Goldhausen on the Eisenberg: Gold Trail, Mining History and Landscape

Goldhausen lies on the western slope of the 562-metre-high Eisenberg. During your stay, the village combines geological themes, mining history and trails through the landscape. This character is particularly evident around the Eisenberg castle ruins, the Georg Viktor Tower, the mine building and the Gold Trail. When choosing accommodation in Goldhausen, you can therefore already consider whether to include short themed trails, a longer circular hike, cultural history or mountain bike routes in your plans.

Goldhausen and the Eisenberg

The Eisenberg castle ruins are located in the higher areas of the Eisenberg at around 560 m above sea level and are surrounded by a rampart and ditch. The Georg Viktor Tower adds a viewpoint to this historic site. At the quarry, you can also see the collision of rock strata that occurred 300 million years ago. It is particularly clear in the almost vertically standing slate layers.

Eisenberg Gold Trail: short themed trail with steep sections

The first section of the Eisenberg Gold Trail leads through Goldhausen and around the Eisenberg castle ruins with the Georg Viktor Tower to the summit of the Eisenberg, using 11 information stations and outdoor station 12. This section is approximately 3.3 km long. The entire Gold Trail can be completed in around 2 to 3 hours and also includes steep sections through the forest, for which sturdy footwear is required.

For planning your day, it is therefore not only the length of the trail that matters, but also its profile. The Gold Trail combines historical stations, landscape observation and geological history, but the steep forest sections require suitable preparation. The Goldhausen hiking car park is on the outskirts of Goldhausen and can be reached via Turmweg. Access to the visitor mine is partly accessible; the mine entrance can only be reached on foot via gravelled and relatively steep forest paths. You should take these different conditions into account if you are travelling with children, people walking at different speeds or people with limited mobility.

Mining history at the mine building

The former mining settlement of Goldhausen can be explored particularly well at the mine building and the visitor mine. Gold panning at the mine building has been documented since 2011. The museum room, opened in 2018, presents the formation of gold and the history of mining. A guided tour of the visitor mine offers an educational underground mining experience.

The St. George Mine is also part of the Gold Trail. Beneath a wooden roof is the entrance to a 56-metre-deep, almost vertical tunnel running along a particularly productive gold vein. This station adds a tangible insight into historic mining to the trail experience. Together with the museum room and the guided tour, it creates a focal point for an excursion where you can connect the formation of gold, historic mining work and the visible forms of the landscape.

Hiking and mountain bike routes

If you are looking for a longer route in addition to the Gold Trail, the GeoPath Korbach offers a circular trail of around 20 km. It connects the Korbach Fissure with the Eisenberg near Goldhausen. The different route lengths help you distinguish between a shorter themed trail and an extended day tour.

For cycling, the Green Trails Korbach on the Eisenberg near Korbach-Goldhausen are the main attraction. They comprise 10 km of singletrack trails. The routes were completed in summer 2023 and combined into four circuits with different levels of difficulty. This documented layout caters to different preferences within a group, without everyone having to choose the same circuit. When planning a stay in Goldhausen, this difference may be relevant if some members of the travel group want to explore the trails on foot while others would like to use the mountain bike trails.

Planning your stay in Goldhausen

The AR experience area featuring geological landscape reconstructions from the viewing platform of the Georg Viktor Tower is available between March and October. When preparing for your stay, you can take this period into account along with the walking times, steep forest paths and the need for footwear with a firm grip.

For comparing places within the same destination level, you can also refer to Hillershausen and Lengefeld.

For the higher-level travel overview: Korbach.