Erfurt and Weimar, what great-sounding names! My very first association is with Weimar and the great names of the Reformation and poetry, such as Martin Luther, Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
And Erfurt? Many years ago, my lovely friend Janett invited me to go hiking with her in the Harz Mountains and get to know her home in Thuringia! Janett and I were both newly in love at the time 😀 so there was hardly any time for great cultural discoveries in Erfurt (just fun stops eating Thuringian roast sausages or ice cream on the Krämerbrücke bridge!)
This time, however, I was able to really discover Erfurt: The city on the River Gera has recently been listed as a World Heritage Site (since September 2023), known as the “Jewish-Medieval Erfurt“; the historic fortress on Petersberg has been given a new visitor guidance system including an interactive cultural centre, which is really worth a visit. My personal highlight: the listening corridors! More on them in a moment.
Hello, Erfurt! Always worth a photo: the view towards the Krämerbrücke with some of the oldest inhabited houses on a bridge in the world. I’d love to see what a bridge house or flat looks like from the inside!
Krämerbrücke bridge, historic fortress and my experience of the Jewish-Medieval Erfurt (including a book tip on its history!).
No visit to Erfurt is complete without taking at least one photo of the Krämerbrücke bridge, or even better, eating an ice cream on it!
This time, however, my city guide Stefan captivates me with yet another story: the so-called Mikveh, a Jewish bath house whose existence remained hidden for centuries, has recently been discovered in the immediate vicinity of the Krämerbrücke bridge – purely by chance during construction work.
A similar fate favoured the discovery of the Erfurt Treasure, one of the most powerful testimonies to Jewish history in Erfurt during the 13th century. I am told the story of the treasure, its origins and the restoration of Erfurt’s Old Synagogue in such an engaging way that I ask: “Is there a book, a kind of historical novel on this subject? It’s so interesting what you’re telling me here. I would love to find out and read more about this period!”
Well, this is it, as one such book really does exist! I can only recommend that you read Mirjam Pressler’s historic novel “Dunkles Gold” the next time you’re in Erfurt and/or planning a trip there.
Check this out.
While exploring the “Jewish-Medieval Erfurt”World Heritage Site, we stop right in front of the Old Synagogue, one of the oldest surviving synagogues north of the Alps, which owes its preservation to turbulent circumstances, as my city guide explains to me.
Today, the Old Synagogue houses the exhibition of the famous “Erfurt Treasure”, the centrepiece of which is this wedding ring pictured here …
… on my return journey from Erfurt, I immerse myself in the story and read Mirjam Pressler’s novel in one go. Wow! What a touching story about the fate of the Jewish community in medieval Erfurt times!
City guide Stefan also shows me the citadel on Erfurt’s Petersberg …
… which really fascinated me with the “listening experience” underground. More about this in the travel video at the end of my article.
The modern visitor centre …
… as well as the view over the city from the Petersberg fortress are worth the (comparatively short) climb up here from the old town.
Check out Pier37 for dinner right by the river …
… and stay at Hotel Dorint right by the Theaterplatz square in Erfurt.
German history as told by the mighty Wartburg Castle.
The following day, I set off to cover the 60 kilometres or so from Erfurt to Wartburg Castle. Wartburg Castle, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is special not just for its architecture: the Who’s Who of German history has rendezvoused here over the course of the centuries!
None other than Saint Elisabeth herself spent the majority of her life here; Martin Luther also found refuge at Wartburg Castle and actually wrote one of his most famous works there: The first German translation of the Bible. I learn just how revolutionary this was during my tour of Wartburg Castle.
Wartburg Castle, a unique testimony to German cultural history, can already be seen from afar.
I immerse myself in the story of Saint Elisabeth, whose story is depicted in this fascinating glass mosaic room at Wartburg Castle.
Over 200 years ago, important meetings, such as those of the first fraternities, were held in the castle’s banqueting hall, a unique symbol of the desire for more freedom at the time.
