Springs and Egerland Half-Timbering At the beginning of the stage, you can once again admire the magnificent spa and park facilities of Bad Elster. Passing the bathing area and the art gallery hall, along the promenade path and beside Louisa Lake, the path leads out of the spa town to the quaint village of Raun. Here, the hiker discovers particularly charming little houses richly decorated with the so-called Egerland half-timbering.
This true gem among the Vogtland and Saxon villages epitomizes the historic house-building style using fieldstone, clay, and wood. Egerland half-timbered gables welcome the guest. Widely known is the village chapel, one of the oldest preserved in the Vogtland and was a pilgrimage church during Catholic times. A highlight for nature lovers is also the orchid meadow in the middle of the village. Raun is a typical Waldhufendorf (forest village), which was first mentioned in 1378. The entire village is under monument protection. Once you have passed through the village, you soon reach Bad Brambach with its extensive spa park inviting you to linger.
As early as 1890, mineral water shipping started from a spring discovered in 1860 under the name Schillerquelle by the then tenant. In 1910, another spring was discovered in the village, which proved to be the strongest drinkable radon spring in the world. All Bad Brambach healing springs: Wettin spring, Schiller spring, Iron spring as well as the Upper and Lower Border springs contain a variety of minerals, trace elements, carbonic acid, and the noble gas radon.
By the way, there is another variant of this stage that shortly after Bad Elster leads into the Czech border area; over the 758 m high Hainberg, after 16 km you reach the spa park of Bad Brambach.
