137 Best Sights in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Germany

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. The Bachhaus has exhibits devoted to the entire lineage of the musical Bach family and includes a collection of historical musical instruments. It is the largest collection of Bach memorabilia in the world, and displays a bust of the composer built using forensic science from a cast of his skull. The price of admission includes a 20-minute recital using historical instruments, held once per hour.

When Walter Gropius founded the Staatliches Bauhaus (Bauhaus design school) in Weimar, it quickly became Germany's most influential and avant-garde design school, and it ushered in the era of modern architecture and design just before the start of World War II. Weimar's Bauhaus Museum is a modest, yet superb collection of the works of Gropius, Johannes Itten, and Henry van de Velde.  The emphasis is on the early phase of the Bauhaus and displays the world's oldest collection of Bauhaus work. The Bauhaus is still alive today, and the museum tells the story of how our contemporary visions of our living environment have evolved and how they continue to develop.

Although the current name, Bauhaus University, only dates from 1996, Walter Gropius renamed the former Great Ducal Saxon Art School as the Bauhaus in 1919. His goal was to challenge the status quo and create a more humanized modernity that fused art and design into architecture and city planning. Henry van de Velde, who suggested Gropius for his position in Weimar, completed what is now the main administrative building of the university in 1911. Although it was conceived as an Art Nouveau structure, Van de Velde’s studio is one of the best-preserved Bauhaus buildings in Germany—be sure to look for the free-standing staircase in the foyer of the building. Van de Velde also designed the horseshoe-shape gable of the Art Faculty in 1906.

Outside of the city center, in the district of Lindenau, Leipzig merchants built a huge cotton factory that spun from 1884 until 1993, when it closed. The 25-acre site lay abandoned until a group of artists purchased the property in 2001. Today the old factories are run by an eclectic collection of craftspeople and artists. In addition to galleries run by Neo Rauch and Matthias Weischer, the factory became the center of the New Leipzig School of contemporary art. Today the Cotton Mill is an enclave of potters, a goldsmith, fashion designers, restaurants, and theaters. Self-billed as the “Hottest Place on Earth,” it is worth the trek.

Bautzen was the site of one of East Germany's most notorious prisons, which was dedicated to holding the Stasi's political prisoners. It remains an active prison until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Since 1994, it has been a memorial to those inhumanely and unfairly persecuted by the East German regime. There are guided tours on Friday (5 pm), and on weekends (11 am and 2 pm).

This house is interesting for its Renaissance facade decorated with sandstone reliefs depicting biblical stories. The Catholic Church banned religious depictions on secular buildings, but by the time the house was rebuilt after a fire in 1526, the Reformation had Görlitz firmly in its grip.

This unique (even in a country with a national tendency for excessive cleanliness) and unfortunately named museum relates the history of public health and science. The permanent exhibit offers lots of hands-on activities. The building itself once housed the Nazi eugenics program, and the special exhibit on this period is not recommended for children under 12.

Behind the Rathaus is one of Bautzen's most interesting sights: Dom St. Petri is eastern Germany's only Simultankirche, or \"simultaneous church.\" An early effort to avoid the violence that often occurred during the Reformation, St. Peter's has a Protestant side and a Roman Catholic side in the same church. A short fence, which once reached a height of 13 feet, separates the two congregations. The church was built in 1213 on the sight of a Milzener (the forerunners of the Sorbs) parish church.

Lucas Cranach the Elder—court painter, printer, mayor, pharmacist, friend of Luther's, and probably the wealthiest man in Wittenberg—lived in two houses during his years in town. This Cranachhaus is believed to have been the first one. His son, the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger, was born here. Some of the interior has been restored to its 17th-century condition. It's now a gallery with exhibits about Cranach's life and work. Check out the goldsmith and potter that are occasionally on hand demonstrating their crafts in the courtyard.

Quedlinburg’s skyline is dominated by the Schlossberg. The original town that became Quedlinburg forms the base of the hill. The half-timber houses in this are much smaller than those in the Old Town as they housed handworkers and artisans that supported the Abbey. The hill is ringed by the Wassertorstrasse and a small footpath that make exploring this area picturesque and easy. Finkenherd Square hosts a large collection of medieval half-timber houses. The house at Finkenherd #1 is where, in 919, Heinrich I learned that he would be king. On the way up to the castle, stop at Vincent's Käsekuchenbäckerei for the best cheesecake in Quedlinburg.

The city's medieval past is recounted in the museum of this former monastery.

A set of porcelain bells at the late-Gothic Frauenkirche, on the central Marktplatz, was the first of its kind anywhere when installed in 1929.

