Frommer's Germany

Narrow lanes lace Bremen’s Schnoor district.

The word is out and maybe you’ve heard it: Germany is one of Europe’s great travel destinations. Every year, ever more visitors from around the globe are discovering the pleasures of Germany’s cities, towns, and countryside. Tourist numbers have risen steadily in the last quarter-century, and show no sign of slowing down.

Germany’s appeal is no great mystery. Moody forests, jagged Alpine peaks, and miles of neatly tended vineyards are not just scenic, but also the stuff of legend, places that have inspired fairy tales and where much of Western history has been played out. The Germans more than anyone appreciate the soothing tonic of a hike in the Black Forest or a stroll on North Sea dunes; even seeing these storied lands from a train window can be good for the soul. As for food—well, don’t write off the cuisine as just heaping plates of wurst and sauerkraut and schnitzel with noodles. One of the pleasures of traveling in Germany is discovering the subtle differences in regional cuisines, and beyond that, there are the culinary envelope-pushers of Germany’s raft of award-winning restaurants, plus a delicious patchwork of ethnic flavors imported through Germany’s tolerant immigration policies. You can dine out on the traditions of a vast WHAT.

The pleasures of Germany go way beyond the spectacle of dirndls, lederhosen, Alpine meadows, and half-timbered houses (although the sight of any of these can be a surprisingly potent travel thrill, too).

Ditch the Stereotypes

What about the people? Everyone seems to have an opinion about the German character except for the Germans themselves. The militaristic past that continues to haunt Germany has given rise to many stereotypes. But if you connect with just one German person on your trip, chances are that all the stereotypes you’ve heard will crumble. Germany today is the most pacifist country in Europe, sometimes to the annoyance of its allies. Overall, it has one of the world’s highest levels of educational attainment and technological achievement. Germany never got caught up in the real-estate bubble that sent so many countries freefalling into recession, and its unemployment rate is under 5%, the lowest in the European Union. The Germans have their ways of doing things, which sometimes seem stiff and rule-bound, but clearly they’re doing something right.

The streets of Berlin, Germany’s hip, artsy capital.

Germany is a country where the arts are part of life. The caliber of museums and the collections they hold can be breathtaking. Germany also has a long-established musical tradition (think Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms) and is famed for the excellence of its music performances, with top-notch symphonies and opera companies in many regional cities. A country’s cultural heritage is also reflected in its architecture, and Germany is fascinating on that front, too. The visible architectural legacy spans some 1,800 years, from Roman-era walls to Ludwig’s 19th-century fairy-tale castles in Bavaria to the innovative skyscrapers that define Frankfurt’s skyline. Less grandiosely, you’ll find half-timbered inns, Bavarian chalets, ruined castles, and an imposing Rathaus (town hall) in just about every town or city you visit. While this architectural heritage can also reflect Germany’s Nazi past—the remains of Albert Speer’s giant Nazi stadium in Nuremberg, the grim prison buildings at Dachau, the ruined Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin—after the war the Germans excelled at rebuilding, not just new buildings, but astonishingly exact reproductions of any number of palaces and churches. The Frauenkirche in Dresden is perhaps the greatest of the country’s many postwar rebuilding feats.

Traditional leiderhosen and dirndls still crop up at Oktoberfest in Munich.

If you’re an active traveler who is interested in hiking, biking, skiing, or swimming, head to the Black Forest, the Bavarian Alps, or the Bodensee (Lake Constance). Spas and saunas are also a way of life in Germany—dozens of spa towns, or Kurorte, are scattered around the country, with thermal bath complexes where you can steam, sweat, swim, and relax. Just keep in mind that many saunas are clothing-optional and co-ed: The Germans are not prudish when it comes to their bodies. This is part of the communal side of German life, like sharing a table at a restaurant—only, of course, you wouldn’t do that nude. (Would you?)

Germany’s best Authentic Experiences

bull.jpg Exploring the New Berlin: The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989–90 transfixed the world and transformed the divided city into a new world capital. Berlin is still knitting itself together, but it also happens to be the most exciting urban space in Europe. The inexhaustible new Berlin invites exploration on many different fronts, and around the clock. Summer is the ideal time to visit. See chapter 4.

