The municipality of Am Ettersberg is located on the northern slope of the wooded Ettersberg mountain, which is home to the Buchenwald Memorial and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ettersburg Castle, both of which are historically significant beyond Germany's borders. The rural municipality was founded on 01.01.2019 from the independent municipalities of the administrative community of Nordkreis Weimar, consists of 19 villages and includes the independent municipalities of Ballstedt and Ettersburg as well as the smallest town in Thuringia, Neumark. Around 9,000 inhabitants live here. Away from noisy traffic, you can explore the villages via the Laura cycle path, which connects the Ilmtal cycle path near Weimar with the Unstrut cycle path near Sömmerda. Here you can cycle or hike along the route of the former Laura narrow-gauge railroad through the entire rural community, from the eastern part via Sachsenhausen, Daasdorf b. B., Buttelstedt, Schwerstedt, Neumark to Vippachedelhausen in the northwest.