I wonder how you address Bad Blankenburg’s Lavender Queen. Do you call her “Your Royal Lavender Majesty”? Perhaps, “Your Lavender Majesty” will suffice.
You know I’m joking, but one thing that’s not a joking matter is the business of lavender. Lavender is so big in Bad Blankenburg that it even warrants its own festival, called the Lavendelfest.
Its village of Kleingölitz (one of the town’s eight hamlets) is really big on growing lavender. And funny enough, Kleingölitz has more residents than Großgölitz (which has some pretty awesome hiking trails, BTW).
Big difference from the days of Bad Blankenburg being a cobalt, copper, and ore mining town, huh? More specifically, the village of Böhlscheiben was known for mining, right up until the 18th century.
It was the 19th century that changed the town’s world forever, ya know. It was here in 1837 that Germany (and the world) got its very first Kindergarten ever at Bähringstraße 6 – 8, all thanks to Friedrich Fröbel. A museum to Mister Fröbel (and his contribution to education) is located at Johannisgasse 4.
Other historical sites would include visiting the Burg Greifenstein. Whether you’re here to learn about life in the Middle Ages (you can even learn about falconry), to have dinner, or even get married — who could ask for a better place than this 12th century castle that overlooks the Thuringian Forest?
The forest, by the way, is pretty awesome if you’re looking for a little quiet time along either its walking or cycling trails. The village of Oberwirbach is located totally within the forest, and also has a pretty 13th century church — in case you’re interested in stopping.
Zeigerheim (a village of less than 150 people) has a church that’s worth seeing, this one being a fortified church from the mid-14th century. The oldest church of them all is the Stadtkirche, built in 1196.
Then do yourself a favor, head straight to the Brewery Museum. Nothing like a museum of beer to get you in the mood for an evening spent at a local beer garden, where you can spend time discussing the proper way to address that Lavender Queen. ;-)
