Resting in the north-western foothills of the Swabian Jura, Reutlingen is a likeable historic city and a jumping off point for people exploring the mountains. The main sights are in the compact pedestrian zone, where you’ll pass old gate towers, a half-timbered Medieval hospital from the 1300s and the Gothic Marienkirche, which is capped with …
In rural and hilly south Westphalia, Siegen is a university city that was once a residence for the Counts of Nassau. That noble family had a difficult period in the 17th century when it broke into a Catholic and a Protestant line. The Catholics lived in the Oberes Schloss (Upper Palace), on the Seigberg, which …
In Thuringia, Gera is a former textile city sitting in the Weiße Elster River valley. For hundreds of years the city was ruled by the House of Reuß-Gera. And for about a century up to 1919 Gera was even the capital of a sovereign state. The old monuments belonging to the Reuß family like their …
In the UNESCO-listed Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Koblenz is a 2,000-year-old city where the Moselle joins the Rhine. Right at the confluence of those rivers the Teutonic Order founded one of its first commanderies in the 13th century and where the immense Frankish Empire was divided up in the 800s. To honour that history, a …
In the Lower Rhine Valley, a short way west of the river is Moers, an understated former mining city with a sweet old centre. Moers’ historic core is still walled by zigzagging ramparts behind a moat. That water defence was an effective way of keeping enemies out hundreds of years ago due to a system …
The city of Bergisch Gladbach was born in 1975 when the namesake town and Bensberg merged during a territorial reform in North Rhine-Westphalia. Now it’s a rural, low-key kind of place, just across the Rhine from Cologne. Historically one of the big employers in Bergisch Gladbach was papermaking. There’s still a functioning paper mill in …
The enchanting Medieval city of Esslingen is an arm of the Neckar River upstream from Stuttgart. Esslingen is blessed with centuries old architecture and has more than 200 half-timbered houses protected by once impregnable fortifications. When you’re in Esslingen have to be sure to battle your way up the steep, vine-decked slopes to the north …
Germany’s easternmost city is in the state of Brandenburg. Cottbus is the unofficial capital of Lower Lusatia, home to a minority known as the Sorbs, who have their own Western Slavic language and culture. Someone who left a lasting impression on Cottbus was the nobleman Prince Pückler, an accomplished 19th-century landscape architect who designed his …
There was a time when Bremerhaven had the largest fishing port and the largest emigration port in all of Europe. So it’s apt that this harbour city on the North Sea Coast should be dubbed the “Seestadt” (Sea City). Bremerhaven is an enclave of the Free City of Bremen, which lies 60 kilometres up the …
On the high hills of the Bergisches Land, Velbert is a town that has always echoed with the clink of metal forges. And while nearby metalworking cities like Solingen specialised in blades, Velbert became the gold standard for lock-making. Even now, a lot of Velbert’s residents are employed manufacturing locks and metal fittings, and the …