In Lehesten, slate features in many different ways: as a building material in St. Aegidien Church, as the subject of historic mining and in the landscape around the Staatsbruch quarry. The 60-hectare slate park and hikes in the Thuringian Slate Mountains complement the cultural sights. You can tailor your stay to your interests, allowing more time for industrial history, architecture or outdoor activities. Lehesten is located in the “Schieferland” Geopark.
Slate in St. Aegidien Church
The altar, crucifix and baptismal chapel altar in Lehesten’s St. Aegidien Church are made of slate. The church is also home to what is believed to be the largest slate slab ever carved from a single piece. It was extracted from the “Kießlich” slate quarry in 1872 and measures 308 centimetres high and 253 centimetres wide. The church interior shows another side of the material compared with the mining site: here, slate is not only part of local history but also part of the furnishings.
Industrial history at the original site
The “Historic Slate Mining in Lehesten” technical monument preserves 19th-century historic buildings at an original slate-mining site. The complex includes the Göpel shaft system, unique in Europe, and the distinctive double-splitting hut. It illustrates the slate production process and the tradition of slate mining in Thuringia and Franconia. Expert-led tours also focus on the mining traditions and processing techniques.
By prior arrangement, visitors may cut a slate souvenir themselves at the slate shears under supervision. This is done at their own risk; work gloves and an apron are provided. As this activity must be requested in advance, it is best to arrange it before your trip. This lets you plan the hands-on activity as part of your visit to the technical monument, rather than assuming it is always available.
Slate park, lake and trails
The 60-hectare Lehesten Slate Park can be explored year-round on foot, by bicycle or on skis. At the Staatsbruch, Slate Lake now occupies the site where slate was once mined in an open pit. The landscape thus brings the former mining site and today’s lake together in the same place. If you would like to focus on more than the historic buildings, the park and its hiking trails offer an alternative.
Lehesten is a starting point for hikes in the Thuringian Slate Mountains, including the Slate Trail. The Rennsteig, a 168-kilometre high-altitude hiking trail, also passes through the Lehesten municipal area; in BrennersgrĂĽn, it runs right through the village. This distinction is useful when planning: the Slate Trail is one of the hikes starting from Lehesten, while the Rennsteig passes through the wider municipal area and runs directly through BrennersgrĂĽn.
More places to visit in the municipality
In the village of Schmiedebach, the Slate Village Museum displays around 2,000 exhibits on the history of the village and the region. Individual tours focusing on local history are available by arrangement; parking is available at the museum. The museum complements Lehesten’s mining history with a perspective on the history of the village and surrounding region. Arrange a tour in advance if you plan to visit with a guide.
Lehesten is also home to Germany’s oldest roofing school. It reopened in 1992 after being modernised and expanded, and today once again serves as a training centre for the Thuringian roofing trade. Its current role is training; if you would like to visit the school itself, check access arrangements in advance. Together with the slate furnishings in the church and the technical monument, the school shows how closely the roofing trade and the use of slate are connected to Lehesten’s history.
Discover more destinations: Gräfenthal, Katzhütte, Unterwellenborn, Mittleres Schwarzatal, Meura, Piesau, Leutenberg, Saalfelder Höhe.
See the full travel overview: Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.
