The castle burned down in 1934. Due to excessive debt, the last owner donated the castle to "Reichsführer SS" Heinrich Himmler in 1941, who wanted to develop the ruins into an SS cult site and leadership training school. During these years, hundreds of prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp were assigned to forced labor under catastrophic conditions, in which more than 100 prisoners lost their lives.

The Lower Castle can be seen in the background left of the picture.

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Best routes to Kranichfeld Upper Castle

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1. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe

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2. Ilmtal Cycle Path – View of the Ilmgrund loop from Hetschburg

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

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3. Weir at Stadtilm – Kleinhettstedt Ostrich Farm loop from Kranichfeld

39.4km

02:27

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

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Details

Informations

Elevation 430 m

Weather

Friday 13 February

1°C

-3°C

31 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 20.0 km/h

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Location: Kranichfeld, Weimarer Land, Thuringia, Germany

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Kranichfeld Upper Castle

1. Covered Wooden Bridge Buchfart – Ilmtal Cycle Path loop from Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe

2. Ilmtal Cycle Path – View of the Ilmgrund loop from Hetschburg

3. Weir at Stadtilm – Kleinhettstedt Ostrich Farm loop from Kranichfeld

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