You're in the right place! Whether in nature, in the middle of the city, for families, in the countryside, historic or traditional: among Thuringia's TOP hosts, everyone will find exactly the right address.
Nothing but Goethe. Really? No way!
Let’s look beyond dusty libraries!
Germans and German speakers will remember the horrors of literature class: interpreting ancient poems such as “Erlkönig”, “Der Zauberlehrling”, “Osterspaziergang”… yawn, yawn… And then “Faust” (wait, what was that about again?). The ultimate student terror: GOETHE, still dominating Thuringia to this day. And who wants to be reminded of a long-ago trauma while on vacation?
Granted, Goethe really was EVERYWHERE in Thuringia. But not just him. You’re probably thinking: “Yeah, yeah… Bach and Luther, double yawn.” True, those too. Not really classical music or history buffs, are you? No problem. Besides, these can be “cool” too (we’ll show you in Thuringia). How about the singers Yvonne Catterfeld or Clueso? Both from Erfurt. With a bit of luck, you might bump into Clueso at Krämerbrücke bridge or catch one of his concerts, which can sometimes even be for free, meant as a gift to his hometown.
Then there’s Bernd the Bread, Pittiplatsch, Hein Blöd, Sandmännchen… What? Who or what these are? Characters of KiKA, the German kids’ TV channel. It is based here! Ask any German child! The KiKA characters appear around town. Or do you know Alexander Beyer? He is an actor – Sonnenallee, Good Bye Lenin, Inside Wikileaks… ringing a bell?
I can hear the next objection already: “Yeah, but that’s all just Erfurt. Thuringia doesn’t have any cool people…”
Listen up! The biathlete Kati Wilhelm, for example, is born in Schmalkalden. Nobody can say she’s not cool! Plenty of Winter Olympic champions come from Thuringia. Check out Johannes Ludwig, Erik Lesser, or Mariama Jamanka. Actress Sandra Hüller (Oscar alert!) is from Suhl. The actor Thomas Thieme from Weimar, Rolf Hoppe from Ellrich. And did you know Playmobil was invented by a Thuringian? That’s right – Hans Beck from Greiz did it. Really true!
Okay, okay, we’ll stop now. But you have to admit: it’s not all about Goethe in Thuringia. Well, except maybe the Erlkönig, singing in the early morning… or was it the Zaunkönig (German for wren)? This Goethe guy can really drive you crazy. Whatever, one thing’s for sure: check it out and off you go to Thuringia!
Cover image: AI-generated
Then there’s Bernd the Bread, Pittiplatsch, Hein Blöd, Sandmännchen… What? Who or what these are? Characters of KiKA, the German kids’ TV channel. It is based here! Ask any German child! The KiKA characters appear around town. Or do you know Alexander Beyer? He is an actor – Sonnenallee, Good Bye Lenin, Inside Wikileaks… ringing a bell?
I can hear the next objection already: “Yeah, but that’s all just Erfurt. Thuringia doesn’t have any cool people…”
Listen up! The biathlete Kati Wilhelm, for example, is born in Schmalkalden. Nobody can say she’s not cool! Plenty of Winter Olympic champions come from Thuringia. Check out Johannes Ludwig, Erik Lesser, or Mariama Jamanka. Actress Sandra Hüller (Oscar alert!) is from Suhl. The actor Thomas Thieme from Weimar, Rolf Hoppe from Ellrich. And did you know Playmobil was invented by a Thuringian? That’s right – Hans Beck from Greiz did it. Really true!
Okay, okay, we’ll stop now. But you have to admit: it’s not all about Goethe in Thuringia. Well, except maybe the Erlkönig, singing in the early morning… or was it the Zaunkönig (German for wren)? This Goethe guy can really drive you crazy. Whatever, one thing’s for sure: check it out and off you go to Thuringia!
Cover image: AI-generated
