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Germany’s Hidden Heart - Weimar and the towns of Thuringia and Sachsen-Anhalt
9
days
from
US$5,100
Book today with a deposit of
US$765
29th August 2027 - 6th September 2027
Tour highlights
- A journey through the largely undiscovered towns of Mitteldeutschland that are rural, historic and surprisingly rich in art and ideas.
- Remarkable medieval architecture and churches, from the great Gothic cathedral at Halberstadt to the early Romanesque St Cyriakus at Gernrode, one of the oldest and most beautiful in Germany.
- Magnificent Baroque and Neo-Classical palaces, outstanding art collections and the finest treasury in Germany at Quedlinburg.
- A region where the passage of time has been kinder than elsewhere – and where a powerful sense of the past still lingers.
- Mühlhausen, perhaps the most evocative medieval town in northern Europe, with its complete city walls, half-timbered streets and six Gothic churches.
- Weimar, the small city that punched far above its weight – home at various times to Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Liszt, Nietzsche and the founders of the Bauhaus.
- Erfurt, Thuringia’s handsome capital, with its extraordinary medieval bridge of houses, great cathedral and Luther connections.
Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia – Mitteldeutschland, the Länder at the heart of Germany – are predominantly rural: rolling hills, deciduous woodland, compact red-roofed villages and ancient small-scale cities. Only patchily affected by the ravages of war and industrialisation, much of the historic architecture survived the 20th century intact. Four decades within the East German state further slowed the pace of change, with the result that this corner of the continent’s richest and most modern nation retains a character and pace of life that much of the wider world has lost.
Thuringia was one of the five major states of early medieval Germany, and Sachsen-Anhalt’s history was equally distinguished – in the tenth century, ‘Old’ Saxony formed the very kernel of the German nation. Though both regions later fragmented into smaller principalities and independent cities, they remained culturally fertile. The Bach family dominated music-making here across the 17th and 18th centuries, and one small dukedom made a quite exceptional contribution to European art and thought. Weimar played host to Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Liszt, Nietzsche, Richard Strauss, Walter Gropius and many other great names.
For those who knew East Germany before 1991, the subsequent transformation has been little short of remarkable – major investment in infrastructure, the restoration and renewal of the built environment, and a rekindling of commercial and cultural life. For the first-time visitor, the region offers something rarer still: an authenticity and a powerful sense of the past that can be lost in places more thoroughly modernised. This is a fascinating, constantly surprising, beautiful and richly rewarding corner of Europe – and one that remains largely undiscovered by the wider world.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 12.45pm from London Heathrow to Berlin (British Airways). Drive to Quedlinburg. First of three nights in Quedlinburg.
Quedlinburg is a wonderfully preserved medieval town. The castle hill is crowned by the church of St Servatius, begun 1070, and contains one of Germany’s finest treasuries. See also the Gothic church of St Benedict in the market square and the Wipertikirche with its tenth century crypt. At nearby Gernrode is one of the oldest churches in Germany, and one of the most beautiful, St Cyriakus, begun AD 961. Overnight Quedlinburg.
Blankenburg is an idyllic little spa town in the foothills of the Harz mountains with two Baroque palaces, the creation of a younger son of the Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel dynasty who made Blankenburg his capital. Halberstadt was a major city in the Middle Ages, and the cathedral is the largest French-style Gothic church in Germany after Cologne; the treasury is exceptional. Overnight Quedlinburg.
Drive in the morning across the Harz mountains to Thuringia, passing forested vistas, half-timbered hamlets and patches of pasturage. Mühlhausen is astonishing, one of the most delightful and evocative towns in northern Europe, preserving its complete medieval wall, an abundance of half-timbered buildings and six Gothic churches. Walk along a section of the wall, visit the soaring, five-aisled church of St Mary, and St Blasius, the church where Bach was organist 1707–08. Overnight Mühlhausen.
A Residenzstadt within the principality of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Gotha is dominated by Schloss Friedenstein, which has fine interiors, a picture collection and a Baroque theatre. Walk down a processional way to the Hauptmarkt with its Renaissance town hall. Arnstadt, the oldest town in eastern Germany, has fine streetscape on a sloping site with the church where Bach was organist from 1703 to 1707; the Early Gothic Church of Our Lady and a palace which illustrates social hierarchy from the court’s perspective. First of four nights in Weimar.
Two centuries of enlightened patronage by members of the ducal family enabled the little city-state of Weimar to be home to many great writers, philosophers, composers and artists. Today, visit the Stadtkirche, the main church with an altarpiece by Cranach, Goethe’s house, a beautifully preserved sequence of interiors and garden, the ducal Schloss, with Neo-Classical interiors and a fine art museum, and an English-style landscaped park with Goethe’s summer house.
Capital of Thuringia, Erfurt well preserves its pre-20th-century appearance with a variety of streetscape and architecture from medieval to Jugendstil. Outstanding are the Krämerbrücke, a 14th-century bridge piled with houses and shops, and the cathedral, framing Germany’s largest set of medieval stained glass. See also the Severikirche, the friary of St Augustine where Luther was a monk, the Predigerkirche which retains its late medieval appearance intact, and the 17th-century hilltop citadel.
A walk includes Haus am Horn and Van de Velde’s School of Arts and Crafts from which the Bauhaus emerged. Free afternoon in this beautiful little city. Among the many other museums to choose from are the Bauhaus Museum, the 18th-century Wittumspalais and the Schiller House. An excursion to Buchenwald concentration camp can be arranged.
Architecturally, Naumburg Cathedral is an outstanding embodiment of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, but its great importance lies in its 13th-century sculpture, including statues of the founders, among the most powerful and realistic of the Middle Ages. Fly from Berlin, arriving Heathrow at c. 8.45pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Jarl Kremeier
Art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts; teaches Art History at the Berlin College of Acting and the Senior Student’s Department of Berlin’s Freie Universität. He studied at the Universities of Würzburg, Berlin and the Courtauld, is a contributor to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art, author of a book on the Würzburg Residenz, and of articles on Continental Baroque architecture and architectural theory.
More tours led by Dr Jarl Kremeier
Practicalities
Two sharing: US$5,610 or US$5,100 without flights. Single occupancy: US$6,170 or US$5,660 without flights.
Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 5 dinners with wine; all admissions to museums and sites; all gratuities for restaurant staff, drivers, guides; all airport and state taxes; the services of the lecturer.
Romantik Hotel am Brühl, Quedlinburg: restored 4-star hotel in a heritage building near the historical heart, comfortably furnished. Brauhaus “Zum Löwen”, Mühlhausen: 3-star converted brewery in the centre of the town; characterfully rustic dining area and bar, simple but spacious rooms. Dorint Am Goethepark, Weimar: a modern 4-star hotel, situated by the park and on the edge of the town centre. Single rooms throughout are doubles for sole use.
There are no twin rooms at the Romantik Hotel am Brühl in Quedlinburg. Contact us for a supplement to book two rooms at this hotel if you require two beds.
This tour is fairly long and there is quite a lot of walking in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. There are long transfers between each hotel and the airport, otherwise coach travel is limited to short excursions.
Between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Travel.State.Gov to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
29th August - 6th September 2027
Speaker:
Dr Jarl Kremeier
Price:
from US$5,100
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“It was our first Martin Randall Travel tour (recommended by friends) and we loved it.
”
“Just what wanted; very good balance of medieval, Baroque and modern, towns and countryside.
”
“As ever – Dr Kremeier astounds with his knowledge – but transmits it with wit and courtesy.
”
“It is impossible to praise our lecturer too much. He effortlessly combined the organisational aspect of the tour with cultural enlightenment.
”
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