Two different travel themes come together in Heringen/Helme: the architectural history of the Old Castle and the marked routes of the Nordic Walking Park. This lets you choose between a cultural and historical focus and outdoor exercise when planning your trip. The routes are listed with their lengths and colour markings; the castle’s construction phases provide a timeline.
Old Castle: building history in two stages
The Old Castle was built after 1320 and is one of Thuringia’s earliest castle buildings. After 1568, the Counts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had the building remodelled in the Renaissance style. They added the four-storey west wing, Schwarzburger Haus—the New Castle—to the complex. Construction, remodelling and expansion give the castle’s history a clear sequence. The contrast between the early building and its later transformation provides a central thread for this cultural and historical theme.
Nordic walking: two routes with the same starting point
At the Nordic Walking Park, you can choose between a 2.50-kilometre route marked in blue and a 4.25-kilometre route marked in red. This gives you two options of different lengths. Both routes start and end at the clearly signposted hiking car park on Eichentalsweg in Heringen. The shared start and end point provides clear orientation, while the length and colour markings distinguish the two routes. When planning your time outdoors, you can use the stated distances as a guide and choose a route according to your preferred length.
More things to see in the wider Nordhausen destination
In the wider Nordhausen destination, the Karstwanderweg runs 56 kilometres from east to west through the district of Nordhausen. The Feuersalamanderpfad is part of the route. It passes below and above the MĂĽhlberg in the nature reserve, through a gypsum karst uvala, and past sinkholes, spoil heaps, caves and historical traces. This offers a distinct focus on landscape and geology alongside castle history and Nordic walking.
The Rabensteiner Stollen, the only visitor mine for hard coal in Central Germany, is also in the wider Nordhausen destination. A guided tour takes you through the almost 300-year history of hard-coal mining in the Harz and past the last remains of hard coal, fossils, authentic workplaces, exhausted seams and mining passages that are often only 60 centimetres high. The “Rabenstein-Express” mine train first travels 500 metres into the mountain; the route then continues into mining areas dating from the 18th century. Check the current tour arrangements before visiting.
The “Vom Korn zum Korn” tour at the Echter Nordhäuser Traditionsbrennerei is also part of the wider Nordhausen destination. It leads through the historic complex, from the mill room through the distillery room, brandy storeroom, office and barrel cellar to Bar Henriette. There, visitors can sample the distillery’s own premium spirits and liqueurs. The tour’s availability depends on the date, so check the dates before adding it to your plans.
Discover more destinations: SĂĽlzhayn, Harztor, Hamma, Hainrode/Hainleite, Bleicherode, Hesserode, Rodishain, Wolkramshausen
Go to the wider travel overview: Nordhausen.