Germany’s cultural legacy resounds in storied venues such as the Dresden Opera House.

bull.jpg Sipping a Beer in a Munich Beer Garden: There’s nothing more enjoyable on a balmy evening than sitting under the trees in one of Munich’s leafy beer gardens and trying to lift one of those 1-liter steins to your lips. It’s a way of life, and a way to meet Germans on their own turf. See chapter 8.

bull.jpg Hearing classical music in some of Europe’s best venues: The choice is almost unlimited in this musical country. Germany’s capital, Berlin (p. 59) is home to seven symphony orchestras, including the famed Berlin Philharmonic, as well as three opera companies. Hamburg (p. 652) plays host to the Hamburg State Opera, the Hamburg Ballet, and three highly regarded orchestras. Cologne (p. 524) has an amazing array of musical offerings: Major artists appear at Oper Köln (Cologne Opera), the Rhineland’s leading opera house, and two fine orchestras—the Gürzenich Kölner Philharmoniker (Cologne Philharmonic) and the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra (West German Radio Orchestra)—perform in the Kölner Philharmonie concert hall. If your tastes are a little more 21st-century, Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg all have techno music venues that go all night; see Nightlife in chapters 4, 12, and 15.

bull.jpg Going to a Bundesliga Match: German soccer (Fussball) is on the crest of a wave. Not only is the national men’s team reigning world champions, but the country’s top league—the Bundesliga—is more popular than ever. With its huge stadiums, fanatical fans, and fair ticket prices, it’s the most spectated league in Europe on a weekly basis. You can sample the unique atmosphere for yourself at a Bayern Munich (p. 362) or Eintracht Frankfurt (p. 508) game.

bull.jpg Visiting a Spa: For a quintessential German experience, visit one of Germany’s spa towns—Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, and Aachen, among others—to bathe, steam, schvitz, and swim in one huge complex warmed by thermal waters and dedicated to the goddess Gesund (health).

bull.jpg Spending Harvest Time in the Vineyards: Between late August and mid-October, the vineyards on the banks of the Rhine and Moselle rivers turn gold and russet, and workers gather buckets of grapes from terraced rows of vines. This is the perfect time to visit wine towns such as Rüdesheim and Bingen on the Rhine (chapter 10) and Cochem on the Mosel (p. 13). Sip the local vintages and enjoy the scenery.

bull.jpg Attending the Bayreuth Festival: One of the world’s premier musical events, the annual Bayreuther Festspiele sees an estimated half-million enthusiasts clamor for only 60,000 tickets. At other times of year you can pay homage to Wagner at the Festspielhaus—the opera venue he created—and his former home, now the Richard-Wagner-Museum. See p. 224.

Germany’s best Museums

bull.jpg Alte Pinakothek, Munich: This gigantic repository of Old-Master paintings could easily fill a day (or two, or three) of your time. Works by major European artists from the 14th to 18th centuries form the basis of the collection, with highlights that include canvases by Dürer, Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Rembrandt. See p. 324.

bull.jpg Museum Island, Berlin: Five museums populate Berlin’s Museum Island: Not to be missed are the imposing neoclassical Altes Museum, with superlative collections of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities; and the Neues Museum, with its world-class Egyptian antiquities, including the celebrated bust of Queen Nefertiti. See p. 86.

bull.jpg Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände, Nürnberg: Displays in Hitler’s monumental yet incomplete Congress Hall chronicle the Führer’s rise to power, celebrated during the Nürnberg rallies when enormous crowds gathered on the adjacent Zeppelinwiese (Zeppelin Field) to listen raptly to the leader’s violent denunciations. See p. 203.

bull.jpg Museumsufer, Frankfurt: The Museum Embankment brings top-class culture to a city known more for its financiers. Highlights include Vermeer and the German Expressionists at the Städel and sublime sculpture at the Liebieghaus. See p. 497.

Nürnberg’s Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände chronicles Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.

bull.jpg Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault), Dresden: There are two Green Vaults, old and new, in Dresden’s Residenzschloss; both display a sumptuous assortment of treasures collected by the electors of Saxony from the 16th to the 18th centuries. See p. 182.

bull.jpg Lenbachhaus, Munich: Completely renovated and reopened in 2013, the 19th-century villa of portrait painter Franz von Lenbach houses a stunning collection of late-19th- and early-20th-century paintings from the Munich-based Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group, including works by Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter. See p. 329.

bull.jpg Kunsthalle, Hamburg: In Northern Germany’s leading art museum, Canalettos, Rembrandts, Holbeins, and other Old Masters share space with modern canvases by Picasso, Warhol, Beuys, Munch, Kandinsky, Klee, and Hockney. See p. 662.

bull.jpg Mercedes-Benz Museum & Porsche Museum, Stuttgart: Germany’s well-earned rep for precision engineering and luxury auto travel comes to the fore in these two collections that showcase the output of world-famous hometown auto makers. Whether it’s a long, lean Mercedes 500 K convertible or a Porsche 911, the gleaming showpieces turn even nondrivers into car buffs. See p. 393.

