The best running trails around Teuschnitz

The church was built after the Second World War and was solemnly consecrated in 1953.

At the Schildwiese rest stop, there is a very special piece of Rennsteig history: a small customs house that is reminiscent of the former division of Germany. It was created by Günther Schmidt from Spechtsbrunn. With a lot of humor, he has designed a place here that recalls the time when the Rennsteig was actually divided by the border. Today, you can hike here without any passport control.

During the Rennsteig Church Day on June 20, 2009, the memorial at Schildwiese was inaugurated. The metal cross, over four meters high, was designed by the builders from original parts of the old border fence. In front of it, a plaque on a stone block commemorates the people who died in this section of the inner-German border, and all victims of the wall and barbed wire during the German division.

The "Zollhaus" at the Rennsteig border monument is not a restored historical building. The hut was erected and equipped in autumn 2016 by the Frankenwaldverein Kleintettau. It is intended to commemorate the vibrant customs history of this border region and the era of German division. The monument also includes a historical border stone and two posts with the coats of arms of the Free State of Bavaria and the district of Kronach on one side, and the Free State of Thuringia and the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt on the other.

The Franconian Forest Association's hiking hut in Kleintettau is located directly on the Rennsteig trail on the Schildwiese meadow, on the border between Bavaria/Thuringia. Until 1989, the world ended here for Germans from both parts of the country. The Iron Curtain between the FRG and the GDR ran directly along the Schildwiese. Today, the Frankenwaldhütte is a popular destination. Here you can relax, stop for refreshments, and learn about history, nature, or traditional crafts such as charcoal burning. Occasionally, a charcoal pile is lit behind the hut. The hut is open Tuesdays from 4 PM to 8 PM and Sundays from 2 PM to 6 PM. It does not offer overnight accommodation.

According to tradition, during the Thirty Years' War, three Protestant siblings fled the ravages of war. Their destination was the nearby Protestant Lauenstein. But right at this spot, shortly before reaching safety, the three brothers were caught up by enemy troops and mercilessly slaughtered. The Steinkreuz was erected in memory of the fallen and as a memorial against the horrors of the religious war.

The Catholic branch church of St. Johannes Baptista is considered the landmark of Steinbach am Wald. Its origins probably date back to a motte-and-bailey castle from the 13th century. The core structure of the choir and nave was built around 1500, making it the oldest preserved building in the municipality. The church is surrounded by a massive rubble stone wall with a slated gable roof and the remains of a former moat. On the north wall of the nave, a real embrasure still recalls its former defensive function as a place of refuge.

The Protestant Christ Church is an example of simple post-war sacral architecture in the Franconian Forest. Built in 1953, the structure is characterized by its clear design language and steeply pitched gable roof. The tall windows let in plenty of light into the bright, unadorned church interior.