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Germany

Thuringia

Weimarer Land

Buchfart

Buchfart Rock Caves

Discover

Places to see

Caves

Germany

Thuringia

Weimarer Land

Buchfart

Buchfart Rock Caves

Recommended by 203 cyclists out of 210

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Location: Buchfart, Weimarer Land, Thuringia, Germany

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Top cycling routes to Buchfart Rock Caves

4.8

(145)

499

riders

1. Weimar Market Square – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Klettbach

78.0km

04:49

550m

Expert bike ride. Very good fitness required. You may need to push your bike for some segments of this route.

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4.7

(76)

316

riders

2. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Oberweimar

54.8km

03:16

360m

Intermediate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.5

(24)

152

riders

3. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Mellingen (Thür)

130km

07:55

940m

Expert bike ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Tips

Günni

April 21, 2024

The Buchfarth Rock Castle is the only one of its type in Central Germany and thus of particular cultural and historical value. The complex consisted of 20 chambers carved into the wall. Twelve chambers of varying sizes still exist today.

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Silke on Tour 🏞️

September 6, 2025

The Buchfarter Felsenburg, located on the steep shell limestone slope of the Illm River, is the only structure of its type in Central Germany and of particular cultural and historical significance.

It was originally a castle complex belonging to the Counts of Orlamünde. Around the 12th century, 12 chambers of varying sizes were carved into the steep rock face in a row extending approximately 110 meters in length and at a height of 40 meters above the Illm River. The chambers were connected by a Romanesque hillside wall. Some wall remains and a round-arched doorway are still visible today.

The rock castle had no military significance in the late Middle Ages. However, it served as a fully developed, impregnable refuge for a long line of counts, dukes, and electors.

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Andreas Bikefan

May 4, 2023

A unique cultural monument near Weimar

"Do you know the castle, carved into the mountainous rock, which rises high from the valley to the sky? Waves that wash over its base - the shepherd chooses the pinnacle as pasture for his sheep."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in the family book of his friend, the cantor and organist Friedrich Heinrich Schütz, in Bad Berka. Goethe recognized the uniqueness of this historic rock castle – the only one of its kind in Thuringia – and repeatedly emphasized it during his visits to Buchfart. The path Goethe used when he hiked or rode from Weimar via Buchfart, Saalborn, and Neckeroda to Großkochberg to visit Frau von Stein at her country estate runs past the caves.

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Elevation 310 m

Weather

Today

Friday 26 September

11°C

9°C

100 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 7.0 km/h

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Location: Buchfart, Weimarer Land, Thuringia, Germany

Buchfart Rock Caves

1. Weimar Market Square – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Klettbach

2. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Oberweimar

3. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Mellingen (Thür)

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