When planning your time in Sternenberg, the length of the trails is a good place to start: a short loop and the longer route to Saland require very different time budgets. Shorter circular trails starting in Sternenberg take between 45 minutes and an hour. The hiking trail from Sternenberg Church to Hörnli takes just under an hour and a half. The hike from Bauma via Sternenberg to Saland is considerably longer: it is just under 13 kilometres long and takes around four hours. This gives you a choice between a short loop, a route with a specific destination and a longer point-to-point hike.
Hiking Trails, Ravines and Views
On the hike from Bauma via Sternenberg to Saland, the trail passes through dense forest and wild ravines, as well as waterfalls. Along the way is Hagheerenloch, a cave around 30 metres deep. The views are also part of the landscape: Sternenberg offers vistas across twelve densely wooded valleys and ravines. On the route towards Manzenhub and Wila, the view extends across the entire Alpine range. The “Enjoy the View” hiking route connects Bauma, Sternenberg, Manzenhub and Saland.
Travel information for the Bauma–Sternenberg–Saland hike lists the S26 from Winterthur or Rüti ZH to Bauma. PostAuto route 809 connects Bauma with Sternenberg. Check the timetables before setting out and plan your day around your chosen starting point: the circular trails start in Sternenberg, while the longer hike starts in Bauma and leads via Sternenberg to Saland.
Village History and the Legend of Hagheerenloch
The village’s cultural history also gives it character. The comedy film “Sternenberg” was filmed in 2004, partly in the rooms of the “Sternen.” Alexander Issajewitsch Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate and regime critic, spent a summer in 1974 in the village of Sternenberg. A guided tour of a holiday home in the wider Bauma and Sternenberg area provides background on the history of Alexander Issajewitsch Solzhenitsyn and is available on request. Sternenberg Church was built in 1706.
A local legend is associated with Hagheerenloch: a dragon guards a treasure there that can be recovered only by making a pact with the devil. The Hagheerenloch legend hike presents a version of the story researched by Simon Berginz and Andi Wullschleger; Walter Ledermann from the Bauma Chronicle Archive accompanies the hike. Along the way, both a distinctive landform and its traditional story take centre stage.
Cheese Dairy, Observatory and Ski Lift
For an insight into regional cheese production, a visit to the Preisig cheese dairy is worthwhile. It makes more than a dozen different semi-hard and soft cheeses from fresh, silage-free milk from the region. The cheese shop in Sternenberg sells milk and cheese specialities made on site, as well as other food products. Gasthaus Sternen is a family-run business whose values and traditions have been preserved and developed over decades; Marianne BrĂĽhwiler-RĂĽegg has shaped the inn since 1996.
Other attractions offer a change of pace: the Sternenberg Observatory provides a view of the universe; check booking details separately. Sternenberg Ski Lift is accessible by car or PostBus. Night skiing is available there on Fridays and Saturdays, with the lift operating for this purpose when at least five people are present. If you are planning this outing, check before travelling whether it is available on your chosen date.
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