Bad Tabarz
Accommodation in Tabarz
Bad Tabarz combines opportunities for exercise, relaxation and local history. When planning your stay, you can choose between the Nature Park Trail, the TABBS sports and health baths, excursions around Inselsberg and insights into pipe making.
Bad Tabarz, Naturdenkmal, Baumgruppe aus 14 Blutbuchen
Photo: M_H.DE via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Trails and scenery around Bad Tabarz
The Nature Park Trail begins at the Nature Park Gate in the centre of town and follows well-maintained paths around the spa town. The route climbs and descends continuously. This is a helpful point to bear in mind when planning your day: the trail is not described as a consistently flat circuit, and its changing ups and downs are part of its character. If you enjoy walking, you can make the route a focus of your stay.
Along the way, the Nature Park Trail passes the Datenberg promenade, the rhododendron garden and the climbing forest. It also runs alongside the ski jump and continues to Seifartswiese. These waypoints give the hike a clear sequence and make it appealing when planning a visit that includes several stops. Admission to the Bad Tabarz Rhododendron Garden is free. You can therefore include it as a separate stop without budgeting for an admission fee.
Bad TABBS and exercise
TABBS—the sports and health baths in Bad Tabarz—includes a leisure pool with an outdoor pool, a sports pool with four lanes and a children’s area. There is also an outdoor swimming pool with a large sunbathing lawn, a sauna area, and a Kneipp and natural health centre. A range of swimming and relaxation options can be found in one place: if you want to swim, you can consider the sports pool with its four lanes; for a visit with children, the designated children’s area is a useful point of reference. The sauna area and Kneipp and natural health centre provide further options.
Climbing is another possible focus for an excursion: the climbing area in Lauchagrund, near Bad Tabarz, has 26 crags and more than 260 climbing routes. Grades range from 2 to 9. The range of grades provided can help you gauge the area based on your interest in climbing; on its own, however, it says nothing about whether individual routes are suitable for a particular person.
Inselsberg and pipe making
The 21-metre-high adventure tower was built in 2015 on the 916-metre-high Inselsberg, using a former radio relay tower. From GroĂźer Inselsberg, you can enjoy 360-degree views across a very large part of the Thuringian Forest. The viewpoint offers a different perspective from the trails around the spa town: you can combine a hike or excursion with far-reaching views across the Thuringian Forest.
Another local speciality is the pipe-making workshop on Inselsberg. During a guided tour, Peter Filß demonstrates the steps involved, from raw wood to the finished pipe shape, and explains the special techniques used to make the unique pipe from Bad Tabarz. The workshop continues a century-old Tabarz tradition. Around 1900, pipes were made in several workshops in Tabarz. Anyone interested in craftsmanship can learn about both the manufacturing process and the trade’s historical significance for the town.
Getting here and comparing towns
From Gotha, you can reach Bad Tabarz on the Thuringian Forest Railway, Line 4, to the Bad Tabarz stop; the journey takes about an hour. You can use this connection as a guide when planning your journey and take the travel time into account.
If you’d like to compare other towns, you can also find Friedrichroda, Finsterbergen, Tambach-Dietharz, Luisenthal, Emsetal, Crawinkel, Aspach and Leinatal here.
For the overarching travel overview: Gotha.
