Steinbach-Hallenberg

We welcome the town of Steinbach-Hallenberg in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen as a new member of the Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - Drei Gleichen! The number of member municipalities thus rises to 14 and the Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - Drei Gleichen is enriched by many geological features. One of the special attractions is the walk-in ruins of the 13th-century Hallenburg castle, which towers over the town on an 80-metre-high porphyry rock. Porphyry is the predominant rock here, which was formed by volcanic activity in the area of today's town around 290 million years ago and produced, among other things, the famous Schneekopfkugeln - porphyry spheres with sparkling quartz crystals.

Steinbach-Hallenberg is famous for its metal craft museum, which presents a permanent exhibition of the small iron trade that has long been based in the area. There are always hands-on activities and demonstrations in the original workshops, e.g. at the annual blacksmith's festival. The Meilerfest is also connected with the metal trade, and this year's 33rd edition officially announced the town's admission to the Geopark. And that could hardly be more fitting: at the Meilerfest, the processing of geological raw materials is demonstrated, which thematically fits perfectly into the Geopark: We want to bring our guests closer to the regional geology, raw materials as well as their use by humans and preserve traditions such as those of the charcoal burner trade. At 3 p.m., before the charcoal kiln was lit as the highlight of the celebration, Thomas Klöppel, mayor of the town of Friedrichroda as the managing municipality of the Geopark, presented the membership certificate to the mayor of Steinbach-Hallenberg, Markus Böttcher.

This is the official starting signal for the joint development of the geotourism potential and joint educational projects with the town of Steinbach-Hallenberg. There are already plenty of ideas: the Oberschönau rock hike, which offers impressive views around the Rennsteig and whose rocks are well suited for climbing, is to be developed as a GeoRoute. The Schützenbergmoor, a raised bog, and the Bergwaldprojekt e.V. are further exciting contributions to nature conservation. The 5.21 ha Schützenbergmoor has been a nature reserve since 1967 and can be explored via boardwalks. The Bergwaldprojekt-Verein was founded in 1987 on the initiative of Wolfgang Lohbeck and a Swiss forester and has the goal of near-natural forest use throughout Germany. In Steinbach-Hallenberg, the Bergwaldprojekt-Verein and the Greenpeace Environmental Foundation have owned approximately 200 hectares of "Future Forest" since 2020, in which a model of community-friendly and nature-friendly forest management is to be established. In addition to joint tree planting campaigns with the local population, further educational cooperation with the Geopark is possible.