Things to do in Thuringia
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Neues Museum
The Neues Museum houses works of contemporary art in Weimar. The complex was built in 1863, as a gallery exclusively for works relating to Homer's Odyssey, but another odyssey occurred after it was used as a Halle der Volksgemeinschaft (literally 'people's solidarity hall') by the Nazis, and was then renamed Karl-Marx-Platz under the GDR.
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Krämerbrücke
The 18m-wide and 120m-long medieval Krämerbrücke is Europe's longest bridge with houses. It was originally constructed from wood but rebuilt in stone in 1325 and adorned with churches at each end. Today the only church building remaining is the deconsecrated Aegideuskirche remains, now part of the Sorat Hotel.
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Centrum
This club gets a young crowd for dance music, live bands and occasional film screenings.
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Dom
The Dom has origins as a simple chapel founded in 742 by St Boniface, but the Gothic pile you see today has the hallmarks of the 14th century. Check out the superb stained-glass windows (1370-1420) featuring biblical scenes; the Wolfram (1160), a bronze candelabrum in the shape of a man; the Gloriosa bell (1497); a Romanesque stucco Madonna; and the 14th-century choir stalls. The steps buttressing the cathedral make for a dramatic backdrop for the popular Domstufen-Festspiele, a classical music festival held every August.
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Goethe Nationalmuseum
Less about the great man of letters himself than his epoch, the Goethe Nationalmuseum focuses on the late 17th- and early 18th-century, a period referred to as Weimar Classicism. Goethe, Schiller, his ducal patrons (Anna Amalia and Carl August), his muse (Charlotte von Stein) and various cultural spear-carriers feature in this loose collection of paintings, books, busts, letters and other objets d'art.
Part of the museum complex, the Faustina café has a controversial Christoph Hodgson mural depicting Weimar's glorious Who's Who; lurking among the famous faces - with a couple of amusing touches - is one Adolf Hitler.
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Alte Synagoge
The Alte Synagoge in Erfurt is one of the oldest Jewish houses of worship in Europe, with roots in the 12th century. After the pogrom of 1349, it was converted into a storehouse and, after later standing empty for decades, has now been restored as an exhibit space and museum. Since late 2009, a new exhibit documents the history of the building, although an even bigger draw is the treasure unearthed during recent excavations in Erfurt's Jewish quarter. It includes 600 pieces in all: rings, brooches, cutlery and, most famously, a super-rare golden Jewish marriage ring from the early 14th century.
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Haus Hohe Pappeln
Belgian art-nouveau architect, designer and painter, Henry van de Velde is considered a pioneer of modernity. In 1902, he founded the arts and crafts seminar in Weimar that Walter Gropius later developed into the Bauhaus. For nine years, starting in 1908, van de Velde and his family lived in the Haus Hohe Pappeln, which looks a bit like a ship on its side and features natural stone, stylised chimneys, loggias and oversized windows. One floor is open for touring and features furniture that van de Velde designed for a local family. To get here, take bus 1 or 12 to Papiergraben.
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Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek
The phoenixlike rebirth of Anna Amalia's precious library following a 2004 fire is nothing short of a miracle. These days, the magnificent Rokokosaal (Rococo Hall) is again crammed with 40,000 tomes once used for research purposes by Goethe, Schiller and other Weimar hotshots. Scholars may still borrow the books; for the rest of us, the fine busts and paintings of these men are just as interesting. Entry is by timed ticket and capped at 250 people per day, so book in advance or start queuing before the ticket office opens at 9.30am.
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Augustinerkloster
It's Luther lore galore at the Augustinerkloster. This is where the reformer lived from 1505 to 1511, and where he was ordained as a monk and read his first mass. You're free to roam the grounds, visit the church, with its ethereal Gothic stained-glass windows, and attend the prayer services held by the resident Protestant sisters at 7am, noon and 6pm daily except Tuesday. Guided tours get you inside the monastery itself, including the cloister, a recreated Luther cell and an exhibit on the history of the Bible and Luther's life in Erfurt.
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Goethe Haus
No other individual is as closely associated with Weimar as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who lived in this town from 1775 until his death in 1832, the last 50 years in what is now the Goethe Haus. This is where he worked, studied, researched and penned Faust and other immortal works. If you're a Goethe fan, you'll get the chills when seeing his study and the bedroom where he died, both preserved in their original state. To get the most from your visit, get the audioguide (€2).
