The Romantic Road (German: Romantische Straße) is the term for a theme route coined by travel agents in the 1950s to describe the 350 kilometres (220 mi) of highway in southern Germany (in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg), between Würzburg and Füssen. In medieval times it used to be a trade route, connecting the center of Germany with the South. Today this region is thought by many international travellers to possess “quintessentially” German scenery and culture, specifically in towns and cities such as Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The route is also known for passing a lot of castles, such as Burg Harburg and the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. The Romantic Road is marked with brown signs along the road. read more…
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the American military). Wiesbaden, together with the cities of Frankfurt am Main and Mainz, is part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, a metropolitan area with a combined population of about 5.8 million people. Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name literally means “meadow baths”. At one time, Wiesbaden boasted 27 hot springs. Fifteen of the springs are still flowing today. read more…
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the “capital” of the Hanseatic League (“Queen of the Hanse”) and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2005 it had a population of 214,000. read more…
Schloss Nordkirchen in the Gemeinde Nordkirchen in Kreis Coesfeld, Westphalia, Germany, built in 1703 to 1734, is known as the “Versailles of Westphalia” as it is the largest of the partly moated Wasserschlösser in that region. It was originally one of the residences of the Prince-bishops of Munster. read more…
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of over 237,000. Kiel is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea, Kiel has become one of the major maritime centres of Germany. For instance, the city is known for a variety of international sailing events, including the annual Kiel Week, which is the biggest sailing event in the world. The Olympic sailing competitions of the 1936 and the 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Kiel. read more…
The German Wine Route or Wine Road (German: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany’s tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the route was established in 1935. read more…
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the Bundesland of Thuringia, north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899. Weimar was the capital of the Duchy (after 1815 the Grand Duchy) of Saxe-Weimar (German: Sachsen-Weimar). Weimar’s cultural heritage is vast. It is most often recognised as the place where Germany’s first democratic constitution was signed after the First World War, giving its name to the Weimar Republic period in German politics, of 1918–1933. However, the city was also the focal point of the German Enlightenment and home of the leading characters of the literary genre of Weimar Classicism, the writers Goethe and Schiller. The city was also the birthplace of the Bauhaus movement, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, with artists Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Oskar Schlemmer, and Lyonel Feininger teaching in Weimar’s Bauhaus School. Many places in the city centre have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. read more…
Königswinter is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, with approximatly 40,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite to Bonn, at the foot of the Siebengebirge and the Petersberg, which hosts the Federal Guesthouse on Petersberg where several national and international governmental events and conferences took and still take place. read more…
The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian boundary wall (“limes”) – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – runs from Rhineland-Palatinate through Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and into Bavaria. read more…