Germany’s unmissable Historic Buildings

bull.jpg Heidelberg Castle, Heidelberg: This Gothic-Renaissance 16th-century masterpiece was massively expanded as rival rulers competed for control of the Rhineland. The compound never regained its original glory after a 17th-century French attack, and today the ruins brood in dignified severity high above the student revelry and taverns of the folkloric city below. See p. 377.

Aachen Cathedral, where Charlemagne once ruled.

bull.jpg Dom, Cologne: The largest cathedral in Germany, Cologne’s crowning glory took more than 600 years to complete and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The size and stylistic unity of this Gothic marvel will astonish you. See p. 531.

bull.jpg Neuschwanstein, near Füssen: Love it or hate it, this fairy-tale castle is nothing less than phenomenonal, the romantic fantasy of Mad King Ludwig II. Its fairy-tale allure inspired Walt Disney and attracts millions of visitors; the mountain scenery alone is worth the trip. See p. 294.

bull.jpg Residenz, Würzburg: One of the largest baroque palaces in Germany, built between 1720 and 1744 for the powerful bishops of Würzburg, combines gardens, a gallery of paintings, frescoes by Tiepolo, and enough decoration to satisfy the most demanding appetite for ornamentation. See p. 253.

bull.jpg Wartburg Castle, Eisenach: One of the key moments in German history played out at this medieval castle in Thuringia, where a fugitive Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German. See p. 162.

bull.jpg Sanssouci, Potsdam: Friedrich the Great’s retreat was called Sanssouci (Without Care) because here he could forget the rigors of court life. Germany’s most successful blend of landscape and architecture sits among intricate gardens. See p. 137.

bull.jpg Dom, Aachen: Aachen’s cathedral encompasses the Octagon, originally part of Emperor Charlemagne’s palace, and a Gothic choir where Charlemagne’s remains rest in a golden reliquary. From 936 to 1531, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned here. See p. 545.

bull.jpg Schloss Nymphenburg, Munich: The summer palace of the Wittelsbachs, Bavaria’s ruling family, was constructed between 1664 and 1674. While fairly modest as palaces go, it contains some sumptuously decorated rooms. See p. 364.

bull.jpg Zwinger, Dresden: This ornate baroque palace, completed in 1719 for Augustus the Strong (elector of Saxony and king of Poland) still sports some of Augustus’s art collections, the most impressive being the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery) with paintings by Raphael, Van Dyck, Vermeer, Dürer, Rubens, and Rembrandt. See p. 183.

bull.jpg Wieskirche, outside Füssen: One of the world’s most exuberantly decorated buildings sits in a meadow and shimmers with a superabundance of woodcarvings. See p. 287.

Germany’s most romantic Landscapes

bull.jpg Bavarian Alps: In perhaps the most dramatic of all German landscapes, the country’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, towers above the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Ascend to the top via gondola and cog railroad. See p. 296.

Vineyards climb the gentle slopes of the Moselle Valley.

bull.jpg Middle Rhine: Cruises down the scenic midsection of the mighty Rhine, the Mittelrhein, take you past castle-crowned crags and legendary sites, such as Loreley rock, to charming towns in the Rheingau wine region. See chapter 12.

bull.jpg Moselle Valley: The scenic Moselle between Koblenz and Cochem encompasses thousands of acres of terraced vineyards, Roman ruins, medieval castles, and half-timbered riverside towns. See chapter 13.

bull.jpg The Romantic Road: The clue is in the name: The most romantic byway in Germany passes through small medieval towns set within a gorgeous Bavarian landscape of river valley and mountain meadow, before climbing to the Alps and King Ludwig’s fairy-tale castles. See chapter 7.

Germany’s best Restaurants

bull.jpg Romantik Hotel Zum Ritter St. Georg, Heidelberg: Lovely old frescoes dining rooms on the ground floor of a landmark hotel set the gold standard for Old-World cooking and service. See p. 383.

bull.jpg Tantris, Munich: When a restaurant receives a Michelin star for something like 25 years, you can safely assume that it’s a great place to eat. Tantris’s Hans Haas is one of Germany’s top chefs, and his restaurant serves the most innovative food in Bavaria. See p. 352.

bull.jpg La Soupe Populaire, Berlin: Berlin’s most famous chef—Kreuzberg native Tim Raue—cooks refined but still filling and affordable versions of typical Berlin dishes in a very Berlin location, an industrial mezzanine overlooking an abandoned factory turned exhibition space. It literally does not get any more Berlin than this. See p. 113.

The historic Auersbachs Keller restaurant in Leipzig.

bull.jpg Auerbachs Keller, Leipzig: This ancient and rustic cellar restaurant serves hearty German and Saxon fare. Germany’s great writer Goethe used to hang out here, and even set a scene from his play Faust in one of the rooms. See p. 173.

bull.jpg Schwarzwaldstube, Baiersbronn: Under the aegis of long-time chef Harald Wohlfahrt, this fine-dining restaurant at the chic Black Forest resort Hotel Traube Tonbachtal faces stiff competition from a cluster of Michelin-starred restaurants in one small valley. Unusually for Germany, it offers a full tasting menu for vegetarians.

