Discovering Thuringian towns at Wartburg Hainich World Heritage region

Exploring Eisenach

The trip starts in the home of the Wartburg – in more than one sense. There’s Wartburg Castle, of course, sitting in splendour above the town of Eisenach, but there is also another Wartburg. This is an East German car which was produced in Eisenach during the days of the GDR. Car making in the town goes back all the way to 1898. You can experience it at the Automobile World Eisenach exhibition. Roaming the streets of the town centre, you inadvertently gain some historical insights. You immediately spot the Luther House, one of Eisenach’s oldest and most beautiful timber-framed houses. That's definitively worth a photo. It also has a lovely little courtyard with ornate, colourful balconies.

It’s not very far from Luther to Bach, both literally and metaphorically. A few steps take you to St George’s Church, where Luther used to preach and where the infant Johann Sebastian Bach was baptised. The late-Gothic font is highly ornate and very pretty. It’s quite impressive to think you can still be baptised in the same place as Bach.

A bit further on we come to Bach’s House. This museum adds a musical note to your trip. You can listen to a live concert featuring baroque instruments – performed once an hour – enter an ‘immersive musical composition’ and relax in bubble chairs as you enjoy Bach’s works. The garden right next to the house offers further opportunities for relaxation.  

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Luther House in Eisenach, ©Anna Lena Thamm, TTG

As green as it gets

Gardens are also the theme for the next destination: Bad Langensalza. The town has ten parks and themed gardens, never mind the pretty town centre with its colourful buildings and cobblestone squares. <that's a sure winner for vacation photos with a wow-factor. 

You start on a Far Eastern note, walking through the beautifully designed ‘Garden of Bliss’. This evocatively named Japanese garden is divided into different sections, each one more lovely than the last. A favourite is the pond garden, complete with a wooden bridge, zigzag walkway and colourful koi carp teeming in the water below you. Pro tip: Be sure to visit in April – that’s when the cherry blossoms are out. 

Just across the road you immerse yourself in a sea of roses. The Rose Garden is home to more than 450 different species and varieties. Where to begin to take pictures – should you start with the rose-covered pergola, the rose arch, or perhaps the cute pavilion surrounded by blossoms? If you ‘scale’ the lookout hill you're rewarded with splendid views across the entire Rose Garden.

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Courtyard garden with bonsai in the Japanese Garden, ©Florian Trykowski, TTG

Medieval to the max

The last item on your itinerary: Mühlhausen, the town of spires, gates and churches. Medieval charm wherever you care to look – simply fabulous. Have a lovely little walk along the old town wall, which comes complete with a tower and gates you can actually walk through. The inner Frauentor gate takes you straight to the Church of St Mary. Even the exterior of this imposing church is a sight to behold, a fine example of the Gothic style. St Mary’s is the second-biggest church in Thuringia, after Erfurt Cathedral. Be sure to visit the Church of St Blasius, another gem, this time with a hint of a French influence. Beautiful towers, a large rose window over the entrance (that's a look-alike of the rosettes at Notre Dame), and magnificent stained-glass windows near the high altar. And you're back to Johann Sebastian Bach once again, who used to play the organ at this church. 

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West towers of St Blasius’ Church, ©Florian Trykowski, TTG

Header picture: ©Tino Sieland, Welterberegion Wartburg Hainich