Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a castle. Sound familiar? It should, it’s just about the beginning of every fairytale ever written. Fitting start for the town of Hessisch Lichtenau, which sits along the Deutsche Märchenstraße or German Fairytale Route.
In case you’re not too hip on what IS the German Fairytale Route, I’ll tell ya. It’s a historical tourist route that follows the Brothers Grimm (of Hänsel & Gretel fame).
So, we can start our story with; Once upon a time in Hessisch Lichtenau there was a castle. Yes, a real castle; no fairytale story here. And it really was once upon a time, all the back to the days of the Romans who had built a castellet on the original site of Burg Reichenbach. Pretty much all that remains of this 8th century castle (it’s that old) is its donjon which is now used as an observation tower.
In keeping with Hessisch Lichtenau’s fairytale theme, there’s the legend of the Große Steine, or Great Stones. The legend tells a giant threw the stones (made of dolomite rock) here and are believed to have once been the site of prehistoric cult meetings. Science, however, says they’ve been here since at least the Ice Age.
Hessisch Lichtenau isn’t all legends and fairytales (nice as it is, though). This area of Hesse is great for all sorts of sports, no matter the season. You pretty much name it and you can do it here, like Nordic Walking, regular old walking trails, bicycling, mountainbiking, and skiing to just name a few.
With so much to do all in one place, it’s best to stay for at least a night or two. This town has all sorts of accommodations available for visitors, including camp sites.
There’s certainly no better place than Hessisch Lichtenau to sit around a campfire telling stories of legends and fairytales.
