Most preserved and historical cities in Germany?

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thumberlina

Hello,

I am in Germany and here are a few places to think about:

Halle salle
It is the 3rd largest city (population 230000) in the new states of Germany (except Berlin, after Leipzig and Dresden).
Halle has a well preserved city center which was not destroyed in the World War II. The center was originally built in the 16th century and is surrounded by quarters from the Wilhelminian epoche. After the reunification, the people began to restore the city. The restoration of the city center is almost complete while the restoration of Wilhelminian buildings is still going on. Further objects of interest are the Moritzburg, the residence of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, the castle of Giebichenstein where now the University of Arts resides, the Saline Museum (german website) with demonstrations of saltern etc.

Cologne kÃ¶ln

The Cologne City Gates were built in medieval times and three of the original twelve still remain,the Severinstor, the Eigelsteintor and the Hahnentor. The Cologne City Gates give you an idea of what it must have been like to have lived in a walled city. City walls still remain from the Romans and a visit to the City Gates is a must for history enthusiasts.

or..

Regensburg
Regensburg is one of Germany's best preserved medieval cities. Architectural highlights include the Old Town Hall, the beautiful white and gold Old Chapel, and the Porta Pretoriaâ€“gates to an ancient Roman fort built in 179AD. The city is the capital of Upper Palatinate, a bustling university town and one of Bavaria's cultural centers. The Thurn und Taxis family, who until the second half of the 19th century had the monopoly on the German postal services, owns the impressive St. Emmerammus Abbey buildings making up the Thurn Und Taxis Castle.

Also I have to agree with Eisenach and Efurt - I have lived in both cities and they are great!! Also consider Leipzig - not far from Halle.

A few of ideas for you. Have a great time!
xx

kat1605nrw

Freiburg is lovely, you should definitely go. Many Americans go to Heidelberg. But I'd also recommend you check out some places in the East, like Dresden, Erfurt or Weimar.

http://freiburg.de/servlet/PB/menu/1143539_l1/index.html
http://dresden.de/dwt/de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/altstadt.php
http://erfurt.de/ef/en/
http://www.weimar.de/en/tourism/homepage/sights/unesco-world-heritage/

Cities like Berlin or Cologne tend to have parts that are very new, but there are also districts where you find a lot of historical buildings.

haggesitze

My recommendation would be Bamberg.
Apart from the lovely surroundings and the medieval monuments like the cathedral and the historic inner city it has the pubs with the best food and the best beer in the whole of Germany, at very reasonable prices. It is not very touristy, despite its beauty, and the natives are really friendly.

Other cities like Augsburg, Freiburg and Trier(the oldest city north of the Alps) are lovely as well. Then there is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a smallish one with a perfectly preserved medieval core, but that is more like an outdoor museum and thronged with tourists.

Laurennnn.

I would totally recommend Nurnberg and as
with the last answer, I am a little biased
since it is where all my family is from.
It is gorgeous & make sure you go into
the churches.
Munich as some really historical sights.
If you go into more of the small cities,
such as Rotenbuch, you will find alot
of old buildings, ect.
Just go for a drive around, especially in
Bavaria. Its a gorgeous country and everything
is worth seeing!

Phoenix

In Trier (it's in the west-south/west of Germany) can you find the Porta Nigra, which was build by the romans. Really nice. Or visit Cologne, it has the famous Dom. In Saarbruecken (my homecity) can you find a lovely barrock castle. Really famous is in Bavaria Schloss Neuschwanstein, it was the castle of Ludwig 2th. Walt Disney used this castle to get inspiration for sleeping beauty's fairy tale castle

passat_hobby

My special tip. Go to Fulda ,an old historic city with the old cathedral, the citycastle,old monastery,the 2nd old church in germany and a beautiful oldtown.
Its only 65 miles from Frankfurt Int. Airport and easily to be reached by train or rental car. And its another 1 1/2 hour drive to Weimar and Erfurt in thuringia.
You will like it-believe me. Try www.Fulda.de and look for the pics.

sunshine & summertime

Nurnberg was bombed during WWII, but it is regardless a beautiful city. I am biast to Nurnberg because that is the city closest to where I live when I go to Germany, but I would most definitely recommend it.

