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Thuringia

The Green Heart of Germany

On the western edge of the former East Germany, Thuringia has a rich past. The city of Weimar was home to Goethe, Schiller, and J. S. Bach, while Eisenach is world famous for the Wartburg, the castle where Martin Luther first translated the bible.

The natural beauties of the Thuringian Forest with its wide range of flora and fauna, including gentians, columbines and sundews; eagle owls, peregrine falcons and kingfishers, account for its exceptional popularity with walkers. Perhaps the most famous of all German Long Distance Paths, and an accredited Quality Long Distance Footpath, the Rennsteig, once an important horse messenger route, runs for 105 miles along the main ridge.

With its strong association with both JS Bach and Martin Luther, and its dominance by the world famous Wartburg Castle as well as its situation just inside the former East Germany, Eisenach is an ideal base for those who want to combine their walking with visiting a wide range of historic sites.

The Rennsteig
Eisenach

The Rennsteig

Though not as well known in the UK as it deserves, the Rennsteig is without doubt the most sigificant Long Distance Path to Germans. Dating back to before 1000, it was both a border and an important road linking Thuringia with northern Franconia. You will see many intriguingly carved old border stones along the path. Much of the route follows the main ridge of the Thuringian Forest. Once you have climbed up the ridge during the first day or two of the walk, there is little climbing and you can enjoy a classic forested ridgeway. Much of the central part passes through a nature reserve; almost all the rest is still through protected countryside.

As it crossed the former iron curtain, no one could walk the entire route for 40 years before 1989. Starting at Hörschel just west of Eisenach (where Luther translated the Bible from Latin), it runs via the Grosser Inselsberg and the main East German wintersports resort of Oberhof, to Blankenstein.

Starting by Eisenach, and with the other leading Thuringian towns of Gotha, Erfurt and Weimar just to the north of the route, a visit to any or all of these can easily be combined with a holiday on the Rennsteig.

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Eisenach

The birthplace of JS Bach and Martin Luther's refuge while he translated the bible, Eisenach succesfully combines the feeling of a small town with the activity of a city. It is an ideal place from which to explore both historic sites and fabulous countryside, including the Dragon Gorge and the Singer's Meadow that features in Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser. The Rennstein too is only a short walk away.

Click here for detailed route and price information for Walking Holidays in Eisenach

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