There is much to see on this route: Schäferhof Quarry Altenburg Water cave Heavenly staircase Pastor's rock Cave dwelling at Altenburg Oil mill pond Francis Chapel Town hall Cave dwellings on Schäferberg
Discover on your route:
- Schäferhof
Old manor house from the Thuringian period (5th century). Later used as a shepherd's farm. Stones from Altenburg were probably used for construction. Extensively restored after 1990. - Quarry
Behind Schäferhof lies the somewhat hidden quarry, where stones for representative buildings of the bishop's city of Halberstadt were extracted. - Altenburg
In pre-Germanic times, the caves served as a refuge castle. In 1177, Bishop Ullrich built a castle. His opponent Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, destroyed the castle under construction. The princes of Saxony rebuilt it together. Later, it served as the summer residence of the bishops of Halberstadt. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was destroyed by the Swedes. - Water cave
Originally an underground chamber of the castle. There was a very productive well on the Amtshof estate. A concrete basin was built in the water cave. Water was pumped up from the Amtshof. The basin served as a reservoir. The Amtshof, school buildings, the nursery, the castle, the parsonage, the train station, and the inn "Deutsches Haus" were supplied. - Heavenly staircase
Access to Altenburg from the Amtshof. It was cleared again by ABM forces in 1990/91. - Pastor's rock
Interesting rock formation on the western spur of the mountain. It is said to have been the favorite place of a pastor from Langenstein. - Cave dwelling at Altenburg
The cave dwelling was proven to be inhabited as a warning post from 1746 to 1916. Hermann Heydecke was the last inhabitant and died in 1975. In 1990/91, the cave dwelling was restored according to an old postcard and received its current appearance. - Oil mill pond
It served as a water reservoir for the oil mill located on the opposite side of the street. The mill wheel was later replaced by an electric drive. The milling operation ceased in 1965. - Francis Chapel
In 1977, the church in Langenstein was demolished. The Protestant congregation was able to use the Catholic Francis Chapel. In 2003, the congregation got back the bell of the old church. This led to the idea of the bell tower. In 2003, the bell was mounted in the newly built tower. The topping-out ceremony was on October 31, 2003. - Town hall
The building was originally the village parsonage. Later it became the seat of the municipal administration of Langenstein. - Cave dwellings on Schäferberg
In 1856 there was a severe housing shortage in the village. The mayor, following the example of the dwelling on Altenburg, offered a piece of rock to those seeking housing to carve their own home out of the rock. This was a temporary solution. The last dwelling was abandoned in 1912 after the last occupants died in the cave.
