Matt Munro

Erfurt, Weimar & Thuringia

A land of forested hills, fertile plains and fabled fortresses, Thuringia sits at Germany’s geographic heart. With cities of genuine historical heft sitting alongside World Heritage Sites like the unforgettable Wartburg fortress, it’s a famous destination for domestic travellers. And no wonder: forever associated with immortal names such as Luther, Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Cranach, Wagner and Gropius, it can seriously claim to be one of Germany's most fertile cultural cradles.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

Gedenkstätte Buchenwald
Weimar
Between 1937 and 1945, hidden from Weimarers and surrounding villagers, 250,000 men, women and children were incarcerated here, some 56,500 of whom were…
Schloss Friedenstein
Erfurt, Weimar & Thuringia
This horseshoe-shaped palace, surviving in exemplary condition as the largest early baroque palace in Germany, is a lavish, creaky-floored delight. Much…
Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek
Weimar
Assembled by Duchess Anna Amalia (1739–1807), the power (and purse) behind Weimar's classical florescence, this Unesco-listed library has been beautifully…
Zitadelle Petersberg
Erfurt
Situated on the Petersberg hill northwest of Domplatz, this 36-hectare citadel ranks among Europe’s largest and best-preserved baroque fortresses. While…
Erfurter Dom
Erfurt
Erfurt's cathedral, where Martin Luther was ordained a priest, grew over the centuries from a simple 8th-century chapel into the stately Gothic pile of…
Goethe-Nationalmuseum
Weimar
This is the world's leading museum on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's literary colossus. It incorporates his home of 50 years, gifted by Duke Carl…
Schloss Tiefurt
Weimar
Built in 1765 and developed by the younger brother of Duke Carl August, this Unesco-listed country house flowered under the ownership of Duchess Anna…
Augustinerkloster
Erfurt
It’s Luther lore galore at the monastery where the reformer lived from 1505 to 1511, where he was ordained as a monk and where he read his first Mass. You…