The best walks and hikes in Alte Göhle

A place full of movement that can tell many stories.

From the serpentine paths winding up the hill in Freyburg's city park, you can always enjoy magnificent views of the city, the Unstrut valley and the vineyards.

The four-star "Weinberghotel Edelacker" boasts on its website that it offers "probably the most beautiful view over the Unstrut Valley." Indeed, the hotel's terrace is magnificently situated atop the Freyburg vineyards.

The "Fat William" has only been called that since the 20th century. The only surviving of the original three keep towers was probably built starting in 1150. Its diameter is 14 meters; in the Romanesque period, it was at least 23 meters high. Due to its interior, it is more likely to be considered a residential tower than a pure keep. It is highly likely that the tower served as the seat of the Burgraves of Neuenburg from the House of Meinheringen in the 13th century, who are documented as "Praefectus de Nuenburg, Burggravius de novo castro" from 1215 to 1297.

In 2013, the distillery opened in the domain courtyard of the outer bailey. Award-winning master distiller Matthias Hempel, who learned his craft in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Saxony, is on the quest for the perfect taste experience. His passion for experimentation is immense. He doesn't only use wild fruit varieties such as rowan, serviceberry, medlar, sloe, or cornelian cherry in his still. Nevertheless, he pays particular attention to these fruits from local orchards.

The castle restaurant, located directly in front of the entrance to the inner castle, is worth a visit. Weather permitting, you can also sit outside in the castle courtyard and enjoy traditional German dishes.

The hilltop castle complex of Neuenburg Castle, located on the Romanesque Road, was once the largest castle of the Landgraves of Thuringia. Its construction, under the direction of Count Ludwig von Schauenburg of Ludowingen, known as Ludwig the Springer (1042 to 1123), began around 1090 with the first circular walls, which still stand today up to a height of eight meters in the inner castle. Over the next hundred years, the castle was reinforced and expanded in several stages. From around 1400, the castle underwent extensive rebuilding in the Gothic style, and large parts of the Romanesque structure were lost. After losing its military importance, the castle was converted into a hunting lodge for the Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels, for which purpose a zoo and pleasure garden were created in the forest to the east. Today, Neuenburg Castle is managed by the Saxony-Anhalt Cultural Foundation.

Across the Eselsgraben, you can see Neuenburg Castle. However, due to the dense vegetation on this slope, the view is never truly unobstructed. Nevertheless, you can still get a good idea of the size of the mighty castle complex.