Beach spots, nature parks, or new music venues in the city —all of these make summer in and around Berlin special, but they don’t always offer a completely new experience. Sometimes you want a little more variety. If you’re already familiar with the various beaches and day-trip destinations around the capital and are in the mood for an extraordinary discovery, we have a very special tip for you: The Langenstein Cave Dwellings are among Germany’s most unusual sights and look like a fairy-tale Hobbit village.
The cave dwellings, carved into the sandstone, remind many visitors of the Hobbit houses from Tolkien’s stories, but they are not a movie set—they are genuine historic dwellings that were inhabited until the early 20th century . They are located in the Langenstein district on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains and are among the most significant examples of historic residential architecture in Germany. The cave dwellings are located on the Schäferberg in Langenstein, a district of Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt.
The complex comprises a total of twelve cave dwellings. Ten of them are located on the Schäferberg, and two more are in the Altenburg area. Most of the dwellings were built between 1855 and 1858 and had a living area of about 30 square meters. The last cave dwelling was inhabited until 1916. Today, several of the caves have been restored and are open to visitors as a museum.
Although the caves look much older, most of them were actually built in the mid-19th century. At that time, there was a severe housing shortage in Langenstein. Since many families couldn’t afford their own homes, they began carving out dwellings directly into the soft sandstone cliffs. Using hammers, chisels, and pickaxes, they created small but functional living spaces within just a few months. The local government sold the rock faces to the families, who then converted them into homes through their own labor.
Each cave dwelling consisted of several small rooms, including a living room, a bedroom, a children’s room, and a pantry. Windows were located exclusively on the front of the dwellings, while the rear rooms were completely embedded in the sandstone. Heating was provided by stoves whose chimneys rose vertically through the rock. Despite the simple living conditions, the caves offered several advantages. In the summer, they remained pleasantly cool, while the thick sandstone walls retained heat relatively well in the winter.
Today, several cave dwellings have been faithfully restored and turned into an open-air museum. Visitors get an authentic glimpse into the daily lives of the former residents from the 19th century. On display are fully furnished living spaces with period furniture, kitchens, bedrooms, and numerous household items. Small front yards in front of the caves, as well as informational signs, provide additional interesting facts about the site’s history. Particularly striking is the contrast between the simple living spaces and the massive sandstone walls, which were carved directly out of the rock.
