UNESCO-Welterbe in Thüringen

More than 100 years ago, the most influential art school of the early 20th century opened its doors in Weimar. Its founder, Walter Gropius, couldn’t have known back then that the revolutionary ideas of the Bauhaus would go on to conquer the world, and would continue to influence the work of many architects and designers to this day. Although there are authentic Bauhaus locations all over Thuringia, Weimar should be at the top of your must-see list, as it has three Bauhaus sites that were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1996.

Weimar boasts a wealth of UNESCO World Heritage, with a total of 19 individual sites. The Classical Weimar ensemble comprises 16 locations, while ‘Bauhaus and its sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau’ includes three sites in Weimar. Weimar is steeped in culture; it offers encounters with literary history and celebrated intellectuals around every corner. The leading thinkers of the classical era were Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Martin Wieland and Gottfried Herder, but women such as the Duchess Anna Amalia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna also had influential roles. We have brought some aspects of classical Weimar to life – featuring the people and stories associated with the individual locations.

What would the world look like without us? If there weren’t any people, just nature, completely untouched. Beech trees as far as the eye can see, the air filled with a fungal, earthy aroma. The Hainich region is one of the last remnants of the ancient woodland that once covered large swathes of central Europe. At around 130 square kilometres, it is Germany’s largest unbroken area of deciduous forest. Its southern section is a national park, which became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Ancient Beech Forests of Germany in 2011. Although at first glance its natural landscape might not seem quite as spectacular as chalk cliffs, coral reefs or canyons, it is nevertheless unique and provides a very special habitat for many rare species.

Wartburg Castle, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, is not only the most important castle in Germany but also a location with its own distinctive charm and dignity. Here are five reasons why everyone needs to visit Wartburg Castle at least once in their life...