Corona-diary: Freyburg and the Schweigenberg circuit

Christina/ December 1, 2020/ The daily grind

This time it is love at first sight: Upon our arrival at Freyburg/Unstrut on a sunday morning we are immediately enchanted. The town is very nice and above all offers a wide range of different hiking trails. On the parking site for hikers we choose the Schweigenberg-Rundweg which is genuine piece of jewellery!

Zscheiplitz with its minster is definitely the highlight of the walk and not only because of its location on top of a hill. The panoramic view from there is breathtaking. And as a treat mulled wine is offered by some wine-maker close to the former cloister.

Coffee to wake up
We start our hike with a „wake-up-coffee“ which is not easy to get these days. We are lucky to find an open petrol station offering hot drinks. From our starting point, the Schützenplatz, we walk through the old part of the town. We take a look at the old ramparts and the St. Marien-Kirche in the middle of the village.

Afterwards we start our hike and pass by the champagne producer „Rottkäppchen“. Oh, that is interesting. We have a look into the shop. Oh yes, we are coming back later to buy some good stuff. From there we choose the panoramic walk to Zscheiplitz.

A steep ascend to Zscheiplitz
Reaching the top of the hill at Freyburg we are amazed. We enjoy a wonderful view onto the castle Neuenburg, the vineyards, the St. Marien-Kirche and the donjon „dicker Wilhelm“. From there we discover another castle at a distance. We want to go there. And lucky enough that is exactly the place the trails leads us to.

45 minutes later we arrive at Zscheiplitz, passing by the vineyards Himmelreich. We ascend the hill „St. Martin“ and reach the minster. We can hardly believe our eyes: what a spectacular view onto Freyburg and the complete Unstrut valley. There is also a nice observation tower close to the minster and a wine-maker too. The place is called Pawis.

Wine-maker mulled vine „to-go“
I can see a guy standing in the garden stirring something on a hot plate. That must be … it really is: mulled wine. Great! He must be godsend. We order two cups and have a talk with the owner about the Corona restrictions and in what way they do affect him and his business. We can understand his sorrows. This is definitely not an easy time for him.

With the hot liquid in our stomaches we start our way back and reach the Zeddernbacher Mühle where a battle in course of the Battle of Leipzig took place on October 21st, 1813.

We descend from the vineyards. Freyburg is an ideal place for wine-growing. It has more than 90 vineyard-houses. The Zedderbach-Mühle disposes of an organic grocery shop and a restaurant. The site is located close to a barrage, of course, that’s where the water comes from for running the mill.

A prosecco as reward
Back from the mill, passing by allotments and weekenders we return to Freyburg and the champagne producer. We take another good look around and by some proseccos and marmelade for our friends. Tired from the circuit but satisfied with the beauty of the trail we drive home.

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