Underground in the Thuringian Forest

Thuringia, the green heart of Germany. Great destination for hikers and cyclists. History(s) were written here. Great names like Luther, Goethe and Schiller stand for a rich cultural heritage. Numerous castles and palaces were built here by once powerful ruling families. But Thuringia has even more to offer. Deep below the earth's surface, an exciting world full of experiences is waiting to be discovered.

Table of contents
1. Saalfeld fairy caves - the air is pure!
2. United precincts Kamsdorf - adventure playground for mountain bikers!
3. Marienglashöhle Friedrichroda - completely new sounds
4. Merkers Adventure Mine - A drink in the crystal bar?
5. Bunker Museum Frauenwald - Time Travel into the Stasi Underworld

The title is a bit unwieldy, I admit: Since 2018, the spa town of Saalfeld has been allowed to officially call itself a "state-recognized place with a healing gallery". Sounds rather square at first, but in reality it's healthy. And it's also very entertaining: If you take a tour of the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes mine with one of the competent grotto guides, you'll hear a lot of interesting stories. That the search for gold and other precious metals in Saalfeld was unsuccessful and instead a valuable rock, black alum slate, was discovered. You will learn about the "Jeremiah's Luck" mine and how the colorful show caves with their stalactites and minerals came into being, which fascinate a lot of visitors every year in the fairy-tale dome worth seeing. Not every visitor is aware that this subterranean pleasure is good for their health. But it's true: the air in the mines is free of dust, allergens, pollen and germs and is subject to a constant self-cleaning effect. The air we breathe improves and the immune system is strengthened. Dr. Volker Bergmann from Rudolstadt, a specialist in lung and bronchial medicine, even says: "The climate in the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes healing gallery offers better conditions for a therapeutic effect on respiratory diseases than mountain or sea climates." Those who long for daylight after their time underground are in good hands in the Fairy World, where they can visit the adventure museum, let off steam at numerous hands-on stations and on the adventure playground, discover the forest adventure trail, and finally stop off at the Grottenschenke - a picturesque half-timbered house with an inviting terrace - to round off the day.

Rather live unusually, at least for a few hours on vacation! For example, in the Kamsdorf mine, which is truly a unique adventure playground for technically fit mountain bikers. Where once copper, silver and iron ore were mined, today you ride through the mountain interior accompanied by MTB guides - some of whom are among Germany's downhill elite - on all-mountain and enduro bikes. The underground experience is all the more intense because you have to use only headlamps to find your way through the dark labyrinth. The routes are between five and fifteen kilometers long and we're not just talking about wide, easy trails here: Narrow passages with decent flow definitely alternate with jump elements and rough rock sections over three soles. From tunnel passages with chambers up to 20 meters high to narrow tunnel alleys, everything is here. A surreal spectacle, where you can sweat despite constant temperatures of 10 degrees! So get on your bike and your bucket list and let's go! PS: With the Two Worlds Tour you can also explore the beautiful Saaleland above ground. Here, too, you can expect cycling fun par excellence.

Actually, it is an outrage, Asking visitors to the idyllic spa town of Friedrichroda, with its beautiful villas and lush park, to better disappear into a cave. So, here officially: First see Friedrichroda (worth it!), then off to the Marienglashöhle, which is a registered geological natural monument between Friedrichroda and Bad Tabarz. What's special about the Marienglashöhle, which attracts over 70,000 visitors a year? Two things: first, the show cave in the Thuringian Forest is not a natural cave, but consists mainly of cavities created by gypsum and copper mining. This is certainly interesting information, especially for natural scientists. For the vast majority of cave visitors, however, the following message is probably more important: Concerts are held regularly in the Marienglashöhle. Whether Irish folk, cover bands (Lindenberg to Depeche Mode) or Gregorian chants - the acoustics in the Marienglashöhle are a terrific experience.

The beautiful things in life tend to come unexpectedly. This must have been what happened to the astonished geoscientists when, in 1980, they stumbled by chance upon a unique crystal grotto at a depth of 800 meters - ten meters high and covered on the ceiling and walls with milky-white to water-clear rock salt crystals! The sight of this grotto alone is worth the descent into the underworld. But the Merkers Adventure Mine not only has aesthetic appeal, it also has a certain educational mission: During a guided tour lasting more than two hours, you will learn in great detail what everyday life was like for the miners below the earth's surface. At any rate, going to concerts underground was not one of them back then. Nowadays, however, such events are routine in the Merkers Adventure Mine. This is not true of the experience that awaits guests at a concert there: music composed especially for the crystal grotto and the accompanying light installation make such an evening an unforgettable experience. Champagne to go with it? With pleasure - in the Crystal bar, probably the deepest bar in the world, will be happy to pour you one.

Who always wanted to know, what a bunker of the state security in the former GDR looked like? The bunker museum Frauenwald is a facility right near the Waldhotel Rennsteighöhe. It was built during the Cold War era as a "leadership bunker" and was managed and operated by the Ministry of State Security. 3,600 m² of floor space - today a hands-on museum, perhaps a little creepy, perhaps educational for visitors who want to take a look at a bunker that has the most modern communications technology of the time, its own power supply or mobile radio equipment and is provided with many small details, including those from everyday life in the GDR.

Cover photo: Contrasting discovery tour through the Saalfeld fairy caves © Martina Sörensen / Thüringer Tourismus GmbH