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

Perfect for your Leipzig Drallewatsch, the colorful Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse---KarLi for short---is known for its many cute bars, cafés, pubs, and street-art covered houses.

The largest Catholic church in Saxony is also known as the Cathedral of St. Trinitatis. Frederick Augustus II (who reigned 1733–63) brought architects and builders from Italy to construct a Catholic church in a city that had been the first large center of Lutheran Protestantism (like his father, Frederick Augustus II had to convert to Catholicism to be eligible to wear the Polish crown). The bridge between the residence and the church was the way for August to attend mass without being seen by the public. Inside, the treasures include a beautiful stone pulpit by the royal sculptor Balthasar Permoser and a painstakingly restored 250-year-old organ, said to be one of the finest ever to come from the mountain workshops of the famous Silbermann family. There is a small, yet powerful memorial to the bombing of Dresden in the nave to the rear. In the cathedral's crypt are the tombs of 49 Saxon rulers and a reliquary containing the heart of Augustus the Strong, which is rumored to start beating if a beautiful woman comes near.

Built in 1912–13, Germany's only original Art Nouveau department store has a main hall with a colorful glass cupola and several stunning freestanding staircases that may look familiar to those who have seen the film The Grand Budapest Hotel, since the building stood in the hotel's grand lobby. The store dominates the Marienplatz, a small square outside the city center that serves as Görlitz's transportation hub. It's next to the 15th-century Frauenkirche, the parish church for the nearby hospital and the poor condemned to live outside the city walls. In 2013 a private investor purchased the building with plans to renovate it and open a high-end department store. At this writing, the building is still being restored, but there is no concrete date to reopen it. It may be possible to look around the inside during the renovation.

Supported by seven Gothic gables, the Kaysersches Haus the carved oak doorway is from the Renaissance.

Perched high above the river is one of Saxony's largest late-Gothic churches, dating to 1423. The real draw is the church's famous one-of-a-kind organ, built in 1703 by Eugenio Casparini. The Sun Organ gets its name from the circularly arranged pipes and not from the golden sun at the center. Its full and deep sound, as well as its birdcalls, can be heard every Sunday at noon.

The area around the Krämerbrücke, crisscrossed with old streets lined with picturesque homes and shops, is known as Little Venice because of the small streams and recurrent flooding it endured until a flood canal was built in the early 20th Century.

Königstein Fortress is an imposing hilltop stronghold that rises roughly 790 feet above the Elbe River, offering a stunning blend of history and panoramic views over Saxon Switzerland. With over 750 years of history, the fortress has served as a royal residence, military barracks, and even a prison. Its 1.1-mile-long defensive wall makes it one of the largest mountain fortresses in Europe, a must-see for history enthusiasts.

Visitors can explore the fortress’s barracks, underground passages, and exhibits detailing its fascinating past. The vantage point from Königstein provides incredible views of the surrounding landscape, and it’s easily accessible by foot or shuttle (from the Königstein S-Bahn station). Combining history with scenic beauty, Königstein Fortress is an unforgettable stop in the region.

Soaring high above the Altmarkt, the richly decorated tower of the baroque Kreuzkirche dates back to 1792, but Dresden's main Protestant church has graced this spot for more than 800 years. The church's massive exterior is punctuated by a very simple and dignified nave. Lutherans celebrated their first mass in Saxony here in 1539. A famous boys' choir, the Kreuzchor, performs regularly, and there are frequent other concerts and services with music (check website for times).

In 2016, the former thermal power plant was converted into a hub for digital and contemporary art, offering over 2,000 square meters for international exhibitions, symposia, readings, concerts, parties, and culinary events. The latest exhibition is an extended reality experience, showcasing Salvador Dalí's visionary works in a groundbreaking format. Visitors are transported into an interactive, digital realm where Dalí's surrealist masterpieces come to life.

Germany's easternmost Brauhaus is one of the few breweries left that uses open fermentation and gives tours. Founded in 1869, Landskron isn't very old by German standards, but it's unique in that it hasn't been gobbled up by a huge brewing conglomerate. Görlitzer are understandably proud of their own Premium Pilsner, but the brewery also produces good dark, Silesian, and winter beers. Landskron Hefeweizen is one of the best in the country.

At the Panometer (a blend of "Panorama" and "Gasometer"), visitors can explore captivating and otherworldly scenes. Located in southern Leipzig, the former Gasometer II, built in 1910, has been home to 360° panoramas by artist Yadegar Asisi since 2003. The latest exhibit, "The Cathedral of Monet—Freedom of Painting," launched in March 2024, is a striking example of immersive art. This 32-meter-tall 360° panorama transports viewers to Rouen, France, around 1890, with a focus on the city's magnificent cathedral, famously captured in 33 paintings by Claude Monet. Asisi's first painted panorama, a 6 x 2-meter impressionist canvas, was digitized and enlarged to an impressive 32 × 110 meters for display at the Panometer Leipzig.

In a small park, the Luthereiche marks the spot where, in 1520, Luther burned the papal bull excommunicating him for his criticism of the Church. The present oak was planted in the 19th century.

This downtown house has many fascinating exhibits illustrating the life of Martin Luther, who lived here as a student. The house hosts a variey of special exhibits that make a visit to this minor Luther site worthwhile.

