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    Wartburg
    A.Savin / Wikimedia Commons / FAL

    Germany

    Wartburg

    Point of InterestUNESCO

    Wartburg Castle towers approximately 220 meters above Eisenach on the edge of the Thuringian Forest and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999.

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    Wartburg Castle towers approximately 220 meters above Eisenach on the edge of the Thuringian Forest and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999. According to legend, Louis the Springer founded the castle; its Romanesque Palas, dating from around 1156 to 1162, is considered the first of its architectural type in the German-speaking world. Elizabeth of Thuringia lived and worked here from 1211 to 1227.From May 4, 1521, to March 1, 1522, Martin Luther lived in hiding at the castle as "Junker Jörg" and translated the New Testament in just eleven weeks. On October 18, 1817, students gathered for the first Wartburg Festival, a demonstration calling for a nation-state with its own constitution.

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    Wartburg with Palas and Luther Room
    Museum

    1Wartburg with Palas and Luther Room

    The castle, at 411 meters altitude, unites its Romanesque palas dating from 1156-1162 with the site where Luther, as "Junker Jörg," translated the New Testament in 1521 and 1522. The museum displays medieval art.
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    Thuringia

    Thuringia

    Since 1897, Thuringia has borne the moniker "green heart of Germany," a name attributable to its rich forests. Its largest mountain range is the Thuringian Forest, through which the Rennsteig ridge trail runs. The state capital and largest city is Erfurt, featuring its Cathedral, St. Severus Church, and the Krämerbrücke.Culturally, Thuringia is known for Weimar Classicism: Duchess Anna Amalia and Duke Carl August attracted poets like Goethe to Weimar, where the Bauhaus was also founded in 1919. At Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, Martin Luther secretly worked on his Bible translation.
    Erfurt

    Erfurt

    Erfurt is located in the wide valley of the Gera and, with approximately 215,000 inhabitants, is the largest city and state capital of Thuringia. Landmarks include the ensemble of Mariendom and Severikirche on the Domberg, reachable via over 70 cathedral steps, and the Krämerbrücke, Europe's longest bridge continuously built with houses.Martin Luther studied here from 1501 to 1505. Since September 17, 2023, the city's Jewish-medieval heritage, with Alte Synagoge, Mikwe, and Steinernes Haus, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Above the old town towers the baroque Petersberg Citadel.
    Weimar

    Weimar

    Weimar lies on a bend of the Ilm and has around 66,000 inhabitants, yet hardly any city of its size has shaped German culture so significantly. With Wieland, Goethe, Herder, and Schiller, it became the center of Weimar Classicism; since 1998, the "Classical Weimar" ensemble has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1999, Weimar was the European Capital of Culture.In 1919, the Bauhaus was founded here; in the same year, the National Assembly convened in the city that gave its name to the first German Republic. Its history also includes the Buchenwald concentration camp on the Ettersberg, where more than 56,000 people were murdered by 1945.
    Brocken / Brockenbahn

    Brocken / Brockenbahn

    At 1,141 meters, the Brocken is the highest mountain in the Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, and throughout North Germany. It lies within the Harz National Park and is one of Germany's most popular excursion destinations. With fog shrouding the summit over 300 days a year, many legends surround the mountain: First mentioned in 1540 as a witches' meeting place, Goethe even relocated his Faust's Walpurgis Night here.From August 1961 to December 3, 1989, the summit was a military exclusion zone. Today, the Brocken Railway of the Harz Narrow-Gauge Railways ascends from Wernigerode via Drei Annen Hohne and Schierke. During high forest fire risk, diesel locomotives temporarily replace steam locomotives between Drei Annen Hohne and the Brocken.
    Wernigerode

    Wernigerode

    Wernigerode is located on the northeastern flank of the Harz, about 12 kilometers east-northeast of the Brocken. Since 1910, the town has borne the motto "The Colorful Town in the Harz", coined by Hermann Löns. Above the half-timbered lanes towers the Neo-Gothic castle, which was the residence of the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode until 1929.Here starts the Harz Narrow-Gauge Railway, which travels via Schierke to the Brocken. In the Old Town, you'll find the Town Hall with its half-timbered towers, alongside the smallest house in town on Kochstraße and the Schiefe Haus, a former mill.