Sources of clear sound
Route »Sources of clear sound«
Through the Musical Corner by bicycle
In the southern most corner of Saxony, the former health spa resort of Saxon kings unfolds in all its glory. Whoever is staying here should not miss out on the chance to discover the area along the “Musikantenradweg” (Musicians’ Cycle Path). Because not only do people in Saxony’s Musical Corner know how to build musical instruments, they also know how to play.
Distance approx. 115 km
Glorious atmosphere
To this day, Bad Elster still has a glorious atmosphere. The Albert Bad does not only look like a castle it is also home to some valuable furnishings. The Royal Spa next to the King Albert Theater, one of the most important court theatres in Germany, resembles an Italian Renaissance palace.
In the KunstWandelhalle Hall the Saxon Bath Museum can be found, in which the history of the largest and most beautiful health spas of Saxony can be taken in. However, the jewel of Bad Elster is the spa park, which presents itself as a huge historically grown ensemble of large parks as well as elegant buildings.
Pearls and pipes
The market square in Adorf is one of the prettiest in the Vogtland area. The town museum is in the Freiberg Gate, the only historical entrance still existing today. The exhibit for river pearl fishing and goods produced from mother-of-pearl is the largest of its kind. From 1625 until 1900 organ building was an important business in Adorf. Today the industry restricts itself to supplying parts for the music industry. In the miniature world, Little Vogtland, fifty, true to detail, models of sites within the Vogtland area can be marvelled upon.
The center of instrument building
Nestled deep within the forest of the Schwarzbachtal Valley in the Elster Mountains is the town Markneukirchen, the center for German orchestra instrument building, with its 300-year-old tradition. Created from the hands of a master, bow, plucked, brass, and woodwind instruments can be heard in just about every orchestra in the world worth mentioning. The Musical Instrument Museum displays a huge collection of musical instruments from the local region and around the world and is located in a late-Baroque bourgeois quarters, the so-called Paulus Palace. Hüttel’s Musical Exhibit houses an impressive private collection of mechanical musical instruments. In and around Markneukirchen you can find many instrument builders who are happy to let you have a look over their shoulders.
Games and sports
Crossing Schöneck, the “balcony of the Vogtland area”, Klingenthal can be reached, where instruments, such as the harmonica and the accordion have been produced since the 19th century. Both of these instruments were invented in Klingenthal. In the workshops’ visiting areas a feel for production can be experienced.
However, Klingenthal is also a location for winter sports and is home to many Olympic champions. The most modern ski jump in the world is the Vogtland Arena. Klingenthal as well as Markneukirchen put on important music competitions which encompass public concerts. Worth seeing is the town church in Klingenthal, which was the first Baroque building with an octagon layout and was later used as reference for the world famous church in Seiffen in the Ore Mountains.
The Vogtland open air museum, Landwüst/Eubabrunn, consists of typical peasant buildings from the Vogtland area, which have partly been relocated from other regions. Lively and with great authenticity, the daily life of peasants from this time period is re-enacted to create a vivid picture of the life within a Vogtland village.
Gas and water
Bad Brambach is the world’s leading source of radon. Radon is a radioactive noble gas that is only available in a handful of places within Europe. Since 1890, water from the location’s carbonated spring has been shipped. After the discovery of the water’s radon content, a health spa resort opened in 1912. Between 1945 and 1957 Bad Brambach was taken siege by the Red Army, who enclosed the iron source with marble from Hitler’s Reich Chancellery. Today it is the home of a modern pool facility that is open to every guest.
The southernmost point of Saxony
The entire site of Raun is listed due to its Umgebinde houses with their richly decorated timber-framed gables in the style of Egerland. A rather unique site to see is the old “Pitch Boiling House”, the Pechstoa. Continuing along the Czech Republic border, you can reach the southernmost point of Saxony, Schönberg. The picture of Schönberg is literally dominated by the castle, a must-see, with its Renaissance and Baroque plaster ceilings, crossed vaults and wall paintings, which are one of a kind in Saxony. A wonderful view can be enjoyed upon the 759 m high Kapellenberg Mountain, the highest elevation in the Elster Mountain Range. From here it is not that far back to Bad Elster.
- window of a Umgebinde-house