Today I’m quite enthused to be in Niederwiesa, right at the foot of the Ore Mountains, and along the Zschopau River.
Now I realize that might not mean much to you out there reading this, but if you find yourself in the city of Chemnitz — come on over, it’s only right next door. And trust me, it’ll be well worth it.
I say that because it’s easy enough to get excited about places like Schloss Lichtenwalde. The old manor house is striking, with the smallest attention to detail. Here’s your chance to see what it was like to live with the finest furnishings of its day in its historical rooms like the Chinese Room and Red Salon. There’s even a Baroque garden, and a chapel.
Grand as you’ll find Lichtenwalde Castle, or even how charming you’ll find the pretty half-timbered mill in the village of Braunsdorf, neither of them are Niederwiesa’s “landmark”; that title belongs to the town’s water tower.
Never one to be satisfied with just seeing a grand castle or a half-timbered construction (or feats of engineering like the water tower), it was good to find out about all the marked hiking trails. This is the Zschopautal region, so it seems perfectly normal to have a trail known as the Zschopautalweg (9km). There’s also paths with names like the Bierstraßenweg (4.5km), the Rund um den Mühlberg (4.5km), and the Teufelsschlucht (3km). Of course the bicycle routes are a bit longer, but you’ll be too busy paying attention to all the greenery and protected bird species to notice you’ve traveled some 22km.
My only lament was not being here for one of Niederwiesa’s many festivals. Drats, I’d have loved to have come for its Oktoberfest (and Farmer’s Market) in October, or its August Park Festival. No, September would have been better — there’s an Herbstfest, an Arts & Crafts Market (called Kunst- und Handwerkermarkt), and a Kirmes going on that month.
Why, oh why, did this have to be a warm July weekend? Oh well, I was gonna have to take solace with a visit to the Weaving Museum instead. After that, on to the Tourist Information Center (August-Bebel-Straße 6), where the nice folks can give advice on other upcoming events and whatnot. You might even learn about Arthur Emmerlich, a locally-born German resistance fighter who was executed by the Nazis in 1942.
Wait, I just told you about that — I’m pretty sure they’ve got plenty more information than I do though. Such is life.
Well, it’s off to the next town, and I’d gander to say I’ll find something wonderful there, too.
