Johann Wolfgang von Goethe noted in his diary in 1817 that he had "criss-crossed Thuringia by wagon, horse and foot" for 40 years and yet had never been to Paulinzella before. Yet the monastery ruins in the Rottenbach Valley were already a worthwhile destination in Goethe's day. After all, Paulinzella Monastery is one of the most important Romanesque religious buildings in Central Germany. The monastery church dates back to the 12th century, but is now only a ruin. The former office building and the hunting lodge of the Counts of Schwarzburg house a museum on the history of the monastery and forestry.