The Eichsfeld regional experience

“I don’t know if I have ever been so emotionally affected by the magical beauty of a stretch of land”, wrote poet Theodor Storm 150 years ago about the Eichsfeld. Visitors today feel just the same. The Eichsfeld, in the geographical centre of Germany between Hainich, Harz and Solling, is still an inside tip. Guests can enjoy a trip on a railbike, which crosses 24 metres above the town of Lengenfeld unterm Stein on an old viaduct, ride on breathtaking cycling routes or visit one of the two border museums.

Especially exciting for children: The bleating and mooing of old livestock breeds threatened with extinction, in the Heinz Sielmann Natur-Erlebniszentrum [Nature Experience Centre] close to Duderstadt, famous for its timber-framed buildings.

At a size of 1,200 square kilometres, the region is about as large as the island of Rügen on the Baltic Sea. The original landscape contains some 180 – often tiny – villages and towns with old timber-framed buildings. A fertile and gently undulating basin landscape stretches out to the north, the “goldene Mark”. Embedded in this lies the largest lake in the region, Lake Seeburg. Southern Eichsfeld consists in large part of sometimes steep, sometimes idyllic low mountain landscapes with shell limestone and new red sandstone formations, through which deep valleys have been carved. Species-rich deciduous forests grow along the steep edges of the rims. Even the yew tree can frequently be seen.

If you want to find out more about the wealth of nature, the Nature Park Centre in Fürstenhagen, housed in a former railway station, is just the right place. The Eichsfeld also stands out from its surroundings from a cultural perspective. This is substantiated by numerous pilgrimages and processions.

One of the largest Palm Sunday processions in Europe takes place in the Eichsfeld: On the Sunday before Easter, several thousand Christians sing and say prayers on a procession through the streets of the spa town of Heilbad Heiligenstadt. The region is famous for its sausage, the “Eichsfelder Stracke”, and everyone should give the “Leinefeld mustard”, Eichsfeld honey and cheese, as well as various fruit juices and the local beer, at least one try.

View travel packages of Eichsfeld here (Only German language)

Further information about Eichsfeld (Only German language)