City walk Laucha

Discover sights and historical places in Laucha an der Unstrut.

Tour Highlights:

1 Market place and town hall
The eye-catcher on the market square is the magnificent town hall, inaugurated in 1563, testimony to the former wealth of the city. It is a typical Renaissance building. The rectangular ground plan, the large number of asymmetrically arranged windows with bar embrasures, the column-supported cross-vaulted ceilings on the ground floor bear witness to this. The double flight of stone stairs, added in 1913, leads to the council hall with the original preserved
beautiful wooden beam ceiling and the stained glass windows donated by Laucha companies. In addition, changing exhibitions invite you to linger. On the ground floor there is a small museum on the history of the Unstrutbahn.

Market 1, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut

2 St. Mary's Church
The Marienkirche, built between 1479 and 1514, is a late Gothic building which, due to several building measures, also shows typical features of the Renaissance. For example, the crossed bars at the entrance portal and the tracery windows with fish bubble pattern. The tower and roof collapsed in the fire of 1731 and were rebuilt. The tower is 56 m high and can be visited on guided tours. Worth seeing inside are the baptismal font from 1538 and the stained glass windows designed in 1896-98. The almost completely restored Eifert organ is worth hearing, e.g. during the regular organ week at the beginning of September.

Market 10, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut

3 The old school from 1615
At its time it was the most modern school far and wide. The classrooms were large, bright through many windows on both sides, the roof already covered with tiles. A special ornament is the round arch portal with beautiful Renaissance decoration and two ornate seat stones. The inscription plate above the portal contains information about currently important persons, including the admonition: "You cannot learn, my little son, without the help of the teacher, therefore go to the teacher with haste.

4 City wall with upper gate
Walking along the promenade, you can see the well-preserved 1112 m long city wall from the 15th century. The only preserved town gate, the Upper Gate, is a rare sight. It is a forced gate with an outer gate, a barbican with walls and battlements as well as stairs to the battlements and an inner gate. In front of the passage to the inner gate there used to be a portcullis. Above the passage, an apartment was later built for the gatekeeper, which today houses a small museum.

5 Bell museum
The Laucha Museum is the only bell museum in Germany where you can relive the process of a bell casting from the drawing to the finished bell in an original bell foundry workshop with the help of the equipment and the necessary tools. From 1790 to 1911, the Ulrich family cast over 5000 bells here and made the town famous in Germany and abroad.

Bell museum street 2a, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut
April to October: Wed.-Sun. and public holidays 10.00-12.00 h and 14.00-16.00 h

6 Unstrut mill and Unstrut lock
The Laucha mill is a townscape-defining ensemble of buildings. The grain mill, newly built in 1847, has been generating electricity on the side since 1910. Around 1975 the mill was shut down. After years of standstill, a mill enthusiast was found who first thoroughly renovated the buildings and then repaired the turbines, which today once again supply electricity. The old equipment of the flour mill is still in its original condition. The Unstrutschschleuse was important for the Unstrutsch navigation since 1728. Today it is used by water hikers.

7 Old sugar factory
The site of the sugar factory, which was dismantled in 1947, offers an example of the upgrading of an industrial wasteland that is worth seeing and emulating. In addition to the symbolically preserved factory chimney, many farm buildings were renovated by the two local investors and facilities that were ripe for demolition were dismantled. Thus, the unsightly wasteland developed into an attractive industrial area with a variety of uses. There is a wine press, a canoe rental, a hostel and holiday apartments, event rooms and a place for large events.

Old sugar factory 5, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut
Guided tours possible by appointment.

8 town houses
Beautiful richly decorated doorways and gateways from the 16th-18th centuries can be found, for example, in the Obere Hauptstraße 37, 12 and No. 10 as well as in the Große Salzstraße 9.

Upper main street, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut

Tip: Laucha-Dorndorf airfield
The glider airfield, which was opened in 1932, is located on the Dorndorf plateau. After a decade-long break, it was reopened in 1993 and developed into an important centre for air sports. In addition to the "Haus der Luftsportjugend" (House of Air Sports Youth) with a youth hostel, many air sports clubs pursue their hobby here, such as glider pilots, ultralight pilots, motor pilots, paraglider pilots, model aircraft builders and balloon pilots. The annual highlight is the flying days on the weekend before Whitsun.

At the airfield, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut

Tourist-Information Laucha an der Unstrut
Guided city tours, guided tours of the Bell Museum and guided tours of the Old Sugar Factory by prior arrangement.

Market 1, 06636 Laucha an der Unstrut, Tel. 034462 70021