Quedlinburg hosts the largest and most comprehensive collection of work of the German-American artist Lyonel Feininger, although Feininger never set foot in the city. Feiniger came to Germany to study and eventually teach at the Bauhaus in Weimar and in Dessau. As an exponent of the modern, the Nazis declared his work "decadent" and encouraged Feininger to leave in 1937. Before leaving, Feininger entrusted his friend and fellow artist Herman Klumpp with a large collection of his engravings, lithographs, etchings, and paintings. Klumpp hid the collection from the Nazis and the East German authorities, showing the works in his apartment until the gallery opened in 1986. This sophisticated, modern gallery is placed behind half-timber houses so as not to affect the town's medieval feel.

The ghost of Goethe's Faust lurks in every marble corner of Leipzig's finest shopping arcade. One of the scenes in Faust is set in the famous Auerbachs Keller restaurant, at No. 2. A bronze group of characters from the play, sculpted in 1913, beckons you down the stone staircase to the restaurant. Touching the statues' feet is said to bring good luck. A few yards away is a delightful Art Nouveau bar called Mephisto.

This cathedral's Romanesque origins (foundations can be seen in the crypt) are best preserved in the choir's glorious stained-glass windows and beautifully carved stalls, and its biggest bell, the Gloriosa, is the largest free-swinging medieval bell in the world. Cast in 1497, it took three years to install in the tallest of the three sharply pointed towers, painstakingly lifted inch by inch with wooden wedges. No chances are taken with this 2-ton treasure; its deep boom resonates only on special occasions, such as Christmas and New Year's. The Mariendom is reached by way of a broad staircase from the expansive Cathedral Square.

Naumburg was once ringed by a defensive city wall with five gates. The only remaining one, the Marientor, is a rare surviving example of a dual-portal gate, called a barbican, from the 14th century. The museum inside the gate provides a brief history of the city's defenses. A pleasant walk along the remaining city walls from Marienplatz to the Weingarten is the easiest way to explore the last intact section of Naumburg's wall, moat, and defensive battlements.

Leipzig's showpiece is its huge, old market square. One side is completely occupied by the Renaissance town hall, the Altes Rathaus. In the summer the square becomes Leipzig's living room, as concerts, markets, and cafés flow into the streets.

Two statues are the centerpiece here: an 1821 statue of Luther by Johann Gottfried Schadow, designer of the quadriga atop Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and an 1866 statue of Melanchthon by Frederick Drake. Gabled Renaissance houses containing shops line part of the square.

Naumburg's historic market square lies strategically at the intersection of two medieval trade routes. Although the market burned in 1517, it was painstakingly rebuilt in a combination of Renaissance and baroque styles that are unique to Naumburg.

In this elegantly gabled Renaissance home, the humanist teacher and scholar Philipp Melanchthon corrected Luther's translation of the New Testament from Greek into German. Luther was hiding in the Wartburg in Eisenach at the time, and as each section of his manuscript was completed it was sent to Melanchthon for approval. (Melanchthon is a Greek translation of the man's real name, Schwarzerdt, which means "black earth"; humanists routinely adopted such classical pseudonyms.) The second-floor furnishings have been painstakingly re-created after period etchings.

The only surviving residence of the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is now Germany's only museum dedicated to him. Mendelssohn's last residence and the place of his death has been preserved in its original 19th-century state. Concerts are held every Sunday at 11.

This building once served as the headquarters of the city's detachment of the Communist secret police, the dreaded Ministerium für Staatssicherheit. The exhibition Stasi—Macht und Banalität (Stasi—Power and Banality) presents not only the Stasi's offices and surveillance work, but also hundreds of documents revealing the magnitude of its interests in citizens' private lives. Although the material is in German, the items and atmosphere convey an impression of what life under the regime might have been like. The exhibit about the death penalty in the GDR is particularly chilling. For a detailed tour of the Revolutions of 1989, be sure to download the museum's app.

The city is proud of eastern Germany's first museum exclusively devoted to contemporary art. The building, dating from 1869, houses an outstanding international collection of Realist, Impressionist, and Art Nouveau works. Early modernism is at home in Weimar, and the works of the Weimar School of Painting and the avant-garde promoted by Harry Graf Kessler, from Claude Monet to Max Beckmann, help explain the contradictory and glamorous period at the end of the 19th century. In addition, it regularly presents international modern-art exhibitions.

Saxons drink coffee like it is a religion, and this museum and café-restaurant tells the fascinating history of coffee culture in Saxony and Europe. It is one of the oldest on the continent, and once proudly served coffee to such luminaries as Gotthold Lessing, Schumann, Goethe, and Liszt. Even Johann Sebastian Bach was guest at the famous coffee house. The museum features many paintings, Arabian coffee vessels, and coffeehouse games. It also explains the basic principles of roasting coffee. The café is divided into traditional Viennese, French, and Arabian coffeehouses, but no coffee is served in the Arabian section, which is only a display. The cake is better and the seating more comfortable in the Viennese part. There is an ongoing discussion in Leipzig that this building, with its Turkish imagery, needs to be put into its post-colonial context.

Built in 1890, this is said to be the narrowest house in eastern Germany. Its width is just over 6 feet, 8 inches; its height, 24½ feet; and its depth, 34 feet. The house is interesting to see from the outside, but it is privately owned and not open to the public.