Tourism in Thuringia

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Some scenic and culturally interesting regions and cities in Thuringia

The tourism in Thuringia is an industry whose importance is steadily increasing. On the one hand, some areas lack other economic prospects, on the other hand, the number of visitors is increasing. While 2.5 million overnight guests came to the country in 1995, it was around 2.8 million in 2003 and around 3.2 million in 2009, with nine million overnight stays, which means that the bed occupancy was 37%. Around 210,000 guests came from abroad.

In addition to the main tourist areas in the Thuringian Forest and the cities of Eisenach , Erfurt and Weimar, there are numerous smaller regions where gentle tourism takes place, for example in Hainich . Characteristic of Thuringia is the close interlinking of scenic areas with cultural and historical sights, such as the Wartburg in the Thuringian Forest or the Dornburg castles in the Saale valley. Day-trippers who are not statistically recorded also play an important role here.

Landscapes of major tourist importance

resin

The resin is only a small part in Thuringia. Nevertheless, the Thuringian Harz represents a specific region, with an important gypsum karst area in Rüdigsdorf Switzerland on its southern edge . The most important places in the southern Harz are Nordhausen , Ilfeld and Ellrich . Nordhausen has some sights to offer, such as the Nordhausen Cathedral and some half-timbered houses in the old town, most of which were destroyed in an air raid in 1945. The city is also the starting point of the Harzquerbahn , which leads to Wernigerode and has a branch to the Brocken .

Kyffhauser

The Kyffhäuser is a small mountain range in the north of the country. According to a legend, Barbarossa is said to sleep in the mountain until he is needed again. In the nationalist 19th century, one of the largest monuments in Germany was built on the mountain with the Kyffhäuser monument, which draws a parallel between Barbarossa and Wilhelm I. At Kyffhäuser lies Bad Frankenhausen , where an important battle of the Peasants' War took place. The GDR took this as an opportunity to erect the Peasant War Panorama there, one of the largest paintings in the world.

Hainleite, Hohe Schrecke, Schmücke and Finn

These low mountain ranges limit the Thuringian Basin to the north. These deciduous forests were sparsely populated and therefore represent a refuge of nature. The landscape of the breakthrough valleys of Wipper and Unstrut through the mountains is attractive . Also worth seeing are the Lohra Castle with a Romanesque double chapel, the neighboring Münchenlohra Monastery , the Göllingen Monastery , the Lower Sachsenburg , the Upper Sachsenburg and the Heldrungen Fortress . On the Possen is the highest lattice tower in Germany, from which one has a view over large parts of northern Thuringia.

Eichsfeld

The Eichsfeld is a mountain region in the north-west of Thuringia. It has a varied landscape of mountains, valleys, fields and forests. As a larger Catholic region in the new federal states, it has several places of pilgrimage. This goes hand in hand with a great sense of tradition, which can be seen in the townscape. Many old farmsteads, often as half-timbered buildings, have been preserved here. There are also numerous castles and castle ruins. As the capital of Eichsfeld, Heiligenstadt has an old town that is well worth seeing with many half-timbered buildings and large Gothic churches.

Hainich

View over the Hainich and the treetop path

The Hainich is a primeval beech forest and as such the only national park in Thuringia. Like the low mountain ranges on the northern edge of the Thuringian Basin, it was not settled and was later partly a military restricted area. Therefore it could be preserved as a retreat of nature. The places on the edge of the Hainich have, similar to those in Eichsfeld, old and worth seeing places. The tourist development is a Baumkronenpfad . The geographic center of Germany lies on the northeastern edge of the Hainich near Oberdorla .

Werra Valley

The Werra valley extends through the entire southwest of Thuringia and is its most important lifeline. Due to its dense settlement, it has numerous old towns and places with buildings worth seeing, such as Treffurt , Mihla , Creuzburg , Vacha , Bad Salzungen , Breitungen , Wasungen , Meiningen , Themar , Hildburghausen and Eisfeld . Due to their peripheral location on the outskirts of the GDR, far-reaching renovations were largely not carried out in these places. The Werra valley north of Eisenach, where the river has shaped numerous loops in relief, is particularly scenic.

Typical landscape of the Thuringian Rhön

Rhön

Due to the border location of the Thuringian Rhön , tourism only developed more strongly here after the fall of the Wall, and today it is marketed together with the Bavarian and Hessian Rhön under a common umbrella brand. The Rhön is particularly popular with hikers looking for peace and quiet due to its open areas with great views and the species-rich flora and fauna in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve . The highest and most famous mountains of the Thuringian Rhön are the Hohe Geba , the Elbow and in the Rhön foreland the Dolmar .

