GeoRoute 13 - "Flusstour Leina" - UNESCO Global Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - Drei Gleichen

Beforehand, a large part of the river water is diverted into the Leina canal, which was already built in the 14th century to supply water to the city of Gotha and is now a technical monument. This hiking route primarily addresses the dynamics of rivers, explains the water cycle, and the formation of floods. Numerous fossils were unearthed during excavations on the outskirts of Finsterbergen, bearing witness to climate change and the associated changes in flora and fauna during the Rotliegend period (280 million years ago). Among them are the smallest dinosaur finds in Thuringia: 15 mm large larvae of the salamander-like and only finger-long branchiosaurians. At Engelsbach, GeoRoute 13 "Flusstour Leina" crosses the Thuringian Raw Material Path (GeoRoute 11. The river route runs from the ridge of the Thuringian Forest to the gates of the residence city of Gotha. It passes former quarries, geological outcrops, and small lakes before rewarding visitors on Boxberg (historic gallop racing track) with a view of the Großer Inselsberg and Gotha.