Hiking recommended and marked by the association "Attraktives Glauchau e.V." and the city of Glauchau:
The third circular route takes you to the most beautiful historic places in Glauchau and at the same time for long stretches to the "green lung" of the city.
The circular hiking trail begins again in the heart of Glauchau, directly in front of the town hall on the market square. This was already laid out in the 13th century and represents an architectural peculiarity of this time with its angled access streets. The look of the square has been shaped by the valuable historic buildings since 1820. The town hall from 1818 houses a carillon made of Meissen porcelain in its tower, which enchants visitors daily at 9:05 a.m., 12:05 p.m., and 6:05 p.m. with its sounds. The history of the city is reflected in the beautiful bronze fountain. The weaver symbolizes Glauchau as a city of cloth makers, the market woman markets and trade, and the playing children life in the city. The figures are movable and invite play.
Over the lower market side, Dr.-Dörffel-Straße, we leave the market square and reach the castle square. Around the castle square there are many other valuable buildings. The church tower of St. George's Church, which stands on the church square above, can be seen from a distance. It was built until 1728 and is, along with the castle, one of the oldest buildings in the city. The small side altar (around 1500) and, of course, the Silbermann organ from 1730 are particularly noteworthy. The organ is the fourth largest preserved organ of the famous baroque master Gottfried Silbermann and has a wonderful sound. The double castle complex "Forder- and Hinterglauchau" (right-hand side), the former residence of the Schönburgers, is located on a promontory above the Mulde valley and is a historical and architectural jewel. Hinterglauchau originated from a castle complex from the 12th century. Forderglauchau castle is considered one of the earliest secular buildings of the Renaissance in Central Germany. Those interested can dive deeper into the castle and visit the museum and art collection as well as the gallery "art gluchowe". We now walk down the Mühlberg with its imposing walls, which branches off to the right before the castle and has always served as the access from the Mulde valley to the city.
Arriving in the valley, we take the first footpath on the left and enter Gründelpark, which was laid out in a landscape style in 1864. Passing the Hammer pond, there is a beautiful view of Hinterglauchau Castle with its many battlements; it now goes to the Gründelteich. In the Gründelhaus, a small cozy café offers an opportunity to stop or you can borrow a boat and enjoy the day with a gondola party. The hiking trail continues along the northern bank path towards Wehrstraße.
We cross Wehrstraße. The path now leads past "Am Wehrgarten" to the Hedrich dam junction (left). This was built in 1842 by Carl Hedrich and provided many local factories with a constant water flow and thus continuous production. The water power enabled Glauchau to develop into an important industrial center.
From Wehrgarten, we turn right onto Naundorfer Wiesenweg, which leads us to the reservoir lake (46 ha water surface), one of Glauchau's recreational areas. The lake was created from 1936-1938 as a process water reservoir for the Glauchau textile industry. Today, it is distinguished by its particularly species-rich fauna. Great crested grebes and little grebes, black-headed gulls, coots and moorhens as well as reed warblers and marsh warblers breed in the area. At the same time, the lake is very popular with anglers due to its abundance of fish. The path leads right along the dam along the north bank. After a short time, we reach the jetty and clubhouse of the canoeists. The Glauchau Canoe Club organizes various canoe polo tournaments on the reservoir lake. With a bit of luck, you can even cheer at a game of the East German Championships or the Bundesliga. We continue to follow the shoreline path - also along the west bank. The many benches along the path invite you to linger. You can perfectly let your soul dangle, enjoy the peace, and observe nature at the lake here.
The path "Zum Stausee" (first straight ahead, then keep right) brings us to the Zwickauer Mulde and immediately after to the Mulde weir. At the height of the weir, the path turns left into the forest and meanders along the creek to the sports field and Muldenstraße. We have now reached the idyllic Glauchau district of Wernsdorf and keep to the left. The circular route leads the first path to the left (the footpath) up towards the church. Once more left goes into Schulweg, which becomes Erbschänkenstraße after a few meters. This leads us at height, along the edge of the field to Hölzel. Glauchau lies before us with its silhouette. The Hölzeler Weg now leads back to Glauchau to Albertsthaler Straße (turn left), which we leave again after a few meters to take the right footpath "Hölzeler Weg" up to Martinistraße.
We are now in the villa district under monument protection between Clementinenstraße, Martini Straße and Plantagenstraße. More than thirty magnificent villas shape the area. They were created around 1900 as residences of wealthy Glauchau manufacturers with park-like gardens. Predominant architectural styles are historicism, Italian Renaissance, Art Nouveau and classicism. We follow Martinistraße, cross Wettiner Straße and reach the city center again via Theaterstraße (downhill and uphill).
The city theater on the right is known far beyond the region for its unique ambiance and its performances with renowned artists. We follow Theaterstraße to Schlossstraße, turn left into the old shopping street. Two cross streets further, Marktstraße leads us back to the starting point of the circular route. In the city center, you can now end the day with ice cream, in a café or restaurant.
If you arrive by car, it is best to use the parking lot in Hoffnung (walking access to the market via Schulplatz and market passage). You can also start from the Albertsthaler Straße parking lot.
