Hike from Dornach-Arlesheim to Goetheanum, Dorneck Castle, and Burg Birseck

Getting there

Dornach-Arlesheim is located nearby Basel city (30 min by train), which puts it at 1:10-1:30 h from Zürich HB. There’s a paid covered parking lot near the station in case you arrive by car, although it’s not very big.

Starting point: Dornach-Arlesheim station

Finishing point: Dornach-Arlesheim station

Distance: 9.3 km

Total time: approx. 3 h

Elevation gain: 381 m

Fitness difficulty: Easy

Technical difficulty: Easy

Facilities: Around 1/3 of the hike happens through the city, so there’s plenty of refreshment options there.

Notes:

• Great for a relaxing walk or a hike with kids, as there’s plenty of ruins to climb on.
• The lakes are not good for swimming, as there’s too much algae growing in there.
• The Castle visiting times are: from Easter to 31 October, on Wednesday and Sunday from 14:00 to 17:00.

The hike itself

We started the hike from the Dornach-Arlesheim station, going mostly perpendicular to the railway.

Goetheanum Campus

The Goetheanum is a massive structure built first in 1919, before being destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in 1928. The building hosts the headquarters of the Anthroposophical Society, an “association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world” according to Wikipedia.

I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this building before, although my Swiss friends had visited it as part of school visits. The campus is really interesting to see, and it features several structures, being the Goetheanum the main building. You’re also allowed to visit it inside, and it’s really worth it, having interesting architectural features and colors in it. The highlight is the Big Room, but it was closed when we visited. It gave a bit of Gaudí vibes with the lack of sharp angles in the building.

There’s a café and a store inside, as well as bathrooms.

Dorneck Castle Ruins

The first indicatoins of this castle date from the 11th century, althught it does not appear mentioned in written form until the 14th century. The castle was heavily damaged in 1798, and the efforts to preserve the ruins didn’t start until the 20th century. You can freely walk around the castle. The highlight was to go up the metallic staircase and enjoy the views of the mountains behind, and the city. You could even see Basel and its airport.

Lakes – Oberer, Mittlerer and Unterer Weiher

We saw a few lakes and approached them. They were really green (you can see in the photo)! In the Mittlerer Weiher, the largest of the three, there was a viewing platform and you could see enormous fish swimming just next to it. There was also a notice not to feed the fish.

Burg Birseck

This castle was built in 1243 by Prince-Bishop Lüthold II, and restroyed and rebuilt a couple of times. The castle can be visited from Easter to 31 October, on Wednesday and Sunday from 14:00 to 17:00. You can check out the gardens that surrounds it, which features several interesting viewpoints (like fountain, caves, and smaller buildings). I saw quite a few kids playing and climbing with these structures, so it seems a great place to go with your kids.

Highlights of the hike

This easy hike is a great option to check out some castles or see the fall colors.