At the foot of the Rhön mountains, right in the middle of the Bad Neustadt/Saale - Bischofsheim/Rhön railroad line, which was built in 1885 and has since been closed, and on the main road 279, lies the idyllic village of Schönau a. d. Brend, 332 m above sea level, in the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park.

The first mention of a settlement dates back to 1207. After various place names, the current spelling "Schönau" around 1776, which in 1930 ex officio "a. d. Brend" was added.

Worth seeing is the post-Gothic "Julius Echter Church" from 1608 (Catholic church "Hl. Laurentius") with altars from the Bildhausen monastery. In the fall of 2008, the 400th anniversary of the church was celebrated with a large ceremony. At the foot of the Kirchberg stands the monument to Otto Feick, who, together with the designer Gustav Janz, built the "Rhönrad" as a piece of gymnastics and sports equipment, which is known all over the world today.

The village name says it all: Schönau lies in the meadow-rich Brendtal valley and is flanked by deep deciduous and coniferous forests to the left and right. The district of Burgwallbach is nestled about 3 km to the south in the side valley of the Liesbach.

The old village of Schönau a. d. Brend, once laid out in the shape of a cross, is occasionally characterized by the contrasting lovingly renovated half-timbered houses loosened up. In addition, there are public buildings, such as the community center with bakery, the Kolping Hall, the DJK sports center, the association school, a heated outdoor pool and the kindergarten. Rhönstraße, Brendstraße and Rathausplatz were redesigned between 2002 and 2004 as part of the village renewal program. The "Fosenochtsbrünn", designed and created by the sculptor Eva-Maria Warmuth from Wargolshausen, adorns the town hall square.