Equal mountains

The Gleichberge in the south of Thuringia are two former volcanic cones of the geological formation of the Heldburger Gangschar . Today they protrude from the grave field as island mountains . On the small Gleichberg there was a Celtic oppidum, the remains of which are still clearly visible today and represent the largest archaeological soil monument in Germany north of the Main. In the Steinsburg Museum , the history of the Steinsburg and excavation finds are presented. The small town of Römhild with a beautiful cityscape is located on the Gleichbergen .

The fortress Heldburg

Heldburger Land

The Franconian region of Heldburger Land is the southernmost part of the Free State of Thuringia. Two mountains of volcanic origin protrude prominently from the Grabfelder Ackerhügelland: the Straufhain (mountain) near Streufdorf with the Straufhain castle ruins and the castle hill near Heldburg with the fortress Heldburg , also known as the Franconian lamp. The German Castle Museum was opened on September 8, 2016 at the Veste Heldburg, once a hunting lodge and secondary residence of the Coburg and Meiningen dukes . In addition to the small towns worth seeing, the former Saxon administrative town of Heldburg and the listed old town of Ummerstadt, there are another 20 villages with ensembles of listed half-timbered houses. Everything is embedded in untouched, quiet and nature-protected areas surrounded by forests, which are easily accessible by hiking and cycling trails. Thuringia's only terrace spa is in Bad Colberg .

Thuringian Forest near Oberhof

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest has been a holiday region since the 18th century. Goethe liked to escape the hustle and bustle at the Weimarer Hof and spend a few quiet days in the Thuringian Forest. The holiday offer is tailored to people who are looking for relaxation through cures and hiking. Important health resorts are, for example, Friedrichroda and Bad Liebenstein . There are holiday resorts for hiking tourists everywhere along the Rennsteig . The best known is Oberhof , other typical hiking locations are for example Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig and Frauenwald . The Thuringian Forest is crossed by the 169.3 km long Rennsteig ridge path. After the fall of the Wall in 1990, numerous fun pools opened in the Thuringian Forest too. B. in Tabarz (TABBS) or Masserberg . In winter the Thuringian Forest usually has good winter sports conditions, which is why biathlon and ski jumping competitions are held every year in Oberhof, for example the 2004 biathlon world championships took place here. The most important mountains of the Thuringian Forest are the Schneekopf , the Adlersberg , the Kickelhahn and the Große Inselsberg . Nevertheless, the landscape of the Thuringian Forest with its spruce monocultures is sometimes less varied than, for example, in the foreland. The Vessertal biosphere reserve between Ilmenau and Suhl is of natural importance .

Thuringian Slate Mountains

The Thuringian Slate Mountains adjoin the Thuringian Forest to the east. It is characterized by plateaus in which deep valleys have dug themselves. The most important of these valleys is that of the Schwarza . The glassblowing town of Lauscha , the former Schwarzburg residence and the Oberweißbacher Bergbahn are located in the slate mountains . Most places are characterized by slated houses and therefore have a fairly uniform appearance.

Paulinzellaer Land

The Paulinzellaer Land is a varied landscape on the Ilm-Saale-Platte . Around the important Romanesque monastery Paulinzella there is an extensive forest area, which is crossed by the valley of the Rottenbach . To the north is the Singer Berg , a volcano with a special dry limestone flora. In its vicinity is Stadtilm with a remarkable old town and important buildings from the Gothic and Renaissance periods.

Three of a kind

Three equals around 1900, (from left to right): Wachsenburg, Burg Gleichen, Mühlburg

The area of ​​the three equals lies between Erfurt, Gotha and Arnstadt . These are three medieval castles, in the vicinity of which are the oldest places in Thuringia. The area is also important as a natural area, for example due to the badlands that occur here . The three equals region was declared a geopark .

Middle Ilm Valley

In the central Ilm valley between Kranichfeld and Weimar , the Ilm has dug its valley deep into the red sandstone, while the adjacent heights are wooded. These properties made the area suitable for the construction of castles, which are found here in great density. The importance of Weimar as a residence is also noticeable, with the Belvedere Palace and Tiefurt Palace, two baroque summer residences of the dukes. At Buchfart there are caves in the cliffs of the Ilm Valley, which served as prehistoric settlements.

