Eisenach

The palace was built for the Duke Ernst August who was the sovereign of the Duchy Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach.
Although deeply in debt he commissioned Gottfried Heinrich Krohne in 1742 to design a new court building instead of the old palace which was demolished partly to clear the site. After the death of the architect Krohne and of the duke the palace was completed by August Friedrich Straßburger in the 1750th.
When the renovation of the top floor is finished in 2008, visitors can ascend the tower on top of the roof.
Since 1931 the palace houses the Thuringia Museum with focus to traditional regional handcraft, like porcelain or glass, loacal history and art from th 19th/20th century.

The original town hall was build in 1508, changed in 1564 and rebuilt again between 1636-1641 after a severe fire in the whole town. The architect of the Renaissance building is Hans Leonhard.
Beside the old town hall a larger extension was added in 1996 to accommodate for the rising demands of modern administration.

The octagonal fountain on market square was built by the stone mason Hans Leonhard (who also built the town hall).
On top of its central pillar stands a golden statue of Saint Georg slaying the dragon. Saint Georg ist the patron saint of Eisenach and depicted in the town's coat of arms.

The Creutznacher house is a fine timber frame house from 1539.
Today the tourist information is located in the renovated house.

The history of the church dates back to 1181/1196 when it was first mentioned in records.
The building of today is a hall church that started to evolve around 1515 from the original building and which is typical for the German Gothic period. (Special features of German hall churches include lofty nave arcades and immense roofs, covering both the nave and the aisles.)
The tower on the West side is much younger and was erected only in 1900. Valuable pieces from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque period can be seen inside.
Martin Luther sang as a choir boy and later in 1521 he preached in this church. Johann Sebastian Bach was baptised here in 1685.

This house was built between 1902-1904 and has a beautiful facade including a picturesque pediment and a wooden balcony with ornate carvings.

On Karlsplatz at the Eastern end of the old town you can see buildings that date back to the Romanesque period.
The Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas' Church) was built in 1180.
From about the same time dates the Nikolaitor (St. Nicholas' Gate), the last remaining part of the town's former fortifications, the so called Stadtmauer (town wall).
In the centre of the square stands a monument dedicated to Martin Luther, who was living incognito on the Wartburg from 1521-1522.

The Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas' Church) stands on Karlsplatz (Karl square), at the Eastern end of the old town.
It was built in 1180 and is considered to be the latest in the Romanesque style within the Freistaat Thüringen, the free state of Thuringia. It was used as a parish church as well as the monastery church of the nearby Benedictine nun abbey that existed until the Protestant Reformation.

The Nikolaitor (St. Nicholas' Gate) on Karlsplatz (Karl square) is the last existing of originally five town gates. It is built in the late Romanesque period.
Together with St. Nicholas' Church that it is attached to, it forms a nice architectural ensemble.

The monument on Karlsplatz (Karl square) is dedicated to Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.
After the Edict of Worms on 25 May 1521, declaring Luther an outlaw he was discreetly intercepted on his way home and brought safely to the Wartburg near Eisenach, where he lived incognito between 1521-1522.
There he translated the New Testament from Greek into German to make it more accessible to ordinary people (who did not understand Greek nor Latin). The Luther Bible, firstly published in September 1522, contributed to the emergence of the modern German language and is regarded as a landmark in German literature.
The monument on Karlsplatz was done by the sculptor Adolf von Donndorf (1835-1916).

This modern building houses a bank (Sparkasse).

The Bach house of today houses a museum dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach. The old part is a 550 year old timber frame house, consisting originally of three separate houses which where connected around 1600. People lived in it until the 19th century. In the 19th century, around the time when the interest in Bach's music and his live did sharply rise, it was assumed that Bach was born in this house. In 1906 the Leipzig New Bach Society bought the house and opened the world's first museum dedicated to Bach.  Later the assumption that Bach was born in this house turned out to be an error but it was already well-established as Bach's birthplace.
After renovation and extension with a sculptural cembalo-like (when seen from above and the tiles) modern building by the architect Berthold Penkhues the museum opened again in 2007.

The exhibitions are dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), a German composer of the Baroque period, who was born in Eisenach.
The exhibition includes instruments, four of which are even played during a one hour tour, information about the family background of Bach, his life and life at his time in general.
The buildings have been nicely renovated in 2007 and the combination of old part and new modern extension is great. You can fully immerse into the Baroque period and of course also listen to Bach's music.

A beautiful building with a marvellous facade. Not only houses with timber frame facades are worth to see but also this building from 1909 as can be read in large letters above the entrance.
Have a look on the side facade as well, there you can see the faces of ten people from different parts of the world.

This building flanks the beginning of pedestrian street in the very heart of Eisenach. It was first mentioned in the records in 1766.
In 1800 Wilhelm Dammann founded the pharmacy and it has been a pharmacy ever since.

The hotel is one of the finest in Eisenach. When entering the two-storey high hotel lobby where ceiling and columns are paneled with dark wood and a double-flight stair is rising to the upper floor you will feel the grandeur.
The rooms are simple but clean and cosy.
Typical German breakfast was a delight, hardly ever I was offered so much variety of bread.

Note: The page was originally created on Apr 24, 2008 for Virtualtourist.com. It contributed 16 tips and 44 photos to the Eisenach Travel guide, was Top Rated and ranked No. 3 of the Top 5 Eisenach Writers. The site was closed down on Feb 27, 2017.