The starting point is the parking lot Mahliser Str./Trift in Collm. From here, we follow Mahliser Str. in a southwest direction. About 1 km further on the right side is an old quarry. Between 1835 and 1959, Grauwacke was extracted here for road and house construction. The Grauwacke at Collm is considered the oldest rock in Saxony: About 500 million years ago, sediments were deposited here in a shallow sea, which were later uplifted and deformed by tectonic processes. Since 1975, the quarry has been a geological natural monument under conservation and has been accessible to the public since 1989.
Following the forest path northwards, after about 1 km and a short detour, you reach the Geophysical Observatory of the University of Leipzig. Since a seismograph set up in Leipzig was always disturbed by traffic or industry, a new building was constructed between 1927 and 1932 at Collmberg. Earthquakes have been recorded here since 1935. Since 1993, the Collm station is part of the German Seismic Regional Network (GRSM) and cooperates with various international data centers. Since the 1950s, upper atmosphere measurements have also been conducted.
After the short detour to the observatory, a path leads southeast to the so-called "Himmelsleiter" (Heaven's Ladder). It is a very steep ascent to Collmberg. At Collm, there is an old fortification (around 900 AD), about which there are almost no historical records. The steep Himmelsleiter indicates the good defensive position.
We bypass the Himmelsleiter southwards and soon turn left to reach the summit. Since 1853, an 18m high observation tower stands here, named "Albert Tower" after the then prince and duke, later king of Saxony. The tower offers views of the Wermsdorf Forest, the Dahlener Heide, as well as Petersberg near Halle, Hartenfels Castle in Torgau, the Battle of the Nations Monument and the university giant in Leipzig, Augustusburg, Lilienstein in the Saxon Switzerland, and the Landeskrone near Görlitz. A granite column inscribed with "Royal Saxon station of the Central European triangulation 1865" commemorates the Central European triangulation of 1865, in which Collm was a first-order point for the Saxon triangulation network.
Following Collmbergstraße, you soon return to the village center. Via Mahliser Str., you reach the village cemetery where a special feature awaits: the oldest tree in Saxony, the 1000-year-old lime tree. It has a height of 18m and a trunk circumference of 11m. In the Middle Ages, justice was administered here. In 1185, Collm was first mentioned as "Landding" (site of the Meissen Landtag). The tree has been under monument protection since 1949.
Heading out of town along Mahliser Str., you return to the parking lot, the starting point of the route.
