I’m gonna sit here for a few minutes to tell you all about the town of Floh-Seligenthal. Well, I’ll try to, anyway.
Floh-Seligenthal started simple enough, as a Frankish Settlement back in the early days of the Middle Ages, along the Schmalkalde River and in the Thuringian Forest.
It is this forest, by the way, that gives Floh-Seligenthal its biggest draw — the Rennsteig. Not only is the Rennsteig one of the most beautiful long-distance hiking routes, but it is (was?) considered a border between the Thuringian Forest and the Franconian Forest.
No one can live by hiking route alone, but the folks over in Floh-Seligenthal seem to think otherwise. There are all sorts of hiking trails through town, some even with their own theme — like Auf Luthers Spuren (Luther’s Footstep, 19km), 12 Quellen-Weg (10.5km), and the Historische Bodendenkmäler (Archaeological Monuments, 7.4km).
Don’t want to walk all that far? No worries, I won’t judge — I’ll just suggest you head on over to the Baroque Dorfkirche (Village Church) in Struth-Helmershof, or to the late 17th century church in the village of Schnellenbach. And it’s only 5km to nearby Schloss Wilhelmsburg (over in Schmalkalden).
It’s a bit further away (15km — and no one says you gotta walk all that way) to the Altensteiner Höhle, a famous cave in Schweina.
Is that too far for you? Stick closer to Floh-Seligenthal for one of their festivals. Carnival is a big deal, as is the Waldfest (Forest Festival) in May. Like music? Then it’s the Männerchorfest (Men’s Choir Festival) in June, followed by the Dorfkirmes in both August and September.
Later in the year is the Martinsmas (Nov. 10th), and the Advent Festival, Advent concerts, and Christmas Festival all in December.
One of the biggest attractions to Floh-Seligenthal (and the Rennsteig) is the Rennsteig Skiing State Championships. This is where the expert skiers do it. But it reminds me to mention if you’re an average skier, you can hit the slopes too.
That is, of course, if you’re not too busy doing all the other stuff here in Floh-Seligenthal.