It was here, in this parlour, that Martin Luther is said to have worked on his famous translation of the Bible.
Visiting Wartburg region: World Heritage Site Ancient Beech Forests in the Hainich National Park (with treetop trail).
Right next door, just 20 minutes by car from Wartburg Castle, is another UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Ancient Beech Forests of Europe as part of the Hainich National Park.
After so much culture, it is really refreshing to dive into the tranquil beech forests of the national park. We bypass the visitor centre and quickly make our way to the treetop trail a little further into the forest.
Our nature guide Kevin, one of the youngest national park rangers in the country at the age of 24, grew up in the neighbouring village to the national park. He knew from an early age on that nature would be his life. Even as a child and teenager, he was always drawn here at various stages: not a bad place, we realise appreciatively. We listen to the young nature lover as we make our way through the winding greenery – and realise how far away this immersion in the “jungle” seems to us in modern everyday life. Come with us for a breath of real wilderness in the middle of Germany!
Welcome to the Hainich National Park, not far from the geographical centre of Germany.
Here, we marvel at the ancient oak tree called “Alte Eiche” (Old Oak) …
… and climb this tower to start our tree top trail …
… where ranger Kevin teaches us all we have to know about the local beech forests.
After a quick visit to the national park centre, with its many immersive displays …
… we are drawn right back out into the wilderness on the adventure trail …
… and loving our trip into one of the last pockets of wilderness in Central Europe.
At the end of your visit to the Hainich National Park and the Ancient Beech Forests World Heritage Site, you can treat yourself to some culinary delights at the “Am Forsthaus” inn, such as this typical solyanka soup in a glass.
Weimar as the home of Goethe and Bauhaus culture.
The last stop on my world heritage tour through central Germany must of course be: Weimar.
World heritage has a double meaning here. The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Classical Weimar is not only associated with “the heyday of intellectual life in Germany” à la Goethe and Schiller, what with its “unique testimony to the cultural epoch of Weimar Classicism and the creation of literary works of exceptional importance”, as is stated by UNESCO.
I learn that Weimar is also legendary because of its Bauhaus University and the entire architectural trends that have come from it. The Bauhaus buildings, a World Heritage Site in Weimar for almost 30 years, belong to a “school of architecture that implemented revolutionary ideas in building design and urban planning between 1919 and 1933”, says Thomas, who himself studied architecture at the Bauhaus University in Weimar. Today, he loves to talk to visitors from near and far about the Bauhaus and its impact on modern building culture, as we discuss during our Bauhaus walk.
Welcome to Weimar, a city that knows how to combine art and leisure: my lunch at the restaurant Zum Schwarzen Bären comes with a view of Weimar’s town hall.
I start my visit to Weimar with Goethe’s house and gardens …
… visit the famous Duchess Anna Amalia Library, mostly for my own love of books …
… enjoy the many free cultural admissions with the Weimar Card, such as this visit to the Bauhaus Museum …
… and finally walk with Thomas to learn more about the buildings of the Bauhaus University of Weimar.
It is Thomas who recommends I visit the house of one of the pioneers of Bauhaus culture in Weimar, the house of Henry van den Velde and his family …
… the so-called “Haus am Horn” is one of the oldest surviving monuments of Bauhaus architecture in Weimar. Its simplicity, form and room layout were revolutionary for the time (1923).
Last but not least, here’s my tip on regional delights served at a lovely café and restaurant in Weimar …
… Gretchen’s Café and its adjacent family hotel seem to me the place to return to Weimar with the whole family!
Travel video taking you to Erfurt, Weimar and the Wartburg region.
Fancy some more information about World Heritage in Germany? My travel video about my trip through Central Germany will take you to Erfurt and Weimar, to Wartburg Castle as well as into the World Natural Heritage of the Old Beech Forests in Europe.
Disclaimer: I have been invited by the German National Tourist Board on my trip to Erfurt, Weimar and the Wartburg region. All opinions are my own.