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Egapark
It's easy to spend hours amid the kaleidoscopic flower beds, romantic rose garden, Japanese rock garden and greenhouses of the rambling egapark, about 4km west of the city centre (take tram 2 from Anger). It's so huge that there's even a little trolley to whisk around the foot weary. Part of the park is the medieval Cyriaksburg citadel, now home to a horticultural museum. Climb to the top for fantastic views.
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Schiller Haus
Dramatist and Goethe buddy Friedrich von Schiller lived in Weimar from 1799 until his early death in 1805. Unlike Goethe, however, he had to buy his own house, now the Schiller Haus. Study up on the man, his family and life in Thuringia in a new permanent exhibit before plunging on to the private quarters, including the study with his deathbed and the desk where he wrote Wilhelm Tell and other famous works.
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Zitadelle Petersberg
One reason why Erfurt today has so many towers without churches attached, is that parts were demolished to erect the Zitadelle Petersberg, situated on a natural hill north of the Dom complex. The fortress has a fascinating series of subterranean tunnels within the walls, which can be viewed on a guided tour from the tourist office. The nearby Romanesque Peterskirche can be visited separately without a tour.
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Bauhaus Museum
Considering that Weimar is the birthplace of the influential Bauhaus school, the Bauhaus Museum is a rather modest affair. But if all goes according to plan, that'll change when it moves into splashy new digs in 2013. Meanwhile, the old building will present temporary exhibits on the group's profound impact on modern design and construction. How profound?
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Schloss Tiefurt
A few kilometres east of the Hauptbahnhof, Tiefurt Park is an English-style garden that embraces Schloss Tiefurt, Anna Amalia's 'temple of the muses'. The period rooms give you an impression of the age and her intellectual round-table gatherings where Goethe, Schiller and Herder were regulars. Bus 3 from Goetheplatz goes out here.
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Weimar Haus
The Weimar Haus is a history museum for people who hate history museums. Sets, sound and light effects, wax figures and even an animatronic Goethe accompany you on your 30-minute journey into Thuringia's past, from prehistory to the Enlightenment. The production values can be comical, but the entertainment factor is inarguably high.
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ACC
Goethe had his first pad after arriving in Weimar in this building, now home to an alt-vibe, artsy hang-out, where the food and wine are organic whenever possible and the upstairs gallery delivers a primer on the local art scene. The owners also rent out a room and a holiday flat (www.goethezimmer.de), both handsomely furnished.
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Stadtkirche St Peter und Paul
Herder- platz is dominated by the Stadtkirche St Peter und Paul, popularly known as the Herderkirche after Johann Gottfried Herder, who's buried inside. The church has a famous altarpiece (1555), painted by the Cranach father-and-son team, and a triptych showing Martin Luther as a knight, professor and monk.
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Michaeliskirche
Erfurt's churches give an interesting insight into the city's history. The old university church Michaeliskirche boasts a magnificent organ (1652), made by local master Ludwig Compenius, and was a key gathering place of leading local dissidents during the final days of the GDR.
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Goethes Gartenhaus
The sprawling Park an der Ilm (Ilm Park), just east of the Altstadt, is as inspiring and romantic now as it was when Goethe lived here from 1776 until 1782 in what is now Goethes Gartenhaus. By giving him this simple cottage, Carl August successfully induced Goethe to stay in Weimar.
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Zum Goldenen Schwan
This authentic inn serves all the usual Thuringian classics, but, if you're up to mounting your own Survivor challenge, try something called Puffbohnenpfanne (fried broad beans with roast bacon), an Erfurt speciality. Excellent house brews washes everything down well.
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Jo Hanns
The food is satisfying but it's the 130 wines from the Saale-Unstrut Region - many served by the glass - that give Jo Hanns a leg up on the competition. No matter whether you order the classic steak or scallops and shrimp with mint-lime spaghetti, there's a bottle with your name on it.
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Zum Güldenen Rade
For the best potato dumplings in town, report to this gorgeous patrician town house that, centuries ago, housed a tobacco factory. Aside from the classic version with gravy, you can also order them with stuffings, such as spinach and salmon, or with black pudding and liver pâté.
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Angermuseum
The Angermuseum has been undergoing restoration forever and we don't dare venture a guess at when it will again present its fine collections of medieval art, landscape paintings and Thuringian faience (glazed earthenware). 'Soon', say the tourist office folk.
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Anno 1900
Send your taste buds on a wild ride in this elegant art-nouveau pavilion. How about emu filet with carrot-rocket fettucine followed by tonka-bean crème brûlée? It's adventurous, but most of the time it works. Breakfast is served until the hangover-friendly time of 2pm.
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