The German Half-Timbered House Road (German: Deutsche Fachwerkstraße) is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to Lake Constance in the south. Along the road you can find nearly 100 cities and towns with remarkable timber-framed houses. It is divided into seven sections, leading through the following states of Germany: Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Thuringia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The total length is nearly 3,000 km (1,864 mi).
In 1975 the ‘ARGE Historische Fachwerkstädte e.V.’ (Association of Historic Half-Timbered House Towns) was founded. Its aim is to preserve the cultural heritage of a huge variety of different styles of half-timbering in Germany. To share this knowledge with other interested people the ‘German Half-Timbered House Route’ (sometimes referred to as the “German Half-Timbered Houses Route”) was founded in 1990. In the meantime 98 half-timbered house towns have joined up under the slogan “Half-timbered houses unites”.
The German Half-Timbered House Road, which covers Germany from north to south, joins unique landscapes, historic sites and carefully restored monuments. Health resorts and festival locations alternate with nature parks and romantic nooks. Cider and Bock beer were invented here and hardly any other tourist route can offer such a variety of German culinary delights.
Germany’s most northern vineyard, the biggest Christmas candle in the world and Germany’s only Ivory Museum are all located on this historical trail. There are many events, festivals and markets throughout the year, which can be explored by car, bicycle, train, or motor-home.
