Altengesees lies at an elevation of 580 meters above sea level. Two themes give the place its distinctive character: the history of the von Watzdorf family and the festivities at the Christopherushof’s annual festival. For planning your trip, these offer different options: historical traces on the one hand, and a festival with specific activities on the other. This lets you decide whether you would prefer to focus on local history or plan your visit around an event date.
History Between Chapel and Church
Altengesees is considered the ancestral seat of the von Watzdorf family; a chapel is said to have stood there as early as 1300. The first reference relates to the family, while the chapel account points to a possible early place of worship. The church in Altengesees and its 200-year-old organ have been restored and listed as protected monuments. The historical points of interest therefore range from the family connection and a possible early chapel to a specific protected church building and its organ. If you organize local history by theme, you can distinguish between family history and ecclesiastical heritage.
Annual Festival with Rides and Crafts
The Christopherushof’s annual festival offers a different focus. The Christian Bikers’ motorcycle rides have been a popular activity there for years. If you would like to travel there for the festival, check the date in advance and plan your trip accordingly. At one annual festival, visitors wove baskets, painted wooden slices, and made figures from wire. The rides and craft activities appeal to different interests: one involves a motorized tour, the other basket weaving, painting, and wirework. This makes it easy to choose the festival experience that best suits you.
Remptendorf: Hiking Trails and Architectural Heritage
The broader travel destination of Remptendorf offers a wider setting. Remptendorf is a single municipality covering an area of about 100 km² in the heart of the Thuringian Slate Mountains/Upper Saale Nature Park. In this forested area, hiking trails lead to viewpoints with sweeping views across the mountains and valleys of the Thuringian Slate Mountains. Attentive hikers can also discover boundary stones from times past. Remptendorf brings together landscape and traces of history: the viewpoints offer views of mountains and valleys, while the boundary stones draw attention to older markers in the terrain.
The area’s architectural history also includes the fortified church in Gahma, which probably dates from the 12th century and is a protected monument. The Ziemestal Bridge officially belongs to the municipality of Remptendorf. The single-track viaduct, made entirely of steel, is 115 meters long and 32 meters high; it was built between 1893 and 1895. Its measurements convey its size, while “single-track” and “made entirely of steel” describe its construction. This makes the bridge a point of interest in engineering, distinct from the churches and hiking trails. Unauthorized persons are generally prohibited from climbing or entering the Ziemestal Bridge and the railway line.
Discover more destinations: Neundorf, Dittersdorf, Ranis, Tanna, Crispendorf, Plothen, Dreba, Keila
Go to the main travel overview: Saale-Orla.
