The Bummelkuppenweg

Hohe Straße
This path is steeped in history, as it is the "Hohe Straße", one of the most important pass roads over the Hainich. In the Middle Ages, this trade route was used to transport salt, woad and grain from the area around Bad Langensalza and Craula down into the Werra Valley. From there, it continued by boat and ship to the German and Dutch North Sea ports.

Steinerner Tisch
About 800 m after the barrier, there is the first opportunity to rest at the "Steinerner Tisch". This place was probably already used in the Middle Ages as a resting place and rest stop for carters on the "Hohe Straße". Coming from the west, they had overcome the steepest ascent here.

Early bloomers
In the beautiful, old beech forest to the right and left of the path, numerous early bloomers such as wood anemones, liverworts and lesser celandine bloom in spring.

Mülverstedt cross
When the path turns left, we reach the Mülverstedt cross. This 15th century field monument owes its name to the fact that it is part of the Mülverstedt district, despite being nine kilometers from the village of Mülverstedt. It has no signs or inscriptions. The reason for its creation is therefore unknown. It could be a stone cross for a deceased person, like some found in the Hainich. Here we leave Hohe Straße and continue to the right on a narrow hiking trail.

Wild garlic
The forest is becoming ever more rustic. Fallen beech trees with huge root plates lie in the forest. Lush stands of wild garlic grow here, whose green leaves conjure up a delicate green carpet on the forest floor as early as April. May is then flowering time.

At Kalkgrund
If you would like to take a break here, you will soon have the opportunity to do so, as there is a seat on the edge of the path. We now descend in a south-westerly direction, initially at a leisurely pace and later in serpentines, into the Kalkgrund. At the edge of the path is a thick and still very vital spruce, a relic from the forestry management of the Hainich. Spruce trees would not naturally grow here.

Plaque commemorating the plane crash
When we arrive at Kalkgrund, we see a large stone. The plaque on it tells us that it commemorates eight Australian, Canadian and British airmen who died when their Lancaster bomber was shot down on the night of March 31, 1944.

Two options for the way back
We continue our hike through the beautiful Kalkgrund. We soon have to decide whether we want to take the short or longer route back to the parking lot. The short route leads within the national park via the primeval forest path back to the parking lot. The longer route leads out of the national park across meadows and fields past a worthwhile viewpoint with an impressive view over the Werra valley back to the parking lot. The border between the national park and the nature park is hard to miss. Directly behind the border, the beech forest is used intensively for forestry.