A trip to Oberhof
Oberhof – A tourist paradise in the heart of Germany
Right in the heart of Germany, holidaymakers will find a perfect spot which offers the ideal conditions for winter sports and every other season of the year too, to make holidays as relaxing as they are interesting: The German winter sport Mecca of Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest with the beautiful Rennsteig right outside the front door, Germany’s best known and most beautiful high hiking trail.
Oberhof – The tourist centre
Oberhof has become a tourist attraction over the years. Naturally it is the winter sports which make the greatest contribution to this. Today, above all due to the unique concentration of top sports facilities which is unique worldwide, Oberhof is regarded as the centre of German winter sports.
But you can enjoy Oberhof and all its aspects outside winter too. Thus the high ridge of the Rennsteig extends for a total of just under 170 kilometres from Eisenach to Blankenstein a.d. Saale, while the central stretch of the Rennsteig around Oberhof and Suhl offers the highest points.
A little to the south of Oberhof, lovers of mountain hiking will find the highest summit of the entire Rennsteig in the Großer Beerberg. The exertions of hiking are rewarded with a fabulous view across the scenery of the Rennsteig from the Plänckners viewing point. The hiking region around Oberhof offers hikers of all levels of fitness the ideal routes. Hikers in great physical shape will strive to reach the highest summits, while those who like to take things easier will find shorter tours with a smaller difference in altitude. Oberhof and the Rennsteig can pride themselves on the unspoiled nature and clear air. People come here on summer days looking for recuperation and healthy relaxation.
It is not just hikers who love Oberhof and the central Rennsteig. Cyclists too will find the ideal training region here with challenging ascents. If you are actively training for cycling, there are not only long circular routes here (the tourist office in Oberhof has put together 11 routes of different levels of difficulty for you) covering many kilometres and passing striking beauties of nature, but also runs with extreme ascents and descents. This region in particular is ideal for sportspeople on bikes, which is why cyclists who want to find really good terrain conditions love coming here. Both racing cyclists and cycle tourers will find ideal stretches for hot sprints on mountain stages or for an extended circular cycling tour of just under 200 kilometres around the entire Rennsteig. Oberhof also constantly attracts mountain bikers due to its excellently suited outdoor terrain.
Oberhof – A town of many options
Less active travellers in search of recuperation can follow a successful wellness and recuperation regime in Oberhof combined with all sorts of leisure facilities. The Schlossberg Hotel is equipped with a professional Wellness Centre in which you can relax while sweating in the Finnish sauna, tackle a few lengths in the pool to stabilise your circulation, get all your muscle tensions relaxed by a professional physiotherapist, and have your skin refreshed and rejuvenated with a beauty treatment. In combination with the wealth of nature in the region, the town is ideal for healthy rest cure holidays. From spring to autumn native plants can be admired in the Rennsteiggarten in Oberhof. The botanical garden displays the variety of our flora and is a virtual oasis of peace and relaxation.
However, coming to Oberhof is worth it not just for sports lovers, active types and wellness fans. Oberhof and the surrounding region offer numerous attractions. If you spend your active or wellness holiday in Oberhof, you should not miss the chance of heading off for a few kilometres by car. Further to the North West the Rennsteig leads you directly to Eisenach, home to the famous Wartburg. Going further east from Eisenach you will come to the Thuringian Land capital Erfurt with plenty of panache and a rich cultural offering. Even further eastwards lie Weimar and Jena, important German cultural centres and formerly home to many famous writers. With a landscape like that of the Rennsteig outside your front door, you could almost do without further attractions; but that is not the case for Oberhof. In the Exotarium visitors can discover the fascinating world of creepy-crawlies. Here there are around 150 different species on show: Reptiles and amphibians, and insects too. You can also admire the beauty of many fish species in the aquariums.
In Oberhof tourists find a varied holiday destination all year round, surrounded by lush nature and with many leisure options. Even though the town is becoming ever more in demand as a winter sports area, it still remains an attractive focal point for holidaymakers all year round.
Oberhof - Professional sport meets popular sport
Winter sports are one of the town’s most important tourist offerings. Oberhof is not just known by active winter sports lovers, but also as the venue of numerous Nordic competitions it is well known to television viewers. Thus the internationally broadcast Biathlon World Cup is often held here, as are the ski jump competitions for the Nordic combination. As well as the World Cup, the Tour de Ski, which was created not that long ago, also takes place here. Lovers of luge racing of course also know Oberhof as an important venue for competitive events. 2010 offered a further highlight when Stefan Raab and his team arrived with Chinese cooking pots in their luggage to hold the popular “wok world championships” in Oberhof on this occasion.
The crème de la crème of professional winter sportspeople come to Oberhof to show how it is done, and use the ideal winter conditions for their major sporting competitions in the biathlon, ski jumping and luge racing. Naturally this also attracts fans of the snowy sports from outside the professional environment too. Hence Oberhof counts as one of the most important and most attractive skiing regions in Germany, and above all as an El Dorado for cross country skiers, due to the many trails around the Rennsteig. And Alpine skiers also get their money’s worth here. In the place where leading sportsmen not only hold their contests but also their regular training units, winter sports fans immediately realise the advantages of the regional conditions and their significance for winter sports. A winter sports location where the professional train attracts amateurs like a magnet, and Oberhof is just such a magnet. But it goes without saying that Oberhof does not just rest on its good reputation with professional skiers alone. As a result of intelligent planning, cross country skiing fans can also practise their endurance sport indoors against all weather conditions in Germany’s first cross-country skiing hall. Hence leisure sports lovers can train using the same professional facilities as the biathlon notables of our World Cup and Olympic teams. Who would not want to follow in the footsteps of Kati Wilhelm or Ronny Ackermann?
Oberhof invites you to visit the various sports venues.
For beginners or families with children the ski and toboggan track on the Golfwiese are ideal, with a slope of 250 m in length and 2 drag lifts. You can also try snow tubing here.
The Fallbachlift ski slope is 800 m long, of easy to moderate standard, and supplied with artificial snow. The slope is very popular with snow boarders.
Unhurried ski touring or sporty cross-country skiing on easy to moderate routes – a network of ski touring routes and cross-country trails enables you to enjoy extended ski tours above all in the ridge location of the Thuringian Forest.
Or why not try a romantic horse-drawn sleigh ride through the winter forest, a wonderful experience for young and old.
Oberhof- In the middle of Germany
There is a really simple way to find out where Oberhof is located: If you mentally draw a line from the north to the south of Germany and do the same from east to west, then you ought to be able to find Oberhof not too far from the point where the two lines cross. So Oberhof lies more or less in the middle of Germany, in Thuringia.
The associated rural district is Schmalkalden-Meiningen, which lies in the south west of the Free State. This part of Germany is characterised by the heights of the Thuringian Forest, and Oberhof itself is a respectable 815 metres above sea level.
Not far from Oberhof you will find the most famous ridgeway in Europe, the Rennsteig. The neighbouring rural district of Wartburgkreis directly adjoins the North Hessen Werra-Meißner district. From Oberhof it is also not far to some very beautiful sections of the German Märchenstraße or “fairy tale route”. Anyhow, Frau Holle and Hansel und Gretel are supposed to have lived out their stories in North Hessen.