View of the Saale Valley @museum.de

The river meanders peacefully along. On top of the limestone cliff, at a height of 90 metres or 300 feet, a breath-taking view opens up over the middle Saale valley. The majestic river actually appears to inscribe an ornate "S" (for "Saale") into the landscape.

Dorndorf lies at the foot of the cliff, on the plain. The town is connected to the railway station and the right bank of the River Saale by the Carl Alexander Bridge, built in 1892. Beyond it lies Tautenburg Forest, which was once a ducal hunting preserve.

And right in front of you, high up on the rocky slope, the white Johanniter grape thrives. The limestone stores the heat, and the south-east exposure does the rest to produce an aromatic, fruity white wine: "Dornburger Schlossberg".

Duke Ernst August the First of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach had a passion for opulence and loved hunting. He dreamt of a grand, ceremonial military parade on the Saale plain. It was to be on the same scale as the Zeithain Lustlager, a peacetime encampment hosted by Augustus the Strong in 1730.

So he built a Rococo Palace at the midpoint between the existing palaces, almost on the edge of the cliff. The work took place between 1736 and 1741. The duke was planning a commander's residence from which he and his guests would have had a truly inspiring view of the encampment, the troops on parade, and the idyllic Saale landscape.

But his ostentatious parade never took place. On the other hand, the spectacular views of the plain from the Dornburg palaces are still here for us to enjoy today.