A place travelers can visit Wartburg

Reviews: Wartburg

General description: Wartburg

---

Description
Resplendent high above Eisenach is the national monument, a stone document to German history and culture which is over 900 years old: This was the place of activity of Saint Elisabeth, who devoted her life to the poor, the venue for the legendary competition between singers in the 12th century during the heyday of minnesong, the place where Luther translated the New Testament in 1521/22, and where the student fraternities met in 1817. The exterior of the castle is very much as you would expect a medieval stately residence to be, even though over the centuries Wartburg was influenced by every architectural style. But they all combine to create a harmonious entity. Its restoration began with numerous new buildings in 1838. You enter the castle via the gatehouse, whose wooden wings blocked entrance after darkness fell even back in Luther's day. In the restoration phase, the first castle courtyard, which is bounded by two closed defensive corridors dating from the 15th century, was provided with the new buildings of the Dirnitz, New Women's Chambers and Gate Hall, which leads to the second castle courtyard. This is where you will find the Palas, the most majestic Romanesque secular building north of the Alps. This rectangular landgrave's residence, which has three floors, is thought to have been built from around 1157. Since 1855, frescos by the late Romantic artist Moritz von Schwind have adorned the Elisabeth gallery, the singers' hall and the landgrave's room. If you want to visit the rooms inside the Palas, you must take part in a guided tour (lasting for 45-50 minutes), and the other museum rooms can then be visited separately rather than on a guided tour. Here you can see precious items from the Wartburg art collections, including the large Dürer cabinet, one of the finest pieces of furniture from the period of transition from the late-Gothic to the early-Renaissance period. The tour finishes off with the steward's office featuring the Luther room in which the reformer lived in 1521/22 during his period of protective custody. In 1999, Wartburg was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. This was the first castle in Germany to receive this prestigious title.
Germany's most famous castle with the Lutherstube and rich cultural treasures in Eisenach.

---