Germany’s best Hotels

bull.jpg The Qvest, Cologne: The ultimate urban lodgings for design lovers. Revival decorations have been retained from the neo-medieval building’s days as the city’s archive; a sheen of Scandinavian design sprinkles some 20th-century modernist magic. See p. 538.

bull.jpg Taschenbergpalais, Dresden: Originally a palace built for one of his many mistresses by Augustus the Strong; now faithfully reconstructed as a grand luxurious hotel. See p. 186.

bull.jpg Orphée Grosses Haus, Regensburg: A trio of related accommodations in one of Germany’s most beautiful medieval cities combine opulence, style, comfort, and Bavarian hospitality. See p. 234.

bull.jpg Wedina, Hamburg: A good hotel makes its guests feel at home, and these moderately priced accommodations do so in four townhouses on a dignified St. Georg street. See p. 674.

Orphée Grosse Haus in Regensburg offers a smart update on Bavarian hospitality.

bull.jpg Mandala, Berlin: Just off Potsdamer Platz, this quietly elegant luxury hotel wins on many fronts: The central location, calm and comfortable décor, and rooms that are among the largest in Berlin. The on-site bar and restaurant are both noteworthy. See p. 99.

bull.jpg Lindenberg, Frankfurt: This handsome 19th-century townhouse has spacious rooms with a well-judged mix of contemporary and period styling, plus a friendly staff with a can-do ethos. See p. 511.

Germany’s best Free Things to Do

bull.jpg Pound the Heidelberg Cobblestones: This handsome university town on the River Neckar has enchanted everyone from Goethe to Mark Twain, and little wonder: A half-ruined castle perched on a wooded hillside overlooks an unspoiled assemblage of medieval and Renaissance landmarks, while beer flows in the taverns below. See p. 370.

bull.jpg Visit Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site: Grim, horrifying, and deeply poignant, Dachau is one of the most important Holocaust memorial sites in Germany. A visit gives you insight into a barbaric chapter of history and puts a human face to its victims. See p. 362.

Cologne’s Karneval is Germany’s version of Mardi Gras.

bull.jpg Take in the Aromas of the Viktualienmarkt: There are markets and then there are markets like Munich’s Viktualienmarkt, a hive of stalls, food stands, and specialty shops that’s been around for a couple of hundred years. See p. 319.

bull.jpg Walk in the Schwarzwald: The forest-clad mountains of the Black Forest offers some 24,000 km of delightful hiking trails, lakes, and many scenic lookouts. See chapter 10.

bull.jpg Celebrate Karneval in Cologne: The locals call it Fasteleer or Fastlovend, but it’s Karneval to most Germans, and it’s celebrated in Catholic Cologne the way Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans. Parades, floats, balls, parties, and plenty of food and beer characterize this pre-Lenten celebration that natives call their city’s fifth season. See chapter 12.

bull.jpg Roam Hamburg’s Speicherstadt: A walk along the quayside reveals one of Germany’s most intriguing and hauntingly beautiful districts, where massive warehouses, gabled and turreted, line the canals. A tinge of sea air adds to the pleasure. See chapter 15.

Germany’s top Spa Towns

bull.jpg Aachen: For more than 2 millennia, the warm mineral waters that flow from thermal springs below Aachen have been used for health and relaxation. Spend a few hours at the Carolus Therme bath complex and you’ll be reinvigorated for the rest of your time in Germany. See p. 543.

bull.jpg Baden-Baden: There’s no better spa town in Germany, and certainly none more fashionable or famous than this sophisticated retreat in the Black Forest that has hosted royals and commoners alike. Shed your duds at the Friedrichsbad and follow a bathing ritual through temperature-modulated saunas, steam rooms, and pools, finishing up with a cool-down and a relaxing snooze. See p. 432.

The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, rewards cyclists as well as hikers.

Germany’s best for Families

bull.jpg Seeing the German Emigration Center, Bremerhaven: Relive the experience of the 7 million Germans who departed for the New World between 1830 and 1974. You can stand on the pier, explore steerage dining rooms and second-class cabins, and even pass through immigration at Ellis Island, New York. See p. 651.

bull.jpg Hanging out by the Bodensee: The shimmering waters of Lake Constance, at Germany’s southwestern border, suggest the Mediterranean with resorts, watersports, semitropical gardens, and an almost Italian languor. See chapter 10.

The Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps is Germany’s highest peak.

bull.jpg Scaling the Zugspitze, Bavaria: The tallest mountain in Germany, soaring 2,960m (9,700 ft.) above sea level, lures view-seekers up its craggy slopes on a thrill ride via cog railway and cable car. Views from the top over the Alps will take your breath away. See p. 298.

bull.jpg A Trip to Grimm World, Kassel: A celebration of the life and work of the Brothers Grimm shows off a first edition of the fairy tales and lets you sit down with the original Seven Dwarves. See p. 628.

bull.jpg An Afternoon in the Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin: The capital’s most family-friendly district has parks, playgrounds, and an ice-cream shop on every corner. See p. 66.

bull.jpg The Deutsches Museum, Munich: Start your day at Marienplatz watching the figures spin around on the Glockenspiel (p. 320), then head over to Museums Insel for hands-on fun at this vast museum of science and technology. See p. 331.

The haunting Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in Berlin.

One of Europe’s largest, most populous, and wealthiest nations, Germany delivers memorable experiences for every taste, interest, and budget. By all means, do take in the blockbuster sights—Neuschwanstein Castle, Brandenburg Gate, Cologne Cathedral, and the Romantic Road among them. But don’t forget to slow down and savor life’s little pleasures: a slice of Black Forest cake on the cobbled market square, a scenic drive among wildflower-strewn hills, a crisp Riesling in a candle-lit wine tavern, or a restorative dip in a hot mineral spring.

As you travel around Germany, you’ll discover that the past is present wherever you go, from 2000-year-old Roman ruins to grand medieval cathedrals to baroque royal palaces to ostalgic relics of the former East Germany. Knowing the history and culture that produced these sights is bound to deepen your appreciation for them. Therefore, the next pages provide you with a crash course in German history, art, architecture, literature, and music, along with other tips to help you get the most out of your trip to this fascinating country.

A Brief History of Germany

Germany Today

Albert Einstein, Martin Luther, Charlemagne, Beethoven, Goethe. Airbags, aspirin, the Christmas tree, MP3, book printing—Germany’s contributions to the world are manifold and influential, yet to many Americans its long history remains overshadowed by the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. How a civilized European nation slipped into the barbaric inhumanity of the Nazi era is a question that continues to haunt survivors, occupy historians, and shadow the Germans themselves. Memorials to the victims of the Holocaust are scattered throughout Germany, including the former concentration camps at Dachau, Buchenwald, and Bergen-Belsen.

The other seminal 20th-century event that affected Germany’s contemporary consciousness was the separation of the country into two opposing regimes—capitalist West and communist East—from 1945 to 1989. By the time the Wall came down, East Germany was in many respects a broken country, a corrupt police-state with dwindling resources, decaying infrastructure, and a legacy of environmental pollution. Though most East Germans embraced the democratic changes that came with reunification, there were many who resented what they saw as a wholesale takeover of their country, and who struggled to cope with being thrust into the uncertainties of a free-market economic system.

The Berlin Wall’s notorious crossing point, Checkpoint Charlie, is maintained as a tourist site.

The cost of reunification was far higher than predicted and took a toll on people’s economic and emotional lives. In the east, outdated state-controlled industries that could not compete in a free market economy were scrapped, jobs were lost, and crime–most troublingly, neo-Nazi hate crimes–rose. Yet Germany moved forward.

Today, it’s the most prosperous country in Europe and has been for many years. A nation of savers, Germany never gave in to the easy-credit credo, maintained strong regulations and oversight in its banking industry, and therefore weathered the financial crisis of 2008/9 better than most countries.

Politically too, Germany has begun to assert a leadership role within Europe and the world. The effort is led by Angela Merkel, who has served as chancellor since 2005; she even earned the honor of being Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2015. Diplomacy, not military might, is her weapon of choice, as she ably demonstrated that year in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and, even more so, during the Greek financial crisis, when she was at the forefront of brokering a bailout deal. But the main reason for Time’s accolade was Merkel’s decision to throw open the doors for hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly from the war zones of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Around a million people arrived in 2015 alone, with another million or more expected in the coming years. Wir schaffen das! (We can do it) is Merkel’s mantra.

Trier’s Porta Nigra gateway, a relic of the Roman Empire era.

Not everyone is quite as optimistic, as the rising popularity of right-wing movements and parties shows. The challenges in integrating such a massive number of newcomers of different and diverse cultural and religious backgrounds will be enormous, even for a country as prosperous and well-organized as Germany.

dateline

Germany’s Architecture

Germany’s buildings span some 1,200 years of architectural history and were created in a number of different styles. (The Porta Nigra, a 1,800-year-old arched gateway in Trier—see p. 598—is Germany’s only remaining Roman-era structure of any significance.) But Germany’s rich architectural heritage suffered a devastating blow during World War II, when Allied bombing raids leveled entire cities and left many important buildings and churches in ruins. Some areas escaped damage, such as the medieval towns along the Romantic Road (see chapter 7), but the overall devastation affected nearly the entire country. Many historic buildings you’ll see today are actually painstaking postwar reconstructions. Here are examples from around Germany of the major architectural periods.

