Bakuninhütte

Interested people from Germany, other European countries and even Australia are now once again drawn to the Bakunin Hut. Mainly emerging from the union-organized workforce of the Meiningen railway works, its almost 100-year history is a reflection of the 20th century.
Its special features lie on the one hand in the world of ideas of the families involved in the construction: so-called anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist trade union movement with worldwide influence.
On the other hand, the place impresses with the idyllic landscape surrounding it in a forest clearing with a wide view.
Committed to the idea of "mutual aid", a small area of land was acquired and cultivated jointly and the proceeds were divided in solidarity among the families involved.
In this way, a solution organized "from below" was found on a small scale for the existentially threatening supply bottlenecks after the First World War.
Later, the skilled industrial workers built a shelter on their property, which they named after the Russian-born revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin.
They had all the skills to build buildings and unusual play equipment - such as a swing carousel - on their own.
Eventually, a holiday and training center for the anarcho-syndicalist movement developed here, until it fell victim to National Socialism and could not be revived even under the rule of the authoritarian socialists.
If you walk from Meiningen to the Bakunin Hut, you can follow in the footsteps of the anarchist poet Erich Mühsam, who stayed there several times to give lectures on political topics.
It takes just under an hour to walk uphill, sometimes steeply, through dense forest.
The route from the train station via Berliner Strasse, the cemetery and the Donopskuppe ruins is recommended.
Once you have climbed the necessary altitude, you can take the old hut path past the Cotta Hut to the Hohe Maas, the highest elevation in this region.
Just a few metres further on, the forest thins out and you find yourself on a large, species-rich meadow, in the middle of which, hidden between a few tall trees and bushes, lies the Bakunin Hut.

This hut is a very popular destination, especially for hiking groups. There are tables and benches for a picnic here. There is plenty of space for children to play and discover.

Building with interesting historical character.