In October 2024, the third construction section of the Thuringian Cities Chain Cycle Route between Kleinschwabhausen and the L1060 in the direction of Großschwabhausen/Jena was completed. In the town itself stands an originally Romanesque church whose construction and furnishings span several specific years. A colorfully designed information stand with details about a Feininger painting adds a cultural connection. This provides several different points of interest: a dedicated cycle route, the church’s architectural forms, and a comparison of its historic furnishings.

Thuringian Cities Chain Cycle Route

On the section mentioned, cycle traffic was moved away from the county road onto a dedicated cycle route. For trip planning, the section can be identified by its endpoints: it lies between Kleinschwabhausen and the L1060 in the direction of Großschwabhausen/Jena. This names the route as a specific part of the Thuringian Cities Chain, while the cycle route itself is the practical feature of this construction section. Anyone incorporating the route into a ride can check current route conditions before setting off.

Church architecture and its forms

The originally Romanesque church stands above the town center. A square chancel tower stands to the east of the nave, the church’s longitudinal main section. Around 1587, a single-storey sacristy with a three-sided apse was built in place of an apse. An apse is the usually semicircular end of a church interior; the three-sided form, by contrast, is a polygonal end consisting of three sides of an imagined octagon. The two terms therefore refer to the end that was replaced and the shape of the structure built around 1587. The small round-arched window on the south side is a reminder of the 12th-century church. Taken together, these features invite different scales of observation: the nave, tower, and sacristy define the building’s volumes, while the window offers a detail of its form.

Pulpit altar, baptismal font, and bell

Inside, the pulpit altar, baptismal font, and bell each have their own dates. The pulpit altar dates from 1675 and was refinished in 1810. A pulpit altar combines the pulpit and altar in a single furnishing; here, the pulpit has five sides. Round-arched panels and small Tuscan columns at the corners divide its surface. The baptismal font, with a hemispherical bowl, dates from 1587, the same year as the sacristy. A historic bell hangs in the church tower; Heinrich Rausch cast it in Erfurt in 1675. The dates allow for a brief comparison: the sacristy and baptismal font both date to 1587, while the pulpit altar and bell are associated with 1675. The altar also has a later milestone, its refinishing in 1810.

A connection to Feininger in town

Kleinschwabhausen has a colorfully designed information stand with details and explanations about a Feininger painting. The stands are each located not far from the depicted subject. This artistic connection adds a different question to the church description: while the church can be considered in terms of architectural form, furnishings, and dates, the information stand focuses on a painting and its subject.

Discover more travel destinations: Auerstedt, Blankenhain, Schwerstedt, Lehnstedt, Nohra, Niedertrebra, Apolda, Gaberndorf

For the broader travel overview: Weimarer Land.