Carolingian & Ottonian (9th–11th c.)    The earliest manifestations of a discernibly Germanic architecture date from the period of Charlemagne’s rule as king of the Franks (768–814) and Emperor of the West (800–14), called the Carolingian era after Charlemagne. Constructed around 800, Charlemagne’s chapel in Aachen (p. 545) harkens back to earlier Byzantine models of building. During the next dynasty, founded by Otto I, architecture developed more complex ground plans, with a rational system devised for dividing churches into a series of separate units—a method that would be of consequence in Romanesque design.

Cologne Cathedral represents the pinnacle of Gothic architecture in Germany.

Romanesque (11th–12th c.)    Simple clear forms, thick walls, and rounded arches signal Romanesque architecture, a building style inspired by Roman models. The cathedral in Mainz (p. 571) and Dom St. Kilian (p. 251) in Würzburg are two of the largest Romanesque churches in Germany.

Gothic (13th–16th c.)    Cologne cathedral (p. 531) is Germany’s greatest example of Gothic architecture, a style developed in France and diffused throughout Europe. The Gothic style is characterized by pointed arches, soaring vaults and spires, and flying buttresses.

Renaissance (15th– early 17th c.)    Augsburg (p. 281) is one of the best cities in Germany to see Renaissance architecture, a style whose calm precision, orderly repeating lines, and classical decoration harkens back ancient Rome. Renaissance architecture was imported from Italy into southern Germany, while a more highly ornamented Dutch style prevailed in northern Germany, in towns such as Hameln (p. 636) or the 17th-century section of Heidelberg Castle (p. 377).

Baroque (17th–18th c.)    The Baroque unites architecture, sculpture and painting into an exuberant style that flourished in Catholic, Counter-Reformation areas in the south of Germany. The Residenz (p. 253) in Würzburg, the Zwinger palace in Dresden (p. 183), and the palace of Sanssouci (p. 137) in Potsdam are important examples. Munich (see chapter 8) abounds in the Baroque.

Rococo (18th c.)    Notch up the elements of Baroque and you have Rococo, exemplified by curving walls and staggering amounts of gilded and stucco decoration. A famous example of flamboyant Rococo church architecture is the Wieskirche (p. 287) in Bavaria. The style also found expression in theater, such as the Residenztheater (p. 359) by François Cuvilliés in Munich.

Neoclassical (19th c.)    The stern Neoclassical style was meant to be a rebuke to the excesses of Baroque and Rococo. There are several great examples in Berlin (see chapter 4), where the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed several buildings along the grand avenue Unter den Linden as well as the Altes Museum on Museum Island. His Munich counterpart was Leo von Klenze, who was entrusted with the neoclassical design of Königsplatz (p. 327), including the Glyptothek museum and the Propyläen monument.

Cutting-edge architecture in Germany today: Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin.

Historicism (late 19th–early 20th c.)    The establishment of the German Empire in 1871 sparked a revival of numerous historic styles, often combining them into a single building. In Dresden, Gottfried Semper, for instance, incorporated Renaissance, Baroque, and neoclassical elements into his addition to the Zwinger and the Semper Operahouse (p. 192). The most famous building of this era is Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein castle (p. 294).

Jugendstil (early 20th c.)    Jugendstil is the German name for Art Nouveau, an early-20th-century European movement that emphasized flowing, asymmetrical, organic shapes. Many Jugendstil villas line the streets of lakeside neighborhoods in Hamburg (p. 652).

Modernism (1948 onward)    A major housing shortage and rebuilding effort in bombed cities in Germany followed the devastation of World War II. Many were rebuilt in a simple, functional style with straight lines and square windows that were more or less identical to Bauhaus. One of the most famous architects of the period was Hans Scharoun, whose daring Philharmonie (p. 124) concert hall in Berlin was completed in 1963.

The bauhaus Influence

Founded in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius (1883–1969), the Bauhaus School was forced to move to Dessau and finally to Berlin before it was banned by the Nazis in 1933 for being too modernist. But in its brief and beleaguered 14 years of existence, the Bauhaus managed to revolutionize architecture and design. The ornate historicism that dominated these fields until the end of World War I was replaced with a minimalist aesthetic that focused on the utility and functionality of the object. Everything from houses to factories and cradles to teapots was radically re-imagined, and the Bauhaus creations that emerged have now become icons of modern design. Teachers in the school included artists like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, and architects like Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. Learn more at the Bauhaus museums in Weimar (p. 148) and Berlin (p. 70).

