The Thuringian town of Nobitz is (yet) another renewed town on the German map. Having merged with Saara in the Altenburger Land in 2012, the modern day Nobitz is a horseshoe shaped town of some 39 districts in the Leipzig Lowlands.
Nobitz’s geography is only a small part of what makes the town a nice place to visit — it really is a quaint town with old churches, half-timbered houses, and even a nearby castle.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Sadly, I don’t have all the time in the world to see each of Nobitz’s villages (39 of them, remember?), but the highlights should entice you enough to come see what I missed. ;-)
History lover that I am, I was fascinated by the Nobitz’s oldest house. The building itself dates back to 1565, but it’s the style of the construction that many come to see here in Gieba. Known as a Vierseithof, the half-timbered design for a farm was only popular for about a hundred years through the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries. Not all of these farmhouses are as old as this one, but you’ll find a number of them scattered throughout Nobitz.
That seems pretty old, doesn’t it? Ha, that’s nothing compared to the 50,000-year-old archaeological artifacts found in the village of Podelwitz.
It does make the Romanesque church in the village of Mockern not really seem that old, does it? Gösdorf also boasts a medieval church, whose original one was built some seven hundred years ago — I don’t care the one you see today is only a mere 500 years old. ;-)
I did say Nobitz did have a castle, but you’ll have to run next door to Altenburg to see it. Once the former home of the Saxon-Altenburg Dukes, the 15th century castle is believed to be the biggest Schloss in the whole state.
In between visits to Nobitz’s churches and Schloss Altenburg, you might want to make time to check out one of town’s festivals. The Dorffest (Village Festival) in Ehrenhain takes place over 2 days in July, while the Volksfest in Wilchwitz is a 3-day affair; then you’ve always got the Poultry Market as well.
Too bad I haven’t gotten to all of the rest of Nobitz, I can’t help but think about all the other wonders of this renewed Thuringian town.
