The "Thuringian herb garden" is a forest region in the Thuringian Slate Mountains, which lies on both sides of the middle course of the Schwarza and covers around 240 km².

Due to the special geological and topographical conditions, there is a great wealth of herbs in this area. In a very small area, the geological subsoil of the Olitätenland is made up of different types of rock from all eras. Differences in altitude and thus also climatic differences and the subsoil such as clay slate, greywacke, porphyry, quartzite, red sandstone and shell limestone are the basis for a rich flora and fauna, including rare and protected species

Our ancestors used these treasures under the ground and on our doorstep, from fields, forests and meadows, for healing purposes and to earn a living by selling them.

At the beginning of the 17th century, small forest laboratories and family businesses were already producing natural remedies known as "olities".

The name is derived from the Latin "oleum" = oil, as oils, balms and tinctures were made from medicinal herbs and other natural substances.

This gradually developed into a separate line of business. The production and sale of olives became the most flourishing trade in the region, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The development of the medicinal villages in the former principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen gave rise to the Schwarzburg Olitätenland.

The oligotomists, also known as humpback pharmacists, organized the distribution of oligotomies by foot far beyond the borders of Thuringia and Germany throughout Central Europe.