Thuringia (Thüringen)
lies between Hesse and Saxony, and is the most westerly of the old
‘East’ German states. Major centres include Erfurt,
Jena and Weimar. The wooded heights and slate mountains
of the Thuringian Forest make the region an ideal region for walking.
The best known hiking route is the Rennsteig which
stretches for over 168km (105 miles). The entire region of the Rennsteig
is a protected zone and is therefore immune to any industrial or
urban development.
A flourishing craft industry and winter sports facilities centred
in Suhl also draw visitors to the state. Eisenach,
birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, contains the
oldest Town Gate in Thuringia and the Romanesque
Nikolai Church.
Wartburg Castle,
where Martin Luther sought refuge and translated the New Testament
into German, dominates the town. The small town of Rudolstadt
was known for its cultural life during the Renaissance, hosting
plays of the Weimar Court Theatre, directed by
Goethe, and founding a renowned court orchestra in 1635 which attracted
many of the best classical musicians. It is now a popular stop along
Thuringia’s Classic Road. Arnstadt, where
the young Bach was an organist at the local church, is the ‘Gateway’
to the Thuringia Forest, with its lush hiking trails and many magnificent
views.
Other noteworthy sites in the region include Gera
with its Renaissance Town Hall and fine Burghers’
Houses, the castle ruins at Friedrichsroda, the
imperial city Nordhausen with its late Gothic
Cathedral and Renaissance Town Hall and
the picturesque town of Mühlhausen.
Erfurt
The cultural centre of Thuringia, and state capital.
Formerly a rich trading centre, its well-preserved, medieval city
centre contains a wealth of churches, cloisters and old merchants’
houses. Dating from 1392, the University is one of northern Europe’s
oldest. Martin Luther lived as a monk in the city’s
Augustinian Monastery, which displays exhibits relating to his life.
Erfurt’s museums contain valuable collections of medieval
treasures.
Jena
Famous for its optical industry, Jena also offers the world’s
oldest Planetarium, nowadays equipped with the
latest laser technology. The Optics Museum contains
extensive collections of spectacles and Zeiss microscopes. Collegium
Jenense, the original 16th-century university building,
is also open to visitors. For children, the interactive Imaginata
interpretation centre encourages exploration of a variety
of topics.
Weimar
The southern 1000-year-old town of Weimar was home to many great
men, including Luther, Bach, Liszt, Wagner and
Schiller. An important cultural centre of the past,
the city experienced its golden age in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived here for fifty
years and was a major influence as a civil servant, theatre director
and poet. His house is now the Goethe National Museum.
Literature enthusiasts should not miss the Goethe and Schiller
Archive.
Bach was Court Organist
and Court Concertmaster, Liszt and Richard
Strauss were both directors of music. There is documentation
of their private and public lives kept in hotels and museums in
the town. Weimar was also the original home of the Bauhaus
architectural school before it moved to Dessau (see the Saxony-Anhalt
section). The modern Weimar House multimedia presentation
tells the full story of the city. A few kilometres from Weimar,
a museum occupies the former site of the Buchenwald
concentration camp. |