Postmodernism (1980s Onward)    Some of the most exciting buildings in Germany have been built since reunification in 1990. Berlin especially is a showcase with Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum (p. 82) and Helmut Jahn’s Sony Center (p. 79) being major landmarks. In Cologne, OM Unger’s Wallraf-Richartz-Museum (p. 535) and the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart (p. 394) have made a visual splash.

A Brief History of German Art

Germany abounds in art museums. You can’t escape them, nor should you try. The country’s rich artistic heritage is on display in even the smallest cities, while metropolises like Berlin and Munich boast world-class collections. The brief chronology below paints the major trends and artists with a broad brushstroke.

Carolingian & Ottonian (9th–10th c.)    During the Carolingian period mosaics based on earlier Roman and Byzantine models were used to decorate such buildings as Charlemagne’s octagonal Palatine Chapel (p. 545) in Aachen. Another important art form was elaborately carved ivory book covers. The first outstanding examples of German painting (illuminated manuscripts) and sculpture were created during the Ottonian dynasty. Carved in Cologne in the late 10th century, the Gero cross in Cologne cathedral (p. 531) is believed to be the oldest existing large-scale crucifix in the Western world. Fine craftsmanship is apparent in the metalwork of this period as well, with a rare surviving example being the bronze doors at the cathedral of Augsburg (p. 282).

Romanesque (11th–12th c.)    Romanesque art in Germany was mostly expressed in church building; little remains of fresco painting from this period. A few exceptions are at the St. Mangkirche abbey (p. 290) in Füssen and in the Church of St. Georg on Reichenau Island (p. 471) in Lake Constance.

Elaborately wrought Gothic decoration on the doors of Augusburg’s Dom St. Maria cathedral.

Gothic (13th–15th c.)    As the French Gothic style spread throughout Europe, Germans embraced it with fervor. This was especially true in the field of sculpture, as exemplified by the portals of Cologne cathedral (p. 531), and the doors of Augsburg’s Dom St. Maria (p. 282). The Gothic art collection at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum (p. 535) in Cologne is considered one of the best in the world, while the nearby Schnütgen Museum (p. 534) has superb examples of medieval stained-glass and sculpture.

Renaissance (15th–16th c.)    German sculpture, particularly carved wooden altarpieces, reached an artistic highpoint in the late 15th century, especially in the expressive works of Peter Vischer, Veit Stoss, and Tilman Riemenschneider. Flemish influence is seen in the paintings of Stephan Lochner, whose Adoration of the Magi altarpiece graces Cologne cathedral (p. 531). The key artistic figure, however, was Albrecht Dürer, who introduced elements of the Italian Renaissance into his paintings, woodcuts, and engravings; his work’s on view in Munich’s Alte Pinakothek (p. 324), Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie (p. 71), and Nuremberg’s Germanisches Nationalmuseum (p. 204). In the 16th century, painting was at its height, with such masters as Hans Holbein the Younger, Matthias Grünewald, Albrecht Altdorfer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, and Hans Baldung, all of whose work can be seen in Munich’s Alte Pinakothek (p. 324), as well as in other museums around the country.

Baroque & Rococo (17th–18th c.)    Ceiling frescos and swirling, often gilded stuccowork is typical of the exuberant Baroque and Rococo styles, which decorated churches and palaces all over southern Germany. Two notable examples are the Wieskirche (p. 287) in Steingaden and the Asamkirche (p. 318) in Munich. In Meissen (p. 190), production of the first European hard-paste porcelain kicked off in 1708.

The Wieskirche in Steingaden, on the Romantic Road, a masterpiece of rococo decoration.

Romanticism (19th c.)    The period brought to the fore genre painters such as Moritz von Schwind and Carl Spitzweg. The greatest Romantic artist, though, was Caspar David Friedrich, whose famous Cross in the Mountains (1808) hangs in Dresden’s Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (p. 184).

Expressionism (early 20th c.)    The early 20th century saw the rejection of the traditional styles taught at the art academies and a proliferation of fresh, dynamic and personalized sensibilities. In Germany, Expressionism—with its deliberate distortion of natural forms and emotional intensity—emerged as a key art form. Two artist groups in particular shaped the genre. Founded in Dresden in 1905, Die Brücke (The Bridge) included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff; Dresden’s Albertinum (p. 180) has an especially fine collection of their works. The second group was the Munich-based Der Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider, 1911–1914), which included Franz Marc, Gabriele Münter, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky; their work can be seen in Munich’s Lenbachhaus (p. 329). After World War I, Die Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) emerged, with key players being Otto Dix and George Grosz. It was characterized by a more realistic style combined with a cynical, socially critical philosophical stance that was vehemently anti-war. The brilliant, bitter canvases of Dix and Grosz hang in the Neue Nationalgalerie (p. 74) in Berlin.

