Thuringia Heritage Days: Historical places with real gusto

“Specialties from historic times”  is the motto of Thuringias Heritage Days this year.

Beeing renowned for its culinary and cultural delights, visitors can follow their senses in the former breweries and malt houses. Stroll through stately hunting lodges and their kitchens and dining rooms. Historic stone ovens will emit fresh bread smell, and traditional coffee shops and hotels will invite you to a stop.

Starting on 13 September 2009,  around 500 monuments will open their doors countrywide, including many that are  inaccessible on regular days. In addition, many festivals and music will entertain all visitors with traditional german and thuringian customs.  The Official season opener for this years Heritage Days will be on September 12th  at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha.

Discover Christmas traditions in Thuringia – Part 2

2. Eisenach – Christmas market at the Wartburg

On the historical Christmas market at the Wartburg in Eisenach you can travel into the past. At the four advent weekends you will meet historical artisans such as candlemakers, soap boilers or masons. Further, herb women and traveling merchants offer medieval goods. The market – which has its presence at Luthers historical place of activity for the 8th consecutive year now – starts tomorrow, Sat, 29th November and stays until the 21st of December.

Shop-hours: Mon-Fri 10-19 Uhr, Sat 10-20 Uhr, Sun 11.30-20 Uhr.

Discover Christmas traditions in Thuringia – Part 1

In Advent, Thuringia tourists can discover Christmas traditions on numerous markets and festivals. To give you the perfect guide when and where to go at “the best time of the year”, we would like to present you our new sequence “Christmas travel in Thuringia”.

1. Weimar – reflection on Christian origins

The city of Weimar is well-known for its Classic history, with famous litaries such as Goethe or Schiller. So beeing a traditional destination, this year`s pre-Christmas period will reflect on the origins of Christmas festivities. The local market, the so called “Weimar Christmas”,  will open with a customary choir concert and provide the presence of the pastors of the Protestant, Catholic and Russian Orthodox church on November 24^th.

The Oktoberfest in Thuringia – Beer and Tradition

History

The Oktoberfest has its origins in the wedding between the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and the Princess Therese of Thuringia on October 12th in 1810. Since then, a big celebration took place every year in Munich – the festival you might associate with the term “Oktoberfest”. But after the German reunion, this historical fact let to an advancing awereness in Thuringia for having an own Oktoberfest at the tradition-rich green state!

The Oktoberfest at the Cathedral Square, Erfurt

Especially the medieval-breathed city of Erfurt is predestinated to celebrate this important folk festival. According to the Munich pendant, the Oktoberfest in Thuringias capital kicked of in autumn, and this year from the 26.09. – 12.10. at the Cathedral Square.

Shows and entertainment reached from nostalgia to modern rides, but also a large marquee provided variety and fun for the whole family. It all started officially – like the years before – with the Bock beer tapping by the mayor – and from this point, the celebration had its centre of attraction right there.

Another real attraction was the world’s largest portable Ferris wheel “Bellevue”. The enclosed gondolas ride up to 56 meters in height. Further, a lot of spectacular carousel rides invited visitors – and among other things, for the first time a ghost train, where guests were shaked and tipped in their seats.

Many new visitors from all around the world

Finally, a couple of hundreds of thousands visitors attended the Erfurter Oktoberfest. Statistics from the hotel and lodging sector confirmed also a significant increase in foreign visitors to this popular event – a good sign for even more attractions and rackets in 2009!

The Highfield Festival 2008 – a review

Dust, sun, rain and a lot of good music

The Highfield Festival is regarded as the biggest rock festival in Germany’s east. Every year in August at the Hohenfelden Reservoir near Erfurt, national and international bands are welcomed, to serve the region three days a year with good rock music. In this years 11st edition, alongside the national stars such as Die Ärzte and The Beatsteaks even global greats like The Hives, The Killers or Bloc Party played on stage.

A special event surrounded  by beautiful nature

If you go to the Highfield, then there is one thing usually pretty sure: You will attend one of the most beautifully situated festivals in Germany. Because the festival site is surrounded by a forest landscape in the immediate vicinity of a large dam, on which you can see one or the other artist with pedal boats to ride on the water.

25.000 spectadors celebrated close to Erfurt

Further, the Highfield is probably one of the few festivals absolutely close to a large city, more precisely: Near the capital city of Erfurt, which is equally inviting to go shopping. But is it? City trip and festival atmosphere? Yes, it works! Operadors offered a bus shuttle service with the so-wonderful name “Highfield Express”, which run sufficient during the day and night between Erfurt and the festival to explore the well-known historic Old Town Erfurt and possibly even to celebrate with a sip of wine at the annual wine festival. In any case, it was a successful year for the biggest festival in eastern Germany – with an estimated attendance of 25.000 rock fans. Welcome back in 2009!

Geocaching adventure – find treasures in Thuringia

Treasure hunting

Thuringia offers a year-round treasure hunt with GPS device, called geocaching. Many tourist information in the country will asisst you with this new form of walking. It is suitable for families with children, and this modern form of treasure hunting now enjoys an increasing popularity. And at the end of the tour, there is always a small treasure with a souvenir.

With the GPS receiver in your hand

…and the coordinates of a place, where someone hid a “treasure”, you can start the search. The so-called caches provide exciting names, notes, smart keywords, or just numbers. Anything but gold and precious stones can be expected. Who takes something out of the treasure box, shall, in return, put again something into it – so the next pulp hunters will still find something interesting. Guaranteed are lots of fun and the discovery of the country and its people.

