Erfurt and the Saale-Unstrut region

Start your tour in Erfurt, to the northeast of Frankfurt, where you’ll find one of Germany's best-preserved medieval town centers with magnificent patricians' houses, attractive half-timbered buildings, and the impressive Augustinian Monastery where Martin Luther studied. With this delightful city as your starting point, you can take a day-trip to Bad Sulza, in the heart of the Saale-Unstrut.

Vines have been cultivated since 998 A.D. on the hillsides lining the Saale and Unstrut rivers, which lend their name to this wine region. It is among the northernmost of Europe's traditional wine regions. Due to this, and the cooler climate, the weather is more variable than in the regions to the west. As such, many of the vines are planted on labor-intensive stone terraces that help temper the climate. Yields are low and Spätlese or Auslese can be produced only in exceptionally warm years. The wines are labeled as varietals and, with the exception of extremely rare dessert wines, all wines are vinified dry and have a refreshing acidity.

When you’re not exploring around the countryside, Erfurt’s compact Altstadt makes for easy exploration of the many neighboring historic sights. The Domberg (Cathedral Hill) thrusts impressive twin cathedrals above the city’s rooftops. The hike up the 70 steps from the Domplatz is worth it to see the treasures of the 14th century St. Mary’s Cathedral and the 13th century St. Severus.

The Krämerbrücke (Merchant's Bridge), built in 1325, is a fascinating work of medieval secular architecture. It is completely covered by houses on both sides. The original 62 narrow houses on the bridge have over time been amalgamated to form the present 32 houses, and it is recognized as the longest bridge of its kind in Europe.

The Augustinerkloster (Augustinian Monastery), dating back to 1277, houses an exhibition that shows the life and work of its resident of six years, Martin Luther. Also not to be missed is the Petersberg Citadel, one of the few of nearly completely preserved Baroque Citadels in Europe.

This beautiful city has bloomed into the reputation of Europe’s “Flower City.” A city of parks and gardens, it boasts Germany’s largest flower bed (6,000 square meters) in the ega-Park. The “ega” is a gardening exhibition center built around the 500-year-old Cyriaksburg fortress and is a testament to man’s ability to find harmony with nature in landscape gardening. Just behind the train station, City Park rises with a series of stone terraces. The old Brühl Park, built as a refuge for nobility in the 18th century and now gone quite literally to seed, is being tamed and manicured.