further, distinct attractions. Barbarossa Cave is an anhydrite cave between the villages of Rottleben and Steinthaleben in the municipality of Kyffhäuserland. Five miners discovered it in 1865 in connection with the resumption of copper shale mining. The cave was named after the legend of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa’s return.
The Sondershausen Adventure Mine offers a different experience: guided tours are available year-round at a depth of 670 metres, including an approximately two-hour truck tour through the underground labyrinth. The approximate duration helps visitors plan their time; it is explicitly an estimate. For hiking, the Kyffhäuser Trail is a 37-kilometre circular route that starts and ends in Bad Frankenhausen. Its three stages run from Bad Frankenhausen to Barbarossa Cave, onward to the Kyffhäuser Monument, and from there back to Bad Frankenhausen. The trail is certified as a Quality Trail by Hiking in Germany, well signposted and regularly checked for defects.
Discover more destinations: Clingen, Heldrungen, Wiehe, Roßleben, Helbedündorf, Bad Frankenhausen, Artern/Unstrut, Ebeleben.
View the wider travel overview: Kyffhäuserkreis.
