Gabelbach (Ilm)

The fork creek in the Old Spa Park in Ilmenau

The fork Bach is a right tributary of the River Ilm in Thuringia.

Course

It rises on the fork head brook on the Duke Röder meadow. The valley is bounded on the east by Lindenberg and to the west by Kickelhahn. In the upper section of the valley lie the hunting lodge fork creek, a forest headquarters, which served the dukes in the hunt as quarters and the Berghotel Fork creek. The creek meanders through the Gabelbachtal. At its lower reaches it feeds the crack Buhler ponds and flows then piped in part on its last section, by the Ilmenau spa district. After a run of 3.48 km, it opens at the fir bridge in Ilmenau in the Ilm.

Others

There, on a slope of mountain Linde are in relatively snow-sure location the winter sports facilities of the town of Ilmenau. In addition to a no longer usable ski jump, an ice-stock rink, the alpine slope with ski lift, ended the former Ilmenau bobsleigh track here. Slightly below these facilities, there is a tennis court.

Through the valley leads the former wife woods road, which is part of the ancient trade route Erfurt- Nuremberg, the Franks path was after it was moved around 1324 by Ilmenau, left on Endleich or woman forests gate Ilmenau and at the fir bridge the Ilm crossed.

Today, this high road Ilmenau connects with Neustadt am Rennsteig and Stuetzerbach. From the Dreiherrenstein it runs directly on the Thuringian Rennsteig trail. In the 1920s and 1930s took place the so-called fork creek race on the first part of this road. Since the late 1980s, a mountain time trial takes place as part of the Thuringian Radwanderwoche annually on the Sunday after Ascension instead.

Origin of the name

Is derived the name from Old High Gabala and the Middle High German Gabel ( fork). Presumably, it alluded to the fork-like watercourse.