Märchenwald Saalburg

A fairy tale park in a magical setting.

We visited Märchenwald Saalburg off-season so not everything was open yet but it was still great fun for all of us. From the parking area you can take either the cute little train, if it runs, or walk down through the thick forrest.

Märchenwald Saalburg in the woods
Märchenwald Saalburg
fairy tale forrest
Magical Tree

The Fairy Tale Park opened its doors after the wall came down and it does have indeed a little GDR charme to it.

Hexen im Märchenwald Witches in the forrest
Witches – Hexen
Märchenwald saalburg sleeping Beauy Dornröschen
Sleeping Beauty – Dornröschen
troll on the bridge
Troll on the Bridge
Sterntaler the star money
Star Money – Sterntaler

Some of the dolls look so real, you’d have to pay me to walk around in the park by myself after dark (and even then …).

Märchenwald Saalburg Pinocchio
Pinocchio – Carlo Collodi

While the Germans love their Grimm Brothers, it is nice that the park also includes other tales and stories.

Struwelpeter
Struwwelpeter – Heinrich Hoffmann
Märchenwald Lummerland
Jim Knopf – Michael Ende
Schneekönigin Snow Queen
Snow Queen – Schneeköniging – Hans Christian Andersen
Max und Moritz Wilhem Busch
Max & Moritz – Wilhelm Busch
Rotkäppchen Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood – Rotkäppchen

The attention to detail is great and they really have a thing for lace and fabrics. While some may find this presentation maybe a bit dated, I really did like that they mostly didn’t use awkward mashines to make the figurines move or talk.

Aschenputtel Cinderella
Cinderella – Aschenputtel
Märchenwald Saalburg Schneewitchen Snow White
Snow White – Schneewitchen & Rapunzel
Märchenwald Saalburg Gartenzwerg Garden Gnome
Garden Gnome, The shoes that were danced to pieces & The valiant little tailor – Gartenzwerg, Die zertanzten Schuhe & Das tapfere Schneiderlein
Garden Gnome Gartenzweg diezertanzten Schuhe be kitschig blog
Garden Gnome, The shoes that were danced to pieces & Mother Hulda – Gartenzwerg, Die zertanzten Schuhe & Frau Holle
Hansel & Gretel
Hansel & Gretel – Hänsel & Gretel

Märchenwald Saalburg is authentic, even when it comes to the rest area. While I read some pretty bad reviews, we really liked it. Homemade pies and potato salad for decent prizes. Places in the shade and places in the sun for the adults and small enough to let the kids roam freely-ish.

Pommes Fries
Fries – Pommes
Bin Clown Mülleimer
Clown Bin – Clown Mülleimer
WC Frau Toilette
The Loo Lady – because paying 50 Cents to use the bathroom is just what you do …
Self-Serve Ice cream Eis Selbstbedienung
Self-Service – Selbstbedienung
Märchenwald
Moss – Moos

The park also offers rides, slides, some water fun, bouncy castles and a petting zoo.

auto scooter
autoscooter
Fortune wahrheit
Bocca della Verita

This is a great little trip, espacially for young families. The prizes are moderate but you have to pay for the attractions. When travelling with little kids, you can easily spend half a day at Märchenwald Saalburg. Nature around is absolutely stunning and while in Thuringia, check out the Feengrotten, the Fairy Caves, nearby as well.

The side notes

Lately, I’m really starting to have issues with online reviews. Usually, or so it seems, people who were not happy tend to review, however, whithout any consciousness, what that could mean for little businesses. Märchenwald Saalburg is more for families with kids or people like me, who like their travels a bit kitschy.

If you like your attractions all polished, visit Lego Land or any other huge chain thingy instead and a pay a fortune. Don’t forget your review. I’m sure you’ll find something to bring down those stars.

It was great fun to look up the English translations of the fairy tales. Grimmstories.com offers translations of the original texts in nearly 20 languages, including Turkish, English and Korean.

Happy roadtripping!

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14 thoughts on “Märchenwald Saalburg

    1. Liebe Hanne, das war ein spontaner Trip und ich hab mich glatt Hals über Kopf in Thüringen verliebt … Wir planen noch ein paar lange Wochenenden in diesem Jahr, mehr Reiseeindrücke folgen!

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