Thalfang and Dhronecken Castle

At the northern foot of Erbeskopf mountain lies the spa resort with a specifically healthful climate, Thalfang (Latin: Talavancum), in an area that was already densely populated in Celtic-Roman times. First documented in the year 1112, district "Mark Thalfang" is among the oldest administrative units in the region. The church is well worth seeing with three naves from the first half of the 14th century, a Romanesque west tower from the years 1220-1230, a Late Gothic choir and a Stumm organ from the years 1877/78, which goes back to the famous organ-building dynasty of Johann Michael Stumm from Sulzbach am Idarkopf. It is not far from the eastern edge of town to the mystical Haardtwald forest, the place where some say the grim Hagen von Tronje of the Nibelungenlied is supposed to have murdered the noble hero Siegfried at a spring there. This strongly bubbling mineral spring is rich in carbon dioxide. It issues from quite close to the old Roman road "Via Ausonia" and has been made accessible in a beautifully made pavilion on a wood glade (Haardtwald-Quelle). On the other side of the Roman road, in the middle of the forest about a half hour from Haardtwald-Quelle, is a natural monument called "Berger Wacken". It is an impressive block of quartzite fifteen meters high, representing the highest point of a quartzite ridge several kilometers long.

Photo: The three-nave Protestant church from the first half of the 14th century with a Romanesque west tower from 1220-1230, a late Gothic choir and a Stumm organ from 1877/78.