Sarnau combines local history with a specific starting point for a cycling tour: the 42.5-kilometre Burgwald Cycle Route can be started at Sarnau station. The route brings together the Lahn, the wooded Burgwald, wetlands, streams and half-timbered villages. This gives visitors a choice of different themes for their stay – the town’s historical connections and a longer route featuring several types of landscape.
Local History and Getting to Sarnau
Sarnau lies on the historic Alte WeinstraĂźe and has been documented since 1200. An early chapel was replaced by a half-timbered church in 1704; a concrete church was built later. The recorded sequence of buildings therefore spans the early chapel, the half-timbered building and the later concrete church.
The railway’s history is also relevant for orientation: the former railway junction closed to passenger services in 2010 and was replaced by a stopping point closer to the edge of town. Check current train connections separately. Sarnau station is also a possible starting point for the Burgwald Cycle Route; route details may change if the route is revised. It is therefore advisable to check the current route before setting off.
Other Places in the Broader Lahntal Destination
In Caldern, two circular hiking routes can be distinguished by their length and stated features. The 12.9-kilometre L1 runs from Caldern via Dilschhausen and back to Caldern. Points mentioned along the route include two churches, the “Paradies” and the historic summit of Rimbergturm. The family-friendly L3 is shorter at 6.7 kilometres; it follows paved paths through fields and woods and offers views of Caldern. These details make it easier to compare the routes without treating the two loops as identical.
The old bridge is a landmark in Goßfelden. The year 1802 is inscribed in Roman numerals on its eastern side; it can only be crossed on foot or by bicycle. The circular route “In the Footsteps of Otto Ubbelohde through Goßfelden” offers a different theme: it was inaugurated in June 2010, starts at the museum in the Lahn meadows and covers around 1.5 kilometres with 16 stops, mostly through old Goßfelden. At the stops, Ubbelohde’s drawings, illustrations and paintings are presented at locations in the village where the motifs – including fairy-tale illustrations – can still be recognised, or appear to be recognisable.
The Wollenberg also offers several landscape highlights in the broader Lahntal destination. The entirely forested mountain lies north of Lahntal, can be reached directly from almost all of Lahntal’s districts and offers numerous circular hiking trails. The more than 20-metre-high Schenk Oak is named after head forester Johannes Schenk, who looked after the forest on the Wollenberg until 1928. Near Brungershausen, a signposted hiking trail leads to the “Wichtelhäuser”, a mighty group of rocks. Set slightly off the forest path, the rocks invite visitors to climb and offer views across the Lahntal, of Kernbach and of the opposite Rimberg.
Further historical and architectural details add to the picture of each place: the present-day nave in Sterzhausen is a Neoclassical hall church dating from 1936, with distinctive semicircular windows. Remains of the former monastery wall beside Caldern’s Nikolaikirche have been preserved and restored. Caldern’s monastery mill has been mentioned as a mill since 1389 and originally belonged to the Cistercian monastery.
Seasonal Sunday opening hours are given for the Otto Ubbelohde House: from November through February, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and from March through October, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check opening hours before travelling.
Go to the broader travel overview: Lahntal.