It is modern, but still retains much of the old culture and the architecture is simply beautiful (Lorenzkirche etc).

I hope this helps a bit.

rosbif

Definitely go to the East. If you go to ThÃ¼ringen you have Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena all in a row, all joined by train line and autobahn. Eisenach has a beautiful centre and also the Wartburg (where Martin Luther translated the bible) nearby. Gotha has a very nice town centre and also the "Drei Gleichen" - three old castles that used to be owned by the same family. Erfurt has the second tallest cathedral in Germany (after KÃ¶ln), a perfectly preserved old town from the middle ages, a fortress and dozens of churches. Weimar has the Goethe and Schiller houses, the City Park, the Goethe Gartenhaus, the castle and many museums. Jena has a nice old town and you can tour the Carl Zeiss glassworks.
Freiburg and NÃ¼rnberg are fine as far as it goes, but they're also nothing out of the ordinary...thousands upon thousands of tourists every month.

> Beate <

Every city has had its bombs. But, in the Rhein-Main Area, I can tell you that Wiesbaden had not so many bomb holes. It was planned to be the HQ for the US, therefore it was rater spared.

pinguin_m

Bamberg, also Aachen, Cologne, and both sides of the "Rhein"
Area.

A lot of history, wine yards and very old castles

John M

Dresden, Germany. Specifically the Frauenkirche. Google 'Dresden Frauenkirche'. I was inside it...it is breathtaking. It was rebuilt and opened October '05.

stativi

Berlin was not completely destroyed in WWII (though the inner city was nearly completely - about 90% - destroyed). The medieval core was changed and partly destroyed also before this - and also after WWII...

When talking about "old Germany", it has to be specified, which "old Germany"! If you want to visit a medieval city (1100 to 1500), maybe the relatively small Rothenburg op der Tauber (about 10.000 inhabitants) is the best choice (it was also 30% destroyed in WWII, but it was built up relatively originally the years after).
Also Regensburg (a bit bigger and more impressive buildings, but not as original as Rothenburg), Bamberg and Luebeck (an example for the totally different northern style) are good choices for this, although the outer parts of the latter are not as beautiful.

For german renaissance, visit Augsburg, which was also partly destroyed during WWII, but rebuilt nicely in parts.

For baroque, visit Vienna, which is of course not in Germany, but a good example for a baroque city in central europe/german style.

For 19th century buildings, visit Wiesbaden, which wasn't destroyed in WWII, but built mainly in 19th century, and thus a really old core doesn't exist there.

For timber-framed buildings visit Celle (near Hannover).

Other bigger cities (not really big though, just about 100.000 inhabitants) with an old town which wasn't totally destroyed: FÃ¼rth, Heidelberg, Erfurt.

Freiburg and Nuremberg (Nuernberg) were also nearly totally destroyed during WWII. Freiburg was partly rebuilt (more or less) original, Nuernberg was rebuilt mainly in a different manner, but it still looks a bit medieval.

vivian k

Well I live in Germany so maybe I can help you .... well .. all the city's which the other persons had say are right.. but I also would say Leipzig.. if you are interested in old historic stuff .... a nice architecture... churches.. and stuff like that.. Leipzig is a good city to visit...

paia423

I think you should go to Munich. Nothing like the old historical city center there.

fliege52000

Nuernberg, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt/M., Munich, Leipzig, Dresden, Stuttgart, Koeln.

Regina

ALL of Germany has been destroyed by WWII!!! It all has been rebuilt, but the historical society of Germany makes sure, it was restored to its original splendor! Germany is over 2000 years old, so pretty much anythink is historic, even the roads. You should not have a hard time, to find history there.

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