937 Best Sights in Germany

Because the Holy Roman emperors were chosen and crowned here from the 16th to the 18th century, the church is known as the Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral), even though it isn't the seat of a bishop. Officially the Church of St. Bartholomew, but called simply \"The Dom\" by locals, it was built largely between the 13th and 15th centuries and survived World War II with most of its treasures intact. The most impressive exterior feature is the tall, red-sandstone tower (almost 300 feet high), which was added between 1415 and 1514. Climb it for a good view. The Dommuseum (Cathedral Museum) occupies the former Gothic cloister.

The castle of Possenhofen, home of Ludwig's favorite cousin, Sissi, stands on the western shore, practically opposite Berg. Local lore says they used to send affectionate messages across the lake to each other. Sissi married the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I, but spent more than 20 summers in the lakeside castle. The inside of the castle cannot be visited, but there is a nice park around it, and you can learn more about Sissi at the Kaiserin Elisabeth Museum (Sissi-Museum), set in the historical Possenhofen railway station (yards from S-bahn Possenhofen).

On an island in the gentle little Kinzig River you'll find the remains of the Kaiserpfalz. Emperor Friedrich I—known as Barbarossa, or \"Red Beard\"—built the castle in this idyllic spot in the 12th century; in 1180 it was the scene of the first all-German Imperial Diet, a gathering of princes and ecclesiastical leaders. Today only parts of the russet walls and colonnaded entrance remain. Still, you can stroll beneath the castle's ruined ramparts and you'll get a tangible impression of the medieval importance of the court of Barbarossa.

A 25-minute ride on the U79 from the City Center puts you in this historic corner of Düsseldorf, reminiscent of a storybook German town with its winding cobblestone streets and neatly packed stone and brick buildings. Don't miss seeing the crumbling ruins of Kaiserpfalz, a 12th-century castle on the banks of the Rhine.

This enormous 4th-century bathing palace once housed cold- and hot-water baths and a sports field. Although only the masonry of the Calderium (hot baths) and the vast basements remain, they are enough to give a fair idea of the original splendor and size of the complex. Originally 98 feet high, the walls you see today are just 62 feet high.

From Freinsheim, it's a gentle if slightly hilly 3-km (1.8-mile) walk (or cycle) through the vineyards to Kallstadt, a village known outside of Germany for two very famous exports to the United States: food entrepreneur Henry J. Heinz and the family Drumpf (now known as Trump). In the Pfalz, however, Kallstadt is best known for Saumagen, both the local dish (stuffed pig's stomach) and the vineyard of the same name. Enjoy a glass at Weinhaus Henninger along the very cute Weinstrasse (closed Monday), and take a short stroll around the tiny village before returning to Freinsheim.

The Sylt island's unofficial capital is the main destination for the wealthier crowd and lies 9 km (6 miles) northeast of Westerland. Redbrick buildings and shining white thatch-roof houses spread along the coastline. The real draw—aside from the fancy restaurants and chic nightclubs—is the beaches.

Marking the northernmost point in eastern Germany is the lighthouse at Kap Arkona, a nature-lover's paradise filled with blustery sand dunes. The redbrick lighthouse was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the Prussian court-architect responsible for so many of today's landmarks in Berlin.

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.

Built in 1727, this baroque residence was the site of a monumental moment in world history less than a century later, when future philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx was born here. Visitors with a serious interest in socialism, and social history in general, will be fascinated by its small museum featuring some of Marx's personal effects, as well as first-edition manifestos. Audio guides are available in English.

In 1728, Eustachius Föderl opened an inn and beer garden here, which might be how the square came to be called Stachus—it's still called that by the locals although both are long gone. One of Munich's most popular fountains is here. It’s a magnet on hot summer days and makes way for an ice-skating rink in winter. Karlsplatz is a bustling meeting point, even more so because of the underground shopping center.

Two baroque altars dominate the interior of this Gothic church. It houses intricately carved choir stalls and tombstones and several beautiful Madonnas. Winegrowers still observe the old custom of laying the first-picked Trauben (grapes) at the foot of the Traubenmadonna (1330) to ensure a good harvest.

The works of Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), the most important German female artist of the 20th century, focus on social themes like the plight of the poor and the atrocities of war. This is the larger of the country's two Kollwitz collections and comprises all of her woodcuts, as well as paintings, etchings, lithographs, and sculptures. There are also changing exhibits of other modern artists.

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.

Perched dramatically on the northern edge of St. Martin against a backdrop of vineyards, this late-Gothic church was thought to have been built around 1200 (the interior was renovated in the mid-1980s). Renaissance tombstones and a Madonna sculpture carved from a single piece of oak are among the intriguing artworks found inside.

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.

At Germany's largest passenger-shipping harbor, you can always catch a glimpse of one of the many ferries leaving for Norway from the Oslokai (Oslo Quay) or for Göteborg from the Schwedenkai (Sweden Quay).

Germany's first children's museum has interactive exhibits to help explain science and technology, including a walk-through heart.

The massive tower in the center of town belongs to the parish church of St. Peter. It's a prime example of the \"Rhenish Transitional Style,\" a brief 13th-century movement when old Romanesque churches were decorated with elements of the newer French Gothic style, but without undergoing any major structural alterations. The church is most notable for its impressive four-story nave.

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 Kirche St. Peter und Paul, at Niederzell, was revamped around 1750. The faded Romanesque frescoes in the apse contrast with bold rococo paintings on the ceiling and flowery stucco.

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.

Located directly on the seafront, this unique interactive museum takes visitors through nine stations covering the various climatic regions of the Earth. The history of the climate—ranging from the origins of the Earth 3.9 billion years ago and looking forward to the year 2050—is on display in this museum dedicated to helping visitors understand what factors determine the weather and the climate. There are special exhibitions, which change about every six months, that  focus on specific climate themes. 

This enormous abbey, which some call the \"holy mountain of Bavaria,\" sits majestically on the west bank of the Main river, 20 km (12½ miles) south of Coburg. There has been a monastery here since 1069, but the present buildings date from the end of the 17th century. The highlight of the complex is the elaborate, free-to-visit Klosterkirche (Abbey Church), the work of architect Leonard Dientzenhofer and his brother, the stuccoist Johann Dientzenhofer (1663–1726), though Balthasar Neumann later contributed a good deal of work. Concerts are occasionally held in the church, including some by members of the renowned Bamberger Symphoniker. Also here is the Museum Kloster Banz, with its permanent exhibitions on the history of the monastery. End your stay with refreshments in the Klosterschänke beer garden outside the gate.

The little town of Maulbronn, 45 km (28 miles) due east of Karlsruhe, is home to the best-preserved medieval monastery north of the Alps; its entire complex of 30 buildings is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. The name Maulbronn (Mule Fountain) derives from a legend. Monks seeking a suitably watered site for their monastery considered it a sign from God when one of their mules discovered and drank at a spring. The Kloster is also known for inventing the Maultasche, a kind of large ravioli. The monks thought that by coloring the meat filling green by adding parsley and wrapping it inside a pasta pocket, they could hide it from God on fasting days. Today the Maultasche is the cornerstone of Swabian cuisine. An audio guide in English is available.

The Kö-Bogen II office complex bills itself as having Europe's largest green façade, with eight kilometers of green hedges and approximately 30,000 plants in total.

The origins of the official art museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne stretch back to 1853, but the institution received a big boost in 2007, with the opening of a new home atop the ruins of the Gothic parish church of St. Kolumba. Designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the new building pays homage to the site's Roman, Gothic, and medieval heritage, while unstuffily presenting a collection of art spanning from late antiquity to the present.