Bad Frankenhausen Attractions

At the foot of the Kyffhäuser Hills, in the wide valley of the Kleine Wipper some 60km/40mi southwest of Halle, lies Bad Frankenhausen, a spa (saline springs) whose mild climate and wooded surroundings attract many visitors.

The Baroque Schloss (built 1689 onwards; restored 1973-75) houses the District Heimatmuseum, with a rich store of material on the history of the town and the region and displays on the 16th century Peasant War and the battle of Frankenhausen in 1525.

Other features of interest are the Altstädter Kirche (Old Town Church; 12th C., Romanesque); the Oberkirche (partly Romanesque), with a leaning tower; and the Baroque Unterkirche (1691-1704), with a richly furnished interior (fine gravestones, large Strobel organ). About half the circuit of the old town walls has been preserved.

There are a number of handsome burghers' houses dating from the heyday of the salt trade, including the Angerapotheke, the Schwanendrogerie and a house at Klosterstrasse 14.

Above the town, near the Schlachtberg (Battle Hill), where the battle of 1525 began, can be found a circular building (1975) housing a monumental panorama of the Peasant War (1987).

Heldrungen

At Heldrungen, near Bad Frankenhausen, is an old moated castle, enlarged and strengthened in the early 16th century, in which the peasant leader Thomas Müntzer was confined after being taken prisoner in the battle of Frankenhausen. After being destroyed in 1645 the castle was rebuilt in 1664-68 with fortifications in the Italian-French style (restored from 1974 onwards).