The Saale valley, more precisely that Middle Saale Valley, extends between the Thuringian Slate Mountains and the area where the Unstrut flows into the Saale. This page is limited to the run up to Jena-Zwätz and Porstendorf. The area to the north of this becomes effective for marketing Thuringian Tuscany called.
places
Down the river:
- Saalfeld - Railway junction with the famous fairy grottoes.
- Rudolstadt - Heidecksburg Castle.
- Uhlstädt - Uhlstädt offers tourist raft trips and canoeing on the Saale.
- Orlamünde - as the name suggests, the small town is located at the mouth of the Orla, a right tributary of the Saale.
- Kahla - Leuchtenburg.
- Jena - University city and largest city in the treated area.
Other goals
background
getting there
Even if the Saale is not navigable in this area, the valley itself plays an important role as a traffic artery. The federal highway 88 has no supraregional significance (this is assumed further east by the A 9), but the so-called "Saalbahn" is the most important rail link between the Nuremberg - Erfurt - Halle / Leipzig high-speed line until the high-speed line is put into operation Berlin and Munich. There will also be a corresponding until 2017[outdated] ICE stops in Jena and Saalfeld.
mobility
On the Saalbahn, double-decker regional trains run every hour, which are very competitive in terms of time compared to cars. In addition, there are separate regional trains that run from the Jena Saalbahnhof to Orlamünde and there via the Orlast line Poessneck branch off.
Tourist Attractions
The Saale Valley is to Thuringia what the Middle Rhine is to Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse: the valley of the Castles and Palaces:
- Kaulsdorf Castle and Eichicht Castle at the foot of the Hohenwartetalsperre (look here Thuringian Slate Mountains).
- The Saalfeld City Palace, the Kitzerstein Castle, the Castle ruins "Hoher Schwarm" and the Obernitz Castle in and around Saalfeld.
- Greifenstein Castle at Bad Blankenburg (Schwarzatal)
- Heidecksburg Castle in Rudolstadt
- Weissenburg Castle at Uhlstädt
- The Bower in Orlamünde.
- The Leuchtenburg at Kahla.
- Lobdeburg, Fox Tower and Kunitzburg on the right bank of the Saale Jena.
- further north see Thuringian Tuscany
Also on the upper reaches of the Saale, which is described in the article Thuringian Slate Mountains is treated, there are many castles and palaces.
activities
kitchen
nightlife
security
climate
literature
Web links
- www.rennsteig-saale.de - Rennsteig-Saaleland Tourist Office, Saalfeld
- www.saaleland.de - Thuringian Tourism Association Jena-Saale-Holzland e.V., Kahla
- www.jenatourismus.de - Jena Tourist Information
