Altenstein Castle and Park are located just a few kilometers from Thuringia's oldest spa town, Bad Liebenstein. Altenstein Castle is surrounded by a picturesque landscaped park with a Chinese cottage, ornate carpet beds and vantage points overlooking the Werra Valley. None other than Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau was involved in the design of the park. The beginnings of today's extensive park date back to George I of Saxe-Meiningen (1771-1803). The Duke made Altenstein his summer residence and began to develop a landscape garden. In doing so, he laid the foundation stone for one of the largest historical parks in Thuringia. In 1853, the regional historian Georg Brückner wrote of the "gem of Thuringian forest nature". No wonder, famous landscape architects such as Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau and Peter Joseph Lenné had contributed important ideas to the design of the park. During his visits, Pückler-Muskau was enthusiastic about the "wonderful location, lush grassy areas, (...) abruptly falling rocks with terraced gardens", but he could not avoid giving "advice about the park" - and so, among other things, large visual axes were created that open up views of the Werra Valley. The extensive park also attracts visitors with vantage points and park architecture such as the morning plateau, the knight's chapel and the Chinese cottage. The Altenstein carpet bed and the knot bed can be found around the castle.