Weimar is a historical city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately 80 kms southwest of Leipzig, 170 kms north of Nuremberg and 170 kms west of Dresden. Weimar culture was the flourishing of the arts (Bauhaus) and sciences that happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic. The old part of a city is designated as UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Central Germany

Crucial to its culture, science, industry and history, Mitteldeutschland is Germany’s beating heart. It is studded with cities whose historical importance matches their modern vitality (Weimar, Erfurt and Kassel are just the first names on this list); ridged by low, forested mountains that loom large in German mythology; and edified by museums, cathedrals and castles without number, so it’s puzzling that such a rich destination is routinely overlooked by international visitors.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • A vertical shot of the Hercules monument in Wilhelmshoehe Castle Park in Kassel, Germany.

    Herkules

    Fairy-Tale Road

    Erected between 1707 and 1717 by Landgrave Karl and declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2013, the 8.25m-high copper Herkules statue stands atop a…

  • The historical townhall and market place of Marburg, Germany.

    Altstadt

    Fairy-Tale Road

    One of the joys of Marburg is simply strolling around its steeply winding medieval core. Its focal point is the Marktplatz; on the southern side is the…

  • Wörlitz Park, Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

    Wörlitz Park & Schloss Wörlitz

    Central Germany

    With peacocks feeding on the lawn before a neo-Gothic house, a tree-lined stream flowing towards a Grecian-style temple and a gap in a hedge framing a…

  • The Bauhaus master house building designed by architect Walter Gropius in 1925, Dessau, Germany.

    Meisterhäuser

    Central Germany

    You’ll find the four surviving Meisterhäuser – Gropiushaus, Haus Feininger, Haus Muche/Schlemmer and Haus Kandinsky/Klee – on leafy Ebertallee, a 15…

  • Old tree and roots at Edersee lake, at Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, Waldeck-Frankenburg, Hessen, Germany.

    Nationalpark Kellerwald-Edersee

    Fairy-Tale Road

    Hesse's first national park encompasses the Kellerwald, one of the largest extant red-beech forests in Central Europe and a rare survivor of the last Ice…

  • Historic Wernigerode Castle surrounded by an autumn landscape.

    Schloss Wernigerode

    Harz Mountains

    Originally built in the 12th century to protect German Kaisers on hunting expeditions, Schloss Wernigerode was enlarged over the years to reflect late…

  • Main gate of Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany.

    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…

  • Concentration camp KZ Mittelbau Dora.

    KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau Dora

    Harz Mountains

    A deeply sobering place: at least 20,000 people were worked to death here building the tunnels beneath Mittelbau Dora, and the rockets now decaying within…

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Hamburg city of warehouses at night with lights reflecting on the River Elbe

Hiking

Germany for first-timers

Aug 13, 2019 • 7 min read

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