On little-traveled roads and meadow paths, the "Lutherweg Sachsen" runs along the river "Pleiße" from Altenburg to Gnandstein. Not only the large cities are worth seeing. In the small villages along the way, you can also encounter remarkable churches and historically valuable houses. Before Gnandstein, the path leads the hiker through an extensive forest area and ends at one of the best-preserved Romanesque castles in Saxony – Gnandstein Castle.
In Altenburg, they separate again. The "Lutherweg Thüringen" then runs westward, the "Lutherweg Sachsen" eastward into the Leinawald. Along forest and field paths, the route winds through an idyllic stretch of forest and meadow. From afar, Gnandstein Castle can already be seen, which was once the main seat of the von Einsiedel family. They owned large estates in the region and advocated for the introduction of the Reformation. Despite threats and the influence of Duke Georg, who prevented the introduction of the Reformation before 1539, the von Einsiedel family was among the first Saxon noble families to openly support the Reformation.
Did you know that the western section of the Lutherweg between Leipzig and Zwickau runs along one of the most famous old long-distance trade routes? The Via Imperii extends from Stettin via Borna and Altenburg to Rome. The Via Imperii is signposted with the well-known scallop shell.
