Townapedia
Stadtkirche Saalfeld
Stadtkirche Saalfeld · Michael Sander, CC BY-SA 3.0
Erasmus - Reinhold - Gymnasium
Erasmus - Reinhold - Gymnasium · Rico Nowatschin, CC BY-SA 3.0
140823 Märchendom Saalfelder Feengrotten
140823 Märchendom Saalfelder Feengrotten · Ansgar Koreng, CC BY 3.0 de
Wetzelstein-1-von NW
Wetzelstein-1-von NW · Kerstin Zapf, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Johanneskirche Saalfeld
Johanneskirche Saalfeld · Michael Sander, CC BY-SA 3.0
-007 Landschaftsschutzgebiete in Thüringen Kulm
-007 Landschaftsschutzgebiete in Thüringen Kulm · NoRud, CC BY-SA 3.0

Saalfeld, Germany

Saalfeld/Saale

Saalfeld is a town of 28,023 people in Thuringia, Germany, founded in 700.

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Population28,023 GeoNames
Local nameSaalfeld/Saale
RegionThuringia
Elevation235 m 771 ft
Founded700
Time zoneEurope/Berlin
Land area48.8 km²
Nearest airportErfurt-Weimar Airport (ERF) 47 km

Why visit Saalfeld

Townapedia lists 44 museums and landmarks, 21 parks and trails, 99 places to eat, 17 places to stay and 50 attractions in and around town.

Highlights include Bioladen Lindenbachhof, Rabenhügel, Stadtmuseum Saalfeld im Franziskanerkloster and Schaudenkmal Gasmaschinenzentrale.

About Saalfeld

Saalfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈzaːlˌfɛlt] ; officially Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin.

From the Wikipedia article Saalfeld (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Travel tips from other travellers: Saalfeld on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Things to do50

Bioladen Lindenbachhof

Farm and orchard · 4.9 km

Gartencafe, Bauernhof, Imkerei und Ferienwohnung

12, Kaulsdorf

Open in Google Maps · +49 151 54729390

Rabenhügel

Scenic view · 5.8 km

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Eisenberg

Scenic view · 5.4 km

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Hinterer Breiteberg

Scenic view · 4.1 km

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Holzberg

Scenic view · 4.7 km

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Kulm

Scenic view · 3.9 km

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Lositz

Scenic view · 3.6 km

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Mäuseberg

Scenic view · 2.6 km

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Schautalskopf

Scenic view · 4.7 km

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Schwarzer Berg

Scenic view · 4.0 km

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Talberg

Scenic view · 5.0 km

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Vorderer Breiteberg

Scenic view · 3.4 km

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38 more on the map.

Museums and landmarks44

Stadtmuseum Saalfeld im Franziskanerkloster

Museum · 0.6 km

5 Münzplatz, Saalfeld/Saale

Tu-Su 10:00-17:00

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Schaudenkmal Gasmaschinenzentrale

Museum · 4.4 km

Technical_monument

1 Bergweg

Mo-Fr 08:00-11:00

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 614 936

Feengrotten

Monument and historic site · 2.2 km

Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia

Saalfelder Feengrotten

Monument and historic site · 2.3 km

2 Feengrottenweg, Saalfeld/Saale

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Schloss Wetzelstein

Monument and historic site · 2.2 km

1 Wetzelstein, Saalfeld/Saale

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Wasserturm

Monument and historic site · 0.6 km

Wasserturm am Bahnhof Saalfeld

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Saaltor

Monument and historic site

60 Saalstraße, Saalfeld/Saale

May-Sep: 09:00-18:00; Oct-Apr: 10:00-16:00

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Brunnentempel

Monument and historic site · 2.2 km

Mo-Su,PH 10:00-18:30

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Grottoneum

Museum · 2.2 km

Mo-Su,PH 10:00-18:00

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Handwerkhof

Monument and historic site · 2.2 km

Mo-Su,PH 10:00-17:30

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Hutschachtel

Monument and historic site

2 Köditzgasse, Saalfeld/Saale

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Louis Ferdinand von Preußen

Monument and historic site · 2.5 km

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32 more on the map.

Parks, trails and playgrounds21

Freibad Unterwellenborn

Sports field and stadium · 4.6 km

5 Am Freibad, Unterwellenborn

May-Jun: Mo-Su 10:00-19:00; Jul-Aug: Mo-Su 10:00-22:00; Sep: Mo-Su...

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 645302

Gleitsch

Hiking and trails · 3.2 km

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Bohlen

Hiking and trails · 2.1 km

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Spielplatz Osterhügel

Park · 5.8 km

Am Osterhügel, Unterwellenborn

24/7

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Feenweltchen

Park · 2.3 km

Mo-Su 10:00-19:00

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Freibad

Sports field and stadium · 1.3 km

7 Tiefer Weg, Saalfeld/Saale

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Grüne Mitte

Park · 0.6 km

Grüne Mitte, Saalfeld/Saale

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Dürerpark

Park

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Japanischer Garten

Park · 1.5 km

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Karl Marx Park

Park · 5.6 km

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Kulm (LSG)

Hiking and trails · 4.3 km

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9 more on the map.

