937 Best Sights in Germany

Focusing on 900 years of Jewish life in and around Wurzburg, in a modern space filled with natural light. The museum includes tombstones from the 1100s to the 1980s, along with stories of some 900 local citizens wiped out by the Third Reich, and the community’s new vibrancy via recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The museum includes an active synagogue.

In what was once a mattress factory, Patricia Kohl and Salome Sommer show mostly young, international artists.

If you want to learn a bit more about the Sorbs and their place in Germany, this museum is a good start. Rooms are devoted to Sorbian art and traditional Sorbian costumes. It's the largest single collection of Sorbian fine art in Germany. An audio guide is included with admission.

Built immediately after World War II, this monument stands as a reminder of the Soviet victory over the shattered German army in Berlin in May 1945. The Battle of Berlin was one of the deadliest on the European front. A hulking bronze statue of a soldier stands atop a marble plinth taken from Hitler's former Reichkanzlei (headquarters). The memorial is flanked by what are said to be the first two T-34 tanks to have fought their way into the city.

An excursion to this little museum, inside an original 19th-century warehouse, gives you a sense of the trade that flowed through the Speicherstadt in its heyday. Sacks of coffee and spices, chests of tea, and scales and mills are scattered throughout the museum, and there is information detailing the history and architecture of the district, as well as historical photographs and diagrams.

Hamburg's proud past as Europe's gateway to the world comes to life at the tiny but fascinating Spicy's Gewürzmuseum, where you can smell and touch more than 50 spices. More than 900 objects chronicle five centuries of the once-prosperous spice trade in Hamburg.

This casino, which first opened in 1949, opens daily at 11 am for the slot machines, 3 pm for roulette, and 6 pm for poker; jacket and tie are no longer required, but tennis shoes, T-shirts, and shorts are not allowed. Be certain to bring your passport for identification; the minimum age is 18. On a sunny day, take a walk around the pebbled garden and down the steps into the beautiful Kurpark.

This casino boasts with some justice that it is the \"Mother of Monte Carlo.\" The first Spielbank (casino) in Bad Homburg, and one of the first in the world, was established in 1841, but closed in 1866 because Prussian law forbade gambling. Proprietor François Blanc then established the famous Monte Carlo casino on the French Riviera, and the Bad Homburg casino wasn't reopened until 1949. Classic table games such as roulette and blackjack have been joined by poker variations Texas Hold 'Em and Three Card Poker, plus slot machines and other electronic games including electronic roulette. Buses leave from the south side of Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof and from the Convention Center every 60–90 minutes between 2 pm and 1 am. Buses back to Frankfurt run every one to two hours from 2:30 pm to 4 am. The trip takes one hour each way. The €10 fare is refunded after the casino's full entry fee has been deducted. Note that a passport or other government-issued identification is required for admission (and you must be 21 or over). There is also dining and weekend events with live music and dancing to DJs. Le Blanc, the casino restaurant, opens at 6 pm (reservations recommended).

An important museum of modern art, the Sprengel holds major works by Max Beckmann, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Emil Nolde, Oscar Schlemmer, Hans Arp, and Pablo Picasso. A recent addition to the museum added space to feature contemporary artists reflecting on space, light, and perception. The street where it's located is named after Kurt Schwitters, a native son and prominent Dadaist, whose works are also exhibited.

Hidden away in a part of Kreuzberg most visitors don’t reach, St. Agnes, a Catholic church turned contemporary art gallery, is hardly a looker—unless you like the bulky, boxy concrete shapes that characterize Brutalist architecture. Gallerist Johann König took over the 1960s building in 2012 and opened it as an exhibition center, which was redesigned again in 2015 by Arno Brandlhuber to include additional gallery space for the König Galerie.

The young Martin Luther studied the law before switching to theology at Erfurt University from 1501 to 1505. After a personal revelation, Luther asked to become a monk in the St. Augustin Kloster on July 17, 1505. He became an ordained priest here in 1507, and remained at the Kloster until 1511. Today the Kloster is a seminary and retreat hotel as well as a popular concert venue. There's also a small museum showing what the life of an Augustinian monk was like in Luther's day.

The family church of the Thurn und Taxis family stands across from their ancestral palace, the Schloss Emmeram. The foundations of the church date to the 7th and 8th centuries. A richly decorated baroque interior was added in 1730 by the Asam brothers. St. Emmeram contains the graves of the 7th-century martyred Regensburg bishop Emmeram and the 10th-century saint Wolfgang.

Watchmen still sound out the traditional So G'sell so (All's well) message from the 300-foot tower of the central parish church of St. Georg at half-hour intervals between 10 pm and midnight. The tradition goes back to an incident during the Thirty Years' War, when an enemy attempted to slip into the town and was detected by a resident. You can climb the 365 steps up the tower—known locally as the Daniel—for an unsurpassed view of the town and countryside, including, on clear days, 99 villages, and the internal workings of the massive bell system.

One of northern Germany's biggest Gothic churches, built between 1315 and 1404, St. Georgen zu Wismar stands next to the Fürstenhof. It was a victim of the war, but has been almost completely restored. A platform on the roof affords wonderful views of Wismar's Old Town.

The green-patina dome is a striking feature of St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale. Begun in 1747, it was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, and was the first Catholic church built in resolutely Protestant Berlin since the 16th-century Reformation. This was Frederick the Great's effort to appease Prussia's Catholic population after his invasion of Catholic Silesia (then Poland). A treasury lies inside.

This 15th-century church was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Only the interiors survived, and reconstruction was completed in 1963. The interior is not to be missed—it houses such treasures as a massive baroque organ and three Gothic altars from the 15th and 16th centuries.