Nazi Era (1933–45)    The Nazi regime, which declared all abstract and expressionist works to be degenerate, supported only heroic, propagandistic art and led to nothing of artistic significance.

Post–World War II (1945–present)    Germany hasn’t had one predominant school or movement to define its art since World War II, but it has produced internationally recognized artists such as the iconoclastic sculptor Josef Beuys, painter Anselm Kiefer, painter-sculptor Georg Baselitz, and the painter and visual artist Gerhard Richter. All four are represented in Stuttgart’s Staatsgalerie (p. 395) and Cologne’s Museum Ludwig (p. 533), among others. Richter also created a stunning stained-glass window for the Cologne cathedral (p. 531). Anyone interested in contemporary German art should also visit Düsseldorf’s K20 and K21 museums (p. 551 and p. 552). In the 25 years since the Wall fell, Berlin has seen an explosion of artistic expression—some 10,000 artists are now living in Berlin. In the 1990s, the nearby city of Leipzig also made a splash in the art scene with the emergence of the New Leipzig School, which is characterized by a return to figurative painting. A leading artist is Neo Rauch, who has his studio in Leipzig’s Spinnerei art colony (p. 170); his works can be seen in Leipzig’s Museum der Bildenden Künste (p. 167).

Germany’s Great Musical Tradition

Some of the greatest works of Western music were written by German composers. The roster includes Hildegard of Bingen, Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Wagner, as well as 20th-century greats Richard Strauss and Kurt Weill. Germany’s rich musical history dates back to the medieval Minnesängers (troubadours), who held a famous song contest at Wartburg Castle that was later immortalized by Richard Wagner in his opera Tannhäuser.

A statue of Johann Sebastian Bach by St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, where he served as choirmaster for 27 years.

Over the centuries, Germany’s musical traditions were fostered in convents, monasteries and churches where composers were hired to write sacred songs, cantatas and oratorios. The most famous among these is Johann Sebastian Bach; two museums chronicle his life and accomplishments—one in his birth town of Eisenach (p. 161) and another in Leipzig (p. 164) where he died. The great composer Ludwig Beethoven’s birthplace can be visited in Bonn (p. 558). Düsseldorf, the sometime home of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, also has a proud music tradition with an excellent symphony (see p. 548). Fast-forward to the 19th century, and you get the romantic cult of composers such as Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, both of whose homes are preserved as museums in Bayreuth (see p. 222).

Eventually, as opera houses and concert halls became a fixture in German cities, a wider public clamored for musical performances. Today, every major city—and many smaller ones—has its own publicly funded orchestra. Attending a performance at the Semper Opera in Dresden (see p. 192), the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth (see p. 225), or Berlin’s Philharmonie concert hall (p. 124) or Deutsche Oper Berlin (p. 125) are all seminal experiences for music lovers.

Germany in Books & Films

Books

Novels

Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr. Bernie Gunther is the dyspeptic Berlin detective in these three thought-provoking crime novels set in Nazi Germany and post-war Berlin and Vienna.

Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Böll: A compelling novel by one of Germany’s best-known writers about the compromises made by a rich German family during the Hitler years.

The Good German by Joseph Cannon: A war correspondent returns to post-war Berlin in search of a story and a past love.

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass: Perhaps the most famous novel about life in post-World War II Germany, written by a Nobel Prize winner who kept his own Nazi past a secret until 2006.

Biography & History

Bismarck by Edward Crankshaw: An objective and highly readable life of the first chancellor of the German Empire.

Frederick the Great by Nancy Mitford: Frederick, statesman, scholar, musician, and patron of the arts, sketched with wit and humor.

Germany, 1866–1945 by Gordon Craig: One of the best single accounts of the turbulent political, cultural, and economic life in Germany from the foundation of the German Reich through the end of the Third Reich.

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton: A fascinating and meticulously researched account of the Protestant reformer.

Hitler: 1936–1945: Nemesis by Ian Kershaw: Several good biographies about Hitler have been written, including works by Robert Payne, Joachim Fest, and John Toland, but Kershaw’s is one of the best.

Memoirs

Berlin Diaries, 1940–1945 by Marie Vassilchikov: The secret journals of a young Russian aristocrat who lived and worked in Berlin throughout World War II.

Berlin Journal, 1989–1990 by Robert Darnton: An eyewitness account of the events that led to the opening of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of East Germany’s Communist regime.

A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain: Twain’s account of his travels in Germany is as fresh today as when it first was published in 1899.