Saale valley

The Saale valley below Saalfeld is, like the Werra valley, a main lifeline and has a corresponding density of important cultural monuments such as the Dornburg castles or the Leuchtenburg . Also worth seeing cities like Saalfeld, Rudolstadt , Orlamünde , Kahla , Jena , Dornburg and Camburg are in the Saale valley. Due to its steep slopes, the Saale Valley also forms an important landscape area that can heat up strongly in the north, especially in Jena, which also enables viticulture in Camburg.

Saale reservoirs

The Saale forms two large dams in south-east Thuringia, the Bleilochtalsperre and the Hohenwartetalsperre . There are many campsites here. The varied landscape offers opportunities for hiking, cycling and water sports.

Orlatal

The Orlatal is a breakthrough valley north of Pößneck, while east of it a wide plain. Here are mainly cultural sights such as Pößneck , Neustadt an der Orla , Ranis and Oppurg Castle .

Woodland

The Thuringian Woodland is a forest landscape around Hermsdorf and Eisenberg with some uninhabited valleys that are particularly suitable for hiking and cycling. Besides Eisenberg, Bad Klosterlausnitz with its monastery church is also worth seeing .

Elstertal

The valley of the White Elster has dug itself deep into the rock and was important as a traffic route to the Vogtland early on. The residences of the bailiffs in Gera , Weida and Greiz with buildings worth seeing developed here . The spa town of Bad Köstritz is located north of Gera in the Elstertal .

Cultural tourism

Erfurt Cathedral (left) and Severikirche
Sondershausen Castle

City tourism

City tourism is mainly found in Weimar , Erfurt and Eisenach . Weimar was the European Capital of Culture in 1999 . The city offers sights related to Goethe and the other writers of the Weimar Classic . The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial is located on the nearby Ettersberg . Erfurt has a large medieval old town. There are over 20 churches, which is why Erfurt is called the “city of towers”. The most famous sights in Erfurt's old town are the cathedral , the Krämerbrücke and the Petersberg Citadel . Eisenach is the location of the Wartburg . The city is also the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach. In addition to the Bach Museum, there is the Luther Museum and the Reutermuseum with a Wagner collection. The most important cultural institutions in Thuringia include the Lindenau Museum in Altenburg , the Wartburg near Eisenach and the Klassik Stiftung Weimar ; all three were included in the Blue Book published in 2001 and are therefore among the 20 important cultural institutions in East Germany.

Events

Various events make a decisive contribution to tourism in Thuringia. The summer win , one of the biggest spring festivals in Germany, takes place in Eisenach. In 2011, the nationwide music festival Thuringian Bach Weeks received the "Lighthouses of the Tourism Industry" marketing prize. The six-week cabaret festival Köstritzer Spiegelzelt in Weimar includes programs from music, theater and cabaret. In addition, the art festival pèlerinages and the Weimar onion market take place there with up to 350,000 visitors annually. The state capital Erfurt regularly attracts tourists with events such as the Krämerbrückenfest , the DomStufen festival and the Erfurt Christmas market . Since the Highfield Festival moved away in 2010, the SonneMondSterne festival at the Bleilochtalsperre has been the only remaining major festival of popular music . Until 2012, the much smaller Mega Rock in Erfurt took place especially for schoolchildren . The Rudolstadt Festival is a world music festival with around 90,000 visitors annually in Rudolstadt.

Castles

Since Thuringia was divided into many small states until after the First World War, you can still visit large residential castles everywhere.

There are also numerous smaller castles, some of which were also residences, e.g. B.

The Wartburg

Castles

Probably the most famous castle in Thuringia is the Wartburg near Eisenach . There are hundreds of other castles in Thuringia. Larger castles are, for example, the Osterburg in Weida , the three equals between Gotha and Arnstadt. The only Thuringian castle that belongs to the Burgenstrasse tourist route is the Veste Heldburg in the Heldburger Land with the German Castle Museum .