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Restaurants and cafes99

Kohinoor

Restaurant · Indian

Indisches Restaurant

8 Blankenburger Straße

Mo-Su, PH 11:00-14:00, 17:00-22:00

Open in Google Maps · +4936714606896

Alte Post

Restaurant · Regional

9 Blankenburger Straße, Saalfeld/Saale

Mo-We 11:00-15:00, 17:00-22:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-15:00, 17:00-22:00; Su...

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 516661

Back-Shop & Cafe-Pavillon Walther

Bakery · Ice Cream · 1.4 km

68a Rainweg, Saalfeld/Saale

Mo-Fr 06:00-17:00; Sa 07:00-17:00; Su 13:00-17:00

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 5269035

Daddy's Diner

Diner · American · 1.8 km

8b Mittlerer Watzenbach, Saalfeld/Saale

Tu-Sa 17:00-21:00; Mo,Su,PH off

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 5262100

Eschenstübel

Restaurant · Regional · 1.1 km

38 Alte Gehegstraße, Saalfeld/Saale

We-Fr 15:00-23:00,Sa 14:00-23:00, Su 11:00-20:00

Open in Google Maps · +49367133263

Güldene Gans

Restaurant · Regional

25 Markt, Saalfeld/Saale

We-Sa 17:00-22:00

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 599 103

Kaffeehaus-Bäckerei-Konditorei Wenzel

Cafe

Hunde in Innenräumen erlaubt

10 Markt, Saalfeld/Saale

Mo-Sa 06:00-18:00; Su 07:00-18:00

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 457650

Kolumbianische Kaffeerösterei

Cafe · Coffee Shop · 5.7 km

1b Könitzer Straße, Kaulsdorf

Th-Fr 13:00-16:00; Sa,Su 13:00-16:30

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MON Ristorante

Restaurant · Italian

10 Brudergasse, Saalfeld/Saale

Th-Tu 11:00-14:30, 17:00-22:30

Open in Google Maps · +493671457668

Pizzeria Peperoncino

Restaurant · Italian, Pizza

Auf dem Graben, Saalfeld/Saale

Th-Tu 17:30-22:00

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 629956

Back-Shop & Cafe City Walther

Bakery

5 Markt, Saalfeld/Saale

Mo-Fr 06:30-18:00; Sa 07:00-14:00; Su,PH off

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 455599

Bohlenblick

Restaurant · 2.4 km

7 Geschwister-Scholl-Straße, Saalfeld/Saale

Mo-Sa 12:00-21:30; Su 11:30-19:30

Open in Google Maps · +49 3671 670264

87 more on the map.

History

Saalfeld is one of the historic towns of Thuringia, possibly founded by the 7th century around a Thuringii (Gothic) fortress today called Hoher Schwarm or Sorbenburg (Sorbs' Castle). The area was first mentioned in an 899 deed. Kitzerstein Castle standing on an eminence above the Saale River, was said to have been originally erected by the German King Henry the Fowler, although the present-day building was not built before the 16th century. In 1012 the last Ottonian emperor Henry II ceded the former Carolingian Kaiserpfalz to Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia, whose daughter Richeza bequested it to the Archbishops of Cologne.

According to the local chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld, Archbishop Anno II of Cologne in 1071 established a Benedictine abbey here, which quickly became an ecclesiastical centre in eastern Thuringia but was destroyed during the German Peasants' War in 1526. A Franciscan monastery was established about 1250, which also was dissolved during the Protestant Reformation. The Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa had ordered the layout of an Imperial city, parts of its medieval walls and bastions are preserved up to today. Nevertheless, the citizens in 1208 had to receive town privileges from the hands of the Counts of Schwarzburg as their feudal lords.

From the History section of Saalfeld on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to stay17

Churches and places of worship28

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Shopping27

Gas and EV charging5

Schools, colleges and libraries31

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Healthcare22

Map of Saalfeld

250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.

Getting there and nearby towns

Erfurt-Weimar Airport (ERF) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 47 km away.

  • Jena 35 km northeast, about 35 min by car
  • Sonneberg 35 km southwest, about 35 min by car
  • Weimar 37 km north, about 37 min by car
  • Neustadt bei Coburg 39 km southwest, about 39 min by car
  • Erfurt 43 km northwest, about 43 min by car
  • Kronach 45 km south, about 45 min by car
  • Rödental 45 km southwest, about 45 min by car
  • Suhl 48 km west, about 48 min by car
  • Coburg 52 km southwest, about 52 min by car
  • Hof 54 km southeast, about 54 min by car

Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.

Reviews, tips and questions

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Sources and licences

Photo credits

Page built November 8, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.