If you don’t just want to get goosebumps on Halloween through terrible costumes or horror films, you can also plan a trip. Some places in this country invite you to take a different kind of detour. Old castles, sanctuaries or caves are frightening.
Frankenstein Castle stands on a 370 meter high spur of the Langenberg and is located southeast of the Darmstadt district of Eberstadt. The world-famous novel “Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley (1797-1851) may actually have been inspired by the castle. According to legend, there was an alchemist, theologian and doctor named Johann Konrad Dippel von Frankenstein. According to the legend, the alchemist wanted to create a new person from corpse parts and the blood of virgins as well as “secret arts”. Mary Shelley could have learned about these stories on a trip… Today Frankenstein Castle, which was first mentioned in 1252, is a popular excursion destination.
A lot of myths and legends also surround the Externsteine in the Teutoburg Forest. The sandstone cliffs in North Rhine-Westphalia remain mysterious to this day: the age and original function of the structures are said to be controversial. It is said that a pagan sanctuary could have been converted into a Christian site at the Externsteine. Experts tend to assume that these are the holy sites of Jerusalem that were recreated in the High Middle Ages. The Externsteine are known, among other things, for the monumental relief of the Descent from the Cross and the artificial grottoes behind it.
The former pulmonary hospital in Beelitz could come from a horror film. It is located in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg and was built between 1889 and 1930. It is one of the largest medical complexes in the Berlin area – 60 buildings are spread over 200 hectares. The area is surrounded by a forest; lung patients and soldiers were once treated here. The politician Erich Honecker (1912-1994), who suffered from liver cancer, was also a patient here for a few months starting in 1990. Due to the severe decay and architecture, several films have already been filmed there, including “Operation Walküre” and “The Pianist”.
You can take a trip into the underworld in Thuringia: The Barbarossa Cave is located in Kyffhäuser near Rottleben. The cave with its grottoes and lakes looks like an underground magical world, with a special play of colors and bizarre ceiling structures. There are also huge cavities and shimmering blue-green lakes with fascinating ceiling reflections.