About 16 km (10 miles) east of central Dessau, the castles, parks, and architectural gems of the Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, create a unique cultural landscape between the Elbe and Mulde rivers. Preserving the essence of the Enlightenment, this area allows visitors to experience its rich cultural and historical legacy. Built in the latter half of the 18th century, the Gartenreich is the birthplace of the landscape garden in Germany, as well as a key site for the emergence of Classicism and neo-Gothic architecture. The park itself is free and best accessed by car. Visitors can explore various sites, including the stunning Wörlitz Palace, the charming Luisium, and the intriguing Gartenhaus im Neuen Garten, each with its own unique architecture and historical significance. Opening hours and tours can vary by building, so it's best to consult the website for up-to-date information.

Evidence of a wealthy Jewish community can be found in the large art nouveau Synagogue. With 650 seats the building, completed in 1911, would have been the largest synagogue in Saxony.

During the Kristallnacht Nazis set the building on fire, but the building only suffered minor damage as the Fire Department ignored orders to let the building burn. The last service took place here in 1940. Almost none of Görlitz’s Jews survived the war and Soviet Military authorities placed the synagogue under the control of the community in Dresden. The city of Görlitz purchased the building in 1963 and it served a variety of functions until German unification.

In 2008 the city and an associated foundation began the reconstruction of the building. Although there is no large community in Görlitz, the newly refurbished synagogue is again open to the public and is primarily used as a venue for cultural events and conferences. The main building is an interesting public space that explores the history and cultural impact of Jews in Silesia. In December 2021, the remains of the Torah, thought destroyed by the Nazis, was returned to the synagogue after being hidden by a sympathetic priest.

This museum showcases 2,000 years of works from Leipzig's and eastern Germany's proud tradition of handicrafts, such as exquisite porcelain, fine tapestry art, and modern Bauhaus design.

Historical musical instruments, mostly from the Renaissance, include the world's oldest clavichord, constructed in 1543 in Italy. There are also spinets, flutes, and lutes. Recordings of the instruments can be heard at the exhibits.

Presenting arts and crafts from all continents and various eras, this museum includes a thrilling collection of Southeast Asian antique art and the world's only Kurile Ainu feather costume, in the Northeast Asia collection. This museum stands at the forefront of a growing movement to assess Germany's colonial past and repatriation of looted art.

With 26 platforms, Leipzig's main train station is Europe's largest railhead. It was built in 1915 and is now a protected monument, but modern commerce rules in its bi-level shopping mall, the Promenaden. Many of the shops and restaurants stay open until 10 pm and are open on Sunday. Thanks to the historic backdrop, this is one of the most beautiful shopping experiences in Saxony.

This modest, cubical structure designed by Georg Muche for the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition is the first structure constructed using the Bauhaus’s new philosophy of functional modernity. The house is a small cubist structure comprised of concrete and stone walls with a flat roof and is a model for the Meisterhäuser in Dessau. All of the furniture was created specifically for the house by students of the Bauhaus design school.

This museum makes a valiant attempt to evaluate the history of the GDR. It provides fascinating insight into the day-to-day culture of East Germans through the re-creation of a typical East German apartment, and a display of more than 20,000 objects, including detergent packaging and kitchen appliances. A special section deals with Germans and Russians in the Wittenberg region.

Ask anyone where to find the Church of St. Peter and Paul and they will give you a confused look, but everyone knows the church associated with the philosopher Wilhelm Gottfried Herder. The Marktplatz's late-Gothic church has a large winged altar started by Lucas Cranach the Elder and finished by his son in 1555. The elder Cranach lived in a nearby house (two blocks east of Theaterplatz) during his last years, 1552–53. Its wide, imposing facade is richly decorated and bears the coat of arms of the Cranach family, but almost none of the gothic interior remains. The church also houses a modern art gallery.

With Schloss Neuenberg looming above, there is no more picturesque place to stop for a glass of wine or tour when you are exploring the Unstrut Valley than this serene terraced vineyard with its well-preserved baroque 18th-century vineyard house. The vintners welcome visitors for a tour of the vineyards every day at 11 from April to October. The highlight is the relaxed tasting area with generous pours and picnic lunches available to enjoy in the garden.

Below the waterworks and outside the walls, this reddish-brown house was one of the only structures to survive all the city's fires—leading Bautzeners to conclude that it could only be occupied by witches. There's an exhibition, open every on the 1st and 3rd Sunday every the month.

Goethe and Schiller are buried in this leafy cemetery, where virtually every gravestone commemorates a famous citizen of Weimar. Their tombs are in the vault of the classical-style chapel. The cemetery is a short walk past Goethehaus and Wieland Platz.

In the second Wittenberg home of Cranach the Elder, the Renaissance man not only lived and painted but also operated a print shop, which has been restored and converted into a hotel. The courtyard, where it's thought he did much of his painting, remains much as it was in his day. Local children attend the Malschule (painting school) next to the apothecary.