Explore the wilderness
The 700-year-old Rennsteig trail traces a spectacular ridgeway through the Thuringian forest, and is a mecca for hikers and cyclists. Originally a trade route in the Middle Ages, the path is popular with both walkers wishing to get away for a while and cyclists up for a serious challenge. With 105 miles running from Bach’s birthplace, Eisenach, to the river Saale in Blankenstein, there is plenty to take in.
Medieval wonders
Strewn across Thuringia’s lush scenery are an incredible 400 castles and palaces. Queen Victoria, Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha famously danced at Schloss Friedenstein, while Richard Wagner’s operatic masterpiece Tannhäuser was inspired by Wartburg Castle, now a Unesco world heritage site and home to a 9,000-strong treasure trove of European art. Erfurt, the state capital, is also worth a visit. Peek inside St Mary’s Cathedral, where the 16th century monk Martin Luther was ordained, before taking in Erfurt’s perfectly preserved medieval old town that’s most impressive.
Hiking in Thuringian forest; Erfurt Cathedral; plum sheet cake
Art and culture
Ever since a youthful Johann Wolfgang von Goethe arrived in the city of Weimar, flushed with success from his romantic bestseller The Sorrows of Young Werther, Thuringia has been a haven for artists, philosophers, musicians, innovators and reformers. Weimar’s numerous coffee houses were frequented by everyone from Johann Sebastian Bach to Friedrich Nietzsche, Wassily Kandinsky and Marlene Dietrich. The world-class design school Bauhaus opened in Weimar in 1919 – before moving to Dessau in 1925 – and next year’s centenary will be marked with a plethora of parties and special events, culminating in the grand opening of the new bauhaus museum weimar.
Take a different view
Prize for the coolest place to see goes to the Carl Zeiss-Planetarium in Jena. The world’s oldest planetarium, built in 1926, features an impressive dome projection system where Pink Floyd and Queen provide the soundtrack to gas clouds and galaxies. And for holiday snaps unlike anyone else’s Instagram feed, visit Erfurt-Rieth: a concrete jungle of 1970s GDR architecture, complete with retro-futurist skywalks, plattenbau tower blocks, murals and sculptures.
Weimar city; the new Bauhaus museum weimar; Oskar Schlemmer mural at Bauhaus University
The best of the wurst
It would be remiss not to mention Thuringia’s legendary sausages – rostbratwursts, or “rosters” – which are one of the world’s most delicious things to put on a BBQ, slather in mustard and slap into a sliced roll. The marjoram and spices in these protected-designation-of-origin sausages bring them to life. Satisfy your sweet tooth with a slice of sheet cake topped with plums and crumble, or indulge in handmade chocolates from the Goldhelm workshop in Erfurt.
