Everyone has heard about it, but who has actually visited Germany’s most beautiful sights? We present eight cultural highlights of the republic.
It’s best at home: exploring your own country by train, car, bike or on foot – this has become the focus of many people. Why fly far and expensively away when there is one world-famous sight after the next on your doorstep? To make it easier to choose from the many historic and monumental buildings, we present our bucket list.
The shy King Ludwig II was a visionary, esthete and fantasist and was only 41 years old – but left four sensational buildings in Bavaria. His first castle, Neuschwanstein, was the craziest building project in the 19th century and has been famous all over the world ever since. He had scouted out the building site as a child: a jagged, 200-meter-high rock on the edge of the mountains near Füssen in the Allgäu.
Not far away, “Kini” grew up in Hohenschwangau Castle until he had to take the throne at the age of 18 following the sudden death of his father. From the outside, Neuschwanstein was supposed to look like a medieval knight’s castle. However, he planned the more than 200 rooms magnificently in the styles of Romanesque, Gothic and Byzantine art, equipped with the latest technical achievements. That was in 1869, when he was 24 years old.
By the time of his death in 1886, not everything could be completed. But what there is to see defies any imagination: the sacred-looking throne room with Byzantine domed buildings, the singers’ hall with impressive murals about the Parzival legend, a spectacularly illuminated grotto in the rooms or its carved oak state bed in the bedroom. His dream world come true, in which the king only spent 172 nights, also includes a state-of-the-art kitchen, warm air heating and industrial steel frame windows.
Until 1989 it marked the border and was a symbol of the division of Berlin and Germany. Since the fall of the Wall, it has been the national symbol of the unity of the Republic: every German carries the monumental Brandenburg Gate with them. In your wallet, because it adorns the back of the German 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. Anyone who comes to Berlin must definitely walk through the 26 meter high, 66 meter wide and eleven meter deep building made of Elbe sandstone.
Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II had the Triumph Gate built in 1788 as a worthy architectural finish to the Unter den Linden boulevard. The symbol of the German capital is crowned by the five-meter-high winged goddess of victory, Victoria, who drives a chariot drawn by four horses, a quadriga, into the city. The maintenance of the classicist building costs around 200,000 euros annually.
No one can throw around as many superlatives as Cologne Cathedral: As one of the most visited monuments in Germany, it attracts millions of tourists every year. These are astonishing given its dimensions: with a length of 144 meters, the Gothic building is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. With a height of 157 meters, it is the second highest church in Germany. The construction period is also breathtaking – started in 1248 and completed in 1880, i.e. 632 years.
Inside, treasures from a period of 1,000 years are crowded together. The youngest jewel is only 17 years old: a huge stained glass window with 72 different colors by the German artist Gerhard Richter. Richter used a random generator to determine where the 11,000 squares of hand-blown, colorful antique glass were placed.
The result: an abstract work, like a carpet of colors. This unfolds its full effect in the afternoon from 3 p.m. when the sun is shining. Then the fascinating play of light and colors begins. The Richter Window is just one of the famous cathedral windows that are considered masterpieces of Gothic stained glass. The gold shrine in which the bones of the three kings Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar are kept is also incredibly valuable. There are even more treasures to marvel at in the underground cathedral treasury – on three floors.
The half-timbered town in Middle Franconia is the symbol of German romanticism: a completely preserved city wall with 42 gates and defensive towers protects the medieval old town. Lovingly decorated half-timbered houses with flower boxes, winding streets with cobbled stones, churches, fountains, gardens and a moated castle make Rothenburg, which is more than 1000 years old, the most romantic city in Germany.
Christmas is celebrated all year round on the historic market square – in Käthe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas village. Here you can find the world’s largest selection of traditional German Christmas decorations and everything that belongs to Christmas – 365 days a year. In the Christmas Museum, which is the only one of its kind in the world, you can find out everything about Advent calendars, nativity scenes and Christmas traditions. “The Master Drink” is also an old tradition. The historical festival has been performed annually on the Pentecost weekend since 1881 and is about saving the city in the 30 Years’ War. By the way, “The Master Drink” is part of UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.
The elite of the medieval hit, refugee Martin Luther and 500 fraternity members: They all made the Wartburg in the Thuringian Forest one of the most historic buildings in Germany. Starting in the early 13th century with the minstrels Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach, who met at the medieval Fortress for the famous singing competition.
More than 300 centuries later, it was the ostracized and banned refugee Martin Luther who, up here as “Junker Jörg,” translated the New Testament into German within eleven weeks. With a little imagination, you can also see what is probably the most famous ink stain in the world in his barren office. Martin Luther is said to have thrown the inkwell at the devil. In 1817, 500 boys gathered at the Wartburg for an epoch-making festival: they invoked imperial unity and called for the German nation state.
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The most famous ruin in the world is in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg: in an exposed location, the castle ruins tower over the valley floor on the northern slope of the Königstuhl, in the middle of green forests. The pink-red Neckar Valley sandstone allows the castle, which was partially destroyed in the 17th century, to still shine in warm tones today – as a romantic ruin.
When you walk through the old town you can always see the castle. The Old Bridge, picturesque alleys, dreamy squares and small cafés, where students from the city’s ten universities and vocational academies enjoy life, invite you to marvel and linger in the city on the Neckar.
Like Italy’s capital Rome, Bamberg was built on seven hills and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town is the largest, intact historic city center in Germany because Bamberg was largely spared from bombing during the Second World War. Medieval and baroque architecture amaze every visitor: Among the 1,200 architectural monuments, the four-towered Imperial Cathedral with the famous stone Bamberg Horseman, the old town hall with its frescoes that give the facade plasticity, and the oldest Stations of the Cross in the Republic stand out.
In addition to strolling through the Upper Franconian episcopal city, a gondola ride is one of the things you have to do once in your life. On the Regnitz, original Venetian gondolas take you past the medieval half-timbered houses of the former fishing settlement in the Bamberg island town. Anyone who needs a culinary refreshment can fortify themselves in cute cafés and historic taverns with “Zwätschgabaamäs”, an air-dried beef ham and a number of local beers such as smoked beer – because Bamberg is particularly proud of its beer tradition.
From scandal to architectural miracle: It was only with its opening in 2017 that criticism of Hamburg’s new landmark faded. Artists and concertgoers praise the unique acoustics. That from the Swiss architects Herzog
The reason for this is not only the location in the middle of the port of Hamburg, but also the construction of the “Elphi”. Because its foundation is a former warehouse. Its delicate glass facade made of curved panels rises above the red brick walls of the old warehouse – creating a constantly changing play of colors. The facade reflects the colors of the sky and water. The centerpiece is the large concert hall with 2,100 seats. It is built according to the vineyard principle – the stage in the middle, surrounded by the audience terraces.
Even those who are not interested in classical music or a tour of the Elbphilharmonie will be fascinated. The publicly accessible “Plaza” is located at a height of 37 meters – with the most beautiful 360-degree view in the city of the Elbe, the harbor, the Speicherstadt and HafenCity.