Dresden Adventure Region Cycle Route 5:From the forest botanical garden Tharandt through the Döhlen basin to the chair builder town Rabenau Route length: 57 km Profile: difficult, several very long and steep inclines Starting point: Tharandt train station
Route 5 begins in Tharandt and leads below the castle hill with castle ruins and mountain church, first along the valley of the Wild Weisseritz. The castle, built under Margrave Heinrich the Illustrious from 1240 to 1256, was largely demolished from the middle of the 16th century for the construction of the Grillenburg hunting lodge and Frauenstein Castle. The remains were secured from 1800 and renovated at the end of the 20th century according to the requirements of monument preservation. Before leaving Tharandt behind, a detour to the Forest Botanical Garden is recommended. It was founded in 1811 by Heinrich Cotta and is one of the oldest scientific collections of woody plants in the world. After several extensions, it currently covers an area of about 33 hectares. The near-natural design of the grounds makes the diversity of species and forms as well as the beauty of the woody plants a very special experience.
In the Broad Ground of the Tharandt Forest you drive up to Kurort Hartha. After Großopitz you reach the Opitzhöhe with a beautiful view of the Tharandt Forest and the Osterzgebirge. Downhill again, the route leads to Freital and, after crossing the railroad line, you reach the Reichard House, the former home of the aeronaut couple Wilhelmine and Gottfried Reichard. Continuing the bike tour, you leave the Freital valley and arrive at Bannewitz on the former Windbergbahn route. Continuing via Rippien and the Hornschänke, where a detour to the Babisnauer poplar is worthwhile, the route leads to Kreischa. Here you can linger a little in the spa park before continuing your journey. Under the place was searched for hard coal in the 19th century. However, an experimental shaft, which was driven 100 meters deep, was unsuccessful.
After you have reached Possendorf, the route climbs again significantly and leads you to the town of Rabenau. This is best known for the chair-making craft that has developed there since the 16th century. In the local German Chair Making Museum you will get an insight into the history and the individual trades. The penultimate section of the route leads through the romantic Rabenauer Grund to Freital-Coßmannsdorf. Along the Rote Weißeritz and the Weißeritztalbahn you will pass two stations of the ENSO-Energie-Erlebnispfad and finally return to the starting point on the newly built bike path.
Note: In the town halls of the adventure region you can purchase the brochure "Cycling & Discovering in the Dresden Adventure Region" with further information.
www.erlebnisregion-dresden.de
