A yoga experience in a picturesque setting

Art and relaxation go hand in hand in Bad Frankenhausen

It leans further than the Leaning Tower of Pisa: the “leaning tower” of Bad Frankenhausen gives the brine spa town a distinctive cityscape. The reason for the tower’s incline is the brine in the soil, which in turn plays a key role in the life of the city. From traditional salt mining to the modern Solewasser-Vitalpark – the Frankenhausen brine can even be tasted in bread and beer! Located in the wonderful surroundings of the Kyffhäuser Nature Park, the spa town also impresses visitors with the excellent Panorama Museum combined with a unique yoga experience.

Must-see: the leaning tower of Bad Frankenhausen

The “leaning tower” presents an unusual image. With an overhang of 4.60 metres, it is therefore leaning more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This impressive incline will soon become even more palpable when you can access this tower with its new visitor centre from 2025. From here, it is uphill all the way to the Schlachtberg. This mountain owes its name (lit. “battle mountain”) to one of the greatest battles in the German Peasants’ War of 1525. Today a cylindrical building towers above the heavenly orchard – the Panorama Museum.

Cultural tip: the Sistine Chapel of the North in the Panorama Museum

The centrepiece of the museum is one of the world’s largest paintings, which also contains one of the highest numbers of figures and serves as a memorial to the German Peasants’ War – the monumental painting by Werner Tübke (1929-2004). When you climb the steps up to this masterpiece, the first thing you will see is a narrow crescent of shapes and colours, which will grow into a sea of figures with each additional step until it finally stretches out into a feast of brilliant painting. In the vast, 360° dome, you can admire countless scenes on a 14-metre high and 123-metre long canvas, showing a universal, timeless “theatrum mundi”.

“Enjoy the silence” – yoga in the Panorama Museum

In this history-steeped environment, you will have the unique opportunity to surrender to the atmosphere of this art during a yoga session with Olympic gold medallist Nils Schumann. In the evening, you can embark on a journey from Thai yoga to flow yoga. Although you will break out in a sweat during the intense asanas amongst the 3,000 figures of the monumental painting, this yoga session is not a competition, as Nils Schumann emphasises. The goal is to feel refreshed and balanced in your body, mind and soul.

Tip from Olympic gold medallist Nils Schumann

At the Olympic Games in 2000, Nils Schumann won the gold medal in the 800 metres. The native of Frankenhausen had trained for his favourite sport in the brine spa town since his youth. His recommendation? Active relaxation! The paths through the barren karst landscape around Bad Frankenhausen are his favourite running routes. Even today, he prefers to switch off in this environment after a demanding training session. “I personally feel most relaxed after physical exercise combined with nature. The run through the Kyffhäuser Forest and the limestone slopes relaxes me greatly.”

Bad weather tip: Barbarossa Cave and Kyffhäuser thermal baths

The Barbarossa Cave is located in the first section of the Kyffhäuser Trail. The anhydrite cave is a geological rarity and will cast a spell over you with its crystal clear, shimmering blue-green lakes, in which the cave’s sometimes bizarre structures are reflected. A visit to the Kyffhäuser thermal baths, where you can combine bathing in the Frankenhausen brine with relaxing infusions in the sauna area, is also not weather-dependent. A particular highlight is the Dead Sea salt grotto. Lean back and relax, draw strength from the soothing atmosphere and taste on your lips the salt that surrounds you.

The white gold of Bad Frankenhausen

The Kyffhäuser salt has been an important part of Bad Frankenhausen for centuries. After a short, energetic ascent to the Hausmannsturm, you will have a fantastic view of the spring area with the Elisabeth Spring, which is skilfully presented. In the historic show boiling house, you will regularly encounter salt workers and panners. In the demonstrations of the salt boiling process, they fill their salt baskets with the white gold. A small bag of the original Bad Frankenhausen evaporated salt will remind you of this experience even after you go home. Brine experience: healthy cool down in the Solewasser-Vitalpark From the show boiling house, the Salt Trail leads through the spa gardens to the modern Solewasser-Vitalpark. On warm summer days, the fresh water in the brine outdoor pool makes your skin feel tinglingly refreshed. So that your whole body achieves a healing state of pleasure, you can breath in the local brine in the inhaling pavilion and make use of the Kneipp pool and the foot reflex zone course.

Culinary tip: brine bread from the bakery

In Bad Frankenhausen, you cannot only feel the local brine, but also taste it. As soon as you enter the demonstration bakery at the Trautmann bakery, you will get a sense that tradition and modernity are combined are to form something special. For example the “Frankenhisser Solesalzbrot” (Frankenhausen brine bread), a sour dough bread that features the “leaning tower” on the crust. A real Bad Frankenhausen original!