Thuringia is a main tourist attraction because of its beautiful Thuringian forest, which stretches from the Werra River in the west to the Saale River in the southeast. You can and should discover this charming region by bike, by foot or even on horseback. Several tourist routes and excursions...

Thuringia is a main tourist attraction because of its beautiful Thuringian forest, which stretches from the Werra River in the west to the Saale River in the southeast. You can and should discover this charming region by bike, by foot or even on horseback. Several tourist routes and excursions are offered.

Thuringia has quite a varied history: during the 17th century it was split into more than 20 states and until 1919 it consisted of seven earldoms and one Prussian municipality. This explains the variety of small cities, villages, and the 193 castles located within its relativelty small area (slightly more than 16.000 sq. km.).  Most (77 per cent) of the less than 2.5 million inhabitants live in villages with less than 2,000 inhabitants. The most famous castle is of course the 'Wartburg' near Eisenach, where Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia and Martin Luther once lived.

The cities of Goethe, Schiller and Weimar are a must for everyone just a little interested in German literature and culture. Other tourist destinations are Naumburg and its beautiful cathedral or Erfurt, which is not only the capital city of the Freistaat Thüringen (State of Thuringia) but with nearly 200,000 citizens and an area of approx. 269 km2 its biggest city.

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