Museums

see also: List of museums in Thuringia

Meiningen Theater Museum

Monasteries and monastery ruins

see also: List of monasteries and orders in Thuringia

Ecumenical pilgrimage routes

Ecumenical pilgrimage routes are becoming increasingly popular. The pilgrimage route, signposted as the Way of St. James along the historical Via Regia , is the oldest of its kind. It leads from Wroclaw to Vacha , where it connects to other pilgrimage routes that lead to Santiago de Compostela . Within Thuringia, the route runs via Buttelstedt , Erfurt , Gotha and Eisenach . The path is signposted with a scallop shell ; Church parishes and private individuals make hostels available in the towns. In Eisenach, the Elisabethpfad branches off from the Ecumenical Pilgrimage Path, which follows the historic long-distance road through the long Hesse region via Creuzburg to Marburg . Only the short section to Ifta is in Thuringia. The third pilgrimage route connects the monasteries Kloster Volkenroda near Mühlhausen / Thuringia and Kloster Waldsassen in the Bavarian Forest and is marked as Via Porta . Via Porta and Via Regia intersect in the Neufrankenroda settlement belonging to Mechterstädt and the Siloha community. The path then leads via Reinhardsbrunn to the Rennsteig and follows it to the Bavarian border near Blankenberg .

More Attractions

Animal parks and botanical gardens

The Thuringian Zoopark Erfurt is the largest zoological garden in the Free State. The alternative bear park in Worbis is an attraction in Eichsfeld that specializes in keeping bears in a species-appropriate manner. A large outdoor area is available for this. In the Exotarium Oberhof you can observe tropical sea creatures. A few kilometers away is the Rennsteiggarten Oberhof with a representative selection of plants from the low mountain range flora. The Erfurt egapark offers a wide range of activities; the tropical butterflies in one of the glass houses are popular with children. In the north of Erfurt there is the private crocodile and reptile park Crocworld , in which, among other things, Nile and saltwater crocodiles and alligators can be seen.

Smaller zoos are located in Altenburg , Eisenberg , Gera , Gotha , Bad Liebenstein and Suhl . The Zella-Mehlis marine aquarium is also a magnet for visitors.

View of the turntable of the Weimar Railway Museum

Railway systems and technology

There is a lot to see in Thuringia for those interested in railways. In Wiehe there is a model railway layout with a total of 12,000 m² of exhibition space. In Meiningen there are rare rarities to marvel at in the steam locomotive works , a highlight here are the annual Meiningen Steam Engine Days . The Thuringian Forest Railway runs from the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest to Gotha. The Harzquerbahn begins in Nordhausen and ends in Wernigerode. Steam locomotives are still used on a narrow track as planned.

One of the largest collections of standard gauge vehicles is in the Weimar Railway Museum, and of steam locomotives in the Arnstadt depot . Special trips are offered on the Rennsteigbahn or on the Schwarzatalbahn . The Oberweißbacher Bergbahn can be found in the Schwarzatal .

There are several field and mine railways in the Free State. For example, a steam locomotive is used in the Volle Rose show mine .

Sports facilities

Most of the Thuringian sports facilities suitable for competitions can also be used by everyone, including the Gunda-Niemann-Stirnemann Hall and sports facilities in Oberhof.

caves

Other sights

literature

  • Friedhart Knolle , Béatrice Oesterreich, Rainer Schulz and Volker Wrede: The Harz - Geological Excursions., Perthes, Gotha, 1997, ISBN 3-623-00659-9
  • Sven Frotscher: The Kyffhäuser - nature, history, architecture, monuments of Europe. Artern 1996, ISBN 3-00-000509-9
  • Roland Geißler: The most beautiful hikes in Eichsfeld. Mecke, Duderstadt 2000, ISBN 3-932752-51-1 .
  • Wolfgang Mönnighoff: Hainich National Park. = German National Parks 9, VEBU-Verlag Berlin, 1998.
  • Manfred Lückert: The Werra. Landscape and life on the river between the Thuringian Forest and Hann. Münden., Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza, 2nd edition 2007. ISBN 978-3-938997-26-0
  • Etzel, Stefan: "Hiking in the Rhön" - 35 tours, exact map, elevation profiles; Dumont Travel Publishing House (2010); 12.95 euros; ISBN 978-3-7701-8025-7 .
  • Norbert Klaus Fuchs: The Heldburger Land - a historical travel guide; Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-349-2
  • Adolf Hanle (Ed.): Thuringian Forest and Slate Mountains. Mannheim et al. 1992, ISBN 3-411-07191-5 .
  • Dennis Buchert: The Paulinzella Monastery. Grin Verlag, Munich / Ravensburg 2008, ISBN 3-640-23324-7
  • Udo Hopf, Gerd Strickhausen & Elmar Altwasser: The Three Equals. Schnell und Steiner publishing house, Regensburg, 2nd edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-7954-1389-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thuringian State Office for Statistics
  2. ↑ Marketing award lighthouses of the tourism industry
  3. ↑ Stages of the Via Porta pilgrimage route. In: Via Porta. Retrieved August 3, 2011 .

Web links