The routes are all moderate

…and about 4 km long – so enjoyable even for inexperienced hikers. If you do not own a GPS – device, please contact a local authorized dealer or one of the many tourist offices in Thuringia.

Mountain bike marathon & Festival

Tabarz – The last event

The rush into the biking season on the last weekend in April exceeded all expectations by far. According to the perfect weather, about 135 drivers took the downhill route and looked at the pros JD Swanguen (USA) and Mio Suamesa (JPN) from MS Intense Factory Racing team. But not only the international stars came to Tabarz, also the national prominence represented by Antje Kramer, the German champion in downhill, followed the invitation.
At the press conference on Saturday, Soren Schmidt, the chief organizer for the marathon and the downhill, announced a further improvement of cooperation with the municipality Tabarz, who will be the organizer of both upcoming events.

New Websites

Both the website of Tabarzer marathon as well as the downhill on the Inselsberg are redesigned and given a modern and striking layout.
The revision of the page to Tabarzer Mountain Bike Marathon, www.fahrrad-schmidt.de/marathon has been completed a few days ago and is available including the online registration for the marathon. This is also an appropriate site to purchase professional bikes, as well as in Thuringia’s largest Bike store “Vollrath” in the region of Sömmerda.

New events and partners

Thuringia is always worth a visit, and during the past years especially for marathon or downhill. Having perceived this new trend, The Thuringia Tourism Company is the new partner and main sponsor of the Tabarz Mountain Bike Marathon on 31.5./1.6. 2008, with his presence to visit the “green heart of Germany”. The new event will include a kids mountainbike competition, a short race and last but not least, a family program with a brilliant celebration finish.
Through the further development of biking paths and special mountain bike trails around the Inselsberg region, cyclotourists will even find more attractive destinations to enjoy their passion in Thuringia.

media country

Since the late 90s, the Free State established a media site – and since the end of 2003 it marketed itself as a “Children media country.” The 2007 image campaign, issued by the Free State, explains what is at stake: “The home of the Kinderkanal (children’s channel), ARD and ZDF and the Children’s Media Festival “Goldener Spatz” convinces with the nationwide highest concentration of media companies in the field of children’s content”.

Until then, it was a long way: “At the beginning, there was nothing and now we have quite a few productions here,” puts Inge Lore König this development in a nutshell. “The problem was simply that there existed no tradition in Thuringia for media.” With its children’s film company, she operates in Thuringia since 2000 and produces, among other things, the Ki.Ka broadcast Trickboxx. König is a pioneer in the Thuringian film business.

Picture by: chris.gt

And today, things turned out really good for the location of Thuringia. Prime Minister Dieter Althaus (CDU) said on Tuesday on the eve of the anual Thuringian media symposium: “Thuringia was not only a successful children’s media and production site. From here, we developped consistently many ideas and innovations, which influence new media services for children through significant future projects.” “In future”, according to Althaus, “we will increase even more production and research capacities”.

Thuringia supports 1. International Solar Congress

From the 25th to 26th November 2008, the 1. International Congress “BAUHAUS.SOLAR – technology, design and environment” will take place at the Erfurt Fair. The Ministry of Economic affairs supports the preparation and implementation of this specialized symposium with 62,545 euros.

A corresponding decision was dropped by Thuringia`s Economics Minister Juergen Reinholz today, who immediately informed Dr. Frey from the Thuringian SolarCluster SolarInput e.V.

“In Thuringia, there is an unique opportunity to connect the idea of the Bauhaus with the future of solar technology”, said Thuringia’s Economics Minister Juergen Reinholz at the funds transfer in Erfurt.

The International Symposium “BAUHAUS.SOLAR – technology, design and environment” starts 2008 for the first time. Consistently, the organization of the conference will be handled by the team of the SolarInput e.V. The goal is to provide an exchange and cooperation platform for architects, designers, producers, researchers and developers from home and abroad for a cross-sectoral dialogue.

With this Congress, the Thuringian economy and higher education receive another cornerstone and an ideal platform for the development and application of new products in the field of solar technology. Approx. 200 participants and an international audience of specialists from Germany, Europe and overseas are expected to attend this innovative event.

New Encounters in Buchenwald

63. Liberation Day

With the opening of the new “Jugendbegegnungsstätte Buchenwald”, on the occasion of the 63. Liberation Day April 11th, an art project of three high schools and The International School Weimar will receive public attention.  Over several months, 75 students have been intensively facing up to the history of the concentration camp and with today’s memorial Buchenwald.

Get in touch with history

In the beginning, there was one question: “How do young people today deal with the crimes in the former concentration camp at Buchenwald, when the opportunity is given to express artistically?”. To anticipate: The artistic work surprises with a thoughtfull seriousness and maturity, which wasn´t necessarely expected from 15- to 18-year-olds.

Artistic work of students

The assortment of the artistic tools varied from school to school: Schiller- high schoolers preferred woodcuts and Goethe pupils applied themselves with graphic work. The students of the Thuringia International School chose photography, the Humboldt Gymnasium room installations. All together are showing those very intense reflections, which can be found in any of their pictures and short texts. The head of the Buchenwald Memorial is so much pleased with this impressive student work, so that a selection will be permanently visible in the new youth centre of encounters.

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