The historic Martin Luther House in Eisenach.

© heckepics/Getty Images/iStock

Lutherhaus

Thuringian Forest & the Saale Valley


The religious reformer Martin Luther lived here as a schoolboy from 1498 to 1501, in one of Thuringia's oldest and most handsome half-timbered houses. Now including a modern annexe, the museum's permanent collection focuses on his life and translation of the Bible, an essential step in unifying and codifying the German language. Special exhibitions (on subjects such as Catholic views on Luther's heresy) are intriguing, although you can opt out for a lower entrance price (€6/4).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Thuringian Forest & the Saale Valley attractions

1. Georgenkirche

0.08 MILES

Dominating Eisenach's central square, this is the baptismal church of St Elizabeth and Johann Sebastian Bach. It's also where Martin Luther sang as a boy…

2. Stadtschloss

0.12 MILES

Dominating the northern side of Markt is the baroque facade of this former ducal residence, now housing tourist and municipal offices and the Thuringian…

3. Bachhaus

0.17 MILES

Comprising two 15th-century houses knocked together in the early 17th century, this is Johann Sebastian Bach's actual birthplace, and an international…

4. Predigerkirche

0.17 MILES

The crypt and several other rooms of this 13th-century Dominican church house the Thuringian Museum's exquisite collection of medieval sculpture,…

5. Reuter-Wagner Museum

0.35 MILES

This museum, housed in the 1866 villa once owned by writer Fritz Reuter, hosts the most extensive collection on the composer Richard Wagner’s life and…

6. Automobile Welt Eisenach

0.58 MILES

Housed in the 1936 Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) factory, this museum celebrates a history of auto-manufacture dating to 1896, when the first 'Wartburg' …

7. Wartburg

0.78 MILES

When it comes to medieval castles and their importance in German history, Eisenach's Unesco-listed Wartburg dominates the landscape. This huge medieval…

8. Rathaus

16.74 MILES

Hauptmarkt is dominated by the picturesque Rathaus, with its colourful Renaissance facade and 35m-tall tower. It started out as a storage house in 1567,…