St. Jakob, Dachau's parish church, was built in 1624–25 in late-Renaissance style on the foundations of a 13th-century Gothic structure. Baroque features and a characteristic onion dome were added in 1676–78. On the south wall you can admire a very fine sundial from 1699, which displays the month, the zodiac, and the time.

This Lutheran parish church, constructed from 1311 to 1485, showcases 700 years of stained-glass windows and has notable Riemenschneider sculptures, including the famous Heiliges Blut (Holy Blood of Christ) altar. Above the altar is a crystal capsule said to contain drops of Christ's blood. The Twelve Apostles Altar, by Friedrich Herlin, has the oldest depiction of the town of Rothenburg.

It was in this sturdy Romanesque basilica, consecrated in 836, that plans were drawn for the Treaty of Verdun, which formalized the division of Charlemagne's great empire and led to the creation of Germany and France as separate states. Inside Koblenz's oldest church, compare the squat Romanesque columns in the nave with the intricate fan vaulting of the Gothic sections. The St. Kastor Fountain outside the church is an intriguing piece of historical one-upmanship. It was built by the occupying French to mark the beginning of Napoléon's ultimately disastrous Russian campaign of 1812.

Founded in 1250 and completed in 1660, this house of worship was severely damaged during World War II, but has since been carefully reconstructed. The interior was once dotted with plaques honoring different people, but only two of the epitaphs remain.

This Gothic church is near the palace tower on Carlsplatz. Its spire became distorted because unseasoned wood was used in its construction. The Vatican elevated the 14th-century brick church to a basilica minor (small cathedral) in 1974 in recognition of its role in church history. Built in the 13th century, with additions from 1394, St. Lambertus contains the tomb of William the Rich and a graceful late-Gothic tabernacle.

In a city with several striking churches, St. Lorenz is considered by many to be the most beautiful of all. Construction began around 1250 and was completed around 225 years later. Two towers flank the main entrance, which is covered with a forest of carvings. In the lofty interior, note the eye-catching works by sculptors Adam Kraft and Veit Stoss: in particular, seek out Kraft's great stone tabernacle, to the left of the high altar, and Stoss's Annunciation, suspended on a metal chain and facing the altar. There are many other carvings throughout the building, testimony to the artistic wealth of late-medieval Nuremberg.

In 1225 the Thuringian count Ludwig IV erected the St. Marien Kirche as a triple-naved basilica and the only church within the city walls. The coquina limestone building, which resembles the cathedral in Naumburg, was renovated in the 15th century into its current form as a single-hall structure. The great carved altarpiece also dates from the 15th century and the baptistery from 1592.

This medieval church, one of the finest in Berlin, is best known for its late-Gothic, macabre fresco Der Totentanz (Dance of Death), which is in need of restoration. Tours on Tuesday at 2 pm highlight the fresco.

This enormous church is the largest of Stralsund's three redbrick Gothic churches. With 4,000 pipes and intricate decorative figures, the magnificent 17th-century Stellwagen organ (played only during Sunday services) is a delight to see and hear. The view from the church tower of Stralsund's old city center is well worth climbing the 349 steps. However, during church services at 10 am on Sunday, the sanctuary is closed to visitors who are not attending the services.

The treasures of the 13th-century Gothic church include a 15-foot-high crucifix from the 14th century, an astronomical clock from 1394, and a famous baroque altar.

The Renaissance philosopher and theologian Nikolaus Cusanus (1401–64) was born in Kues. The St.-Nikolaus-Hospital is a charitable Stiftung (foundation) he established in 1458, famous for his library that contains more than 300 handwritten manuscripts from the 9th through 15th centuries, and it still operates today as a home for the elderly and a wine estate. While the library is only accessible by guided tour, you can visit the gothic chapel and wine museum for free.

The Hamburg bunker, a massive, 190-feet-high World War II-era structure, served as an air-raid shelter and anti-aircraft defense. It withstood Allied bombings and now houses cultural spaces, including music venues and art studios. Since 2024, the green rooftop garden, accessible via the Bergpfad (mountain path) that leads 360 degrees around the enormous building, is open to the public, but unfortunately doesn't offer barrier-free access.

The 18th-century church, with its eye-catching Lüftlmalerei exterior, along with the elaborate and joyful stuccowork coiling and curling its way around the interior, is one of the most important rococo structures in Bavaria. On the back of the altar inside—which, like Oberammergau's namesake church, was built by Josef Schmutzer and decorated by Matthäus Günther—you'll find the name Matthias Klotz, carved there by the renowned violin maker himself. Note that on some of the ceiling frescoes, the angels are playing violins, violas da gamba, and lutes.

In front of the church, Klotz is memorialized as an artist at work in vivid bronze sculpted by Ferdinand von Miller (1813–79), creator of the mighty Bavaria Monument in Munich. And at the rear of the church, a small garden contains a moving war memorial chapel and the decorative, candle-filled Lourdes Grotto.

This Romanesque-Gothic Roman Catholic church near the old town hall (Rathaus) was elevated to basilica-minor (small cathedral) status by the Vatican in 2004. It stands on the site of a chapel built by Boniface around 723. Built originally in the 12th century, the current church has been altered and renovated over the centuries. The basilica's library displays manuscripts from the 8th to the 17th century, as well as important church documents and incunabula (early printed books). The cathedral museum contains sacred relics (Eucharistic vestments, statues, and reliquaries). The highlight is the 11th- to 12th-century Emperor Henry Cross, adorned with gems and pearls. During the 90-minute guided tour, you'll discover the crypt with St. Wigbert's tomb, the cathedral library, the cloister, and the museum.