The
Wartburg castle is, aside from
Weimar, the most-visited tourist attraction in Thuringia. • The
Thüringer Museum inside the palace at Marktplatz is the art-historical museum of Eisenach and has a collection focusing on
porcelain and art handicrafts. • The
Reuter-Wagner-Museum at Reuterweg hosts an exhibition on the poet
Fritz Reuter and the composer
Richard Wagner. Built by
Ludwig Bohnstedt between 1866 and 1868, this
neo-renaissance house was the home of Fritz Reuter, a well-known poet of the Low German dialect, from 1868 until his death in 1874. Reuter's home was acquired by the town in 1895 and turned into a memorial. That same year the collection of Nicolaus Oesterlein containing several thousand books on Richard Wagner (virtually the complete primary and secondary literature on Wagner of the 19th century) was added. Since 1997, this collection—the second largest in the world after
Bayreuth—has been presented in a new exhibit on the ground floor, which also includes all the material on
Tannhäuser, an opera set at the Wartburg. • The museum inside the
Predigerkirche at Predigerplatz hosts the medieval art division of the
Thüringer Museum. • The
Goldener Löwe at Marienstraße shows an historical exhibition of German social democracy. On 7 August 1869 the Social Democratic Worker's Party (later to become the
Social-Democratic Party of Germany) was founded at this site. The "August Bebel Society" offers lectures and seminars on topics of historical and current political interest. File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img14 Bach Museum.jpg|Bachhaus File:Lutherhaus DSCN3667.jpg|
Lutherhaus File:ESA AWE.JPG|"Automobile Welt" File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img29 Market Square.jpg|
Thüringer Museum inside the palace File:Eisenach Reuterhaus 2009.jpg|Reuter-Wagner-Museum File:ESA PREDIGERKL14.jpg|Predigerkirche File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img01 Goldener Löwe.jpg|
Goldener Löwe Townscape The town of Eisenach developed during the Middle Ages at the exit of
Mariental valley, opening to the Hörsel valley around Marktplatz, Karlsplatz and Frauenplan in a triangle structure. The early-modern period brought extensions to the west (Katharinenstraße), to the north (Jakobstraße) and to the east (in front of Nikolaitor gate). The construction boom between 1850 and 1914 led to a strict division in urban development. South of the historic centre, mansion districts were established on the hillsides of Mariental valley, where the rich factory owners, rentiers and other upper-class people lived. These districts are among the most important examples of this urban type in Germany, and one of the largest in Europe. North of the historic centre, next to the railway and Hörsel river, factories and worker quarters were established. These also host some examples of interesting
Gründerzeit architecture. After
World War I, the town extended further to the north on the other bank of Hörsel river, where some new residential areas were developed before 1990.
Square ensembles •
Karlsplatz: adjoins the Nikolaikirche (Church of St. Nicholas) and the Romanesque Nikolaitor (St. Nicholas Gate), the only surviving town gate (out of five). The square is seen as the nucleus of the town, it was first mentioned in 1368. •
Marktplatz: the market square with the Georgenkirche (Church of St. George), the town hall, the Baroque
Stadtschloss, as well as a number of highly decorative administration buildings and merchants' houses. It also features the gilded market fountain designed by Hans Leonardt in 1549, showing St. George, the patron saint of Eisenach. •
Jakobsplan: named after a chapel destroyed by fire in the Middle Ages. Jakobsplan comprises a monument to St. George in the centre of the square, part of the old town walls (including one of the watch towers), and the Goethe Garden. •
Frauenplan: a small courtyard-type square that takes its name from the "Church of Our Lady". The church was demolished for defence purposes in 1306. Today Frauenplan is the location of the
Bachhaus and the Bach monument in front of it.
Sights and architectural heritage Churches • ''St. George's Church
(Lutheran) at the market square was first built in the 12th century. The church in which St. Elisabeth was married was demolished in 1515 and replaced by a new structure. Martin Luther held a sermon there on 2 May 1521. In 1525, the church was heavily damaged during the Bauernkrieg'' and during the Reformation it served as a stables. It was rededicated in 1558. On 23 March 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized in the church (the 16th century baptismal font still remains). The tower was added in 1898–1902. • ''St. Nicholas' Church'' (Lutheran), located on the Karlsplatz, served the
Benedictine convent once located in the area. This triple-naved basilica was built in 1180. It is considered the latest example of
Romanesque architecture in Thuringia. • ''Preachers' Church'' (secularized) at Predigerplatz was part of a former
Dominican monastery (founded in 1240 and the only monastery buildings of which remain in the town), today used as a museum for medieval art. • ''St. Elizabeth's Church'' (Roman Catholic) at Sophienstraße is the Catholic parish church of Eisenach, built in
neo-Gothic style in the 1880s. • ''St. Anne's Church'' (Lutheran) at Georgenstraße was founded together with a hospital by St. Elizabeth in 1226. • ''St. Clement's Chapel'' (Lutheran) at Clemensstraße is a small 13th century Romanesque chapel. •
Holy Cross Church (secularized) at the old cemetery was built in the 1690s. File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img18 StGeorge Church.jpg|St. George's Church File:ESA Nikolaikirche.jpg|St. Nicholas' Church File:ESA Predigerkloster.jpg|Preachers' Church File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img07 StElisabeth Church.jpg|St. Elizabeth's Church File:ESA Annenkirche.jpg|St. Anne's Church File:Clemenskapelle2.JPG|St. Clement's Chapel File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img31 Cross Church.jpg|Holy Cross Church
Castles and palaces • The most important castle is the Wartburg above the town. For further information, see:
Wartburg. • The
Stadtschloss (town palace) is situated at the north end of the Marktplatz and was built between 1742 and 1745. This palace was constructed to the plans of Gottfried Heinrich Krohne, architect of Duke
Ernst August I of
Saxe-Weimar. After 1777
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe frequently stayed here in his capacity as the duke's prime minister. Today the Stadtschloss acts as a venue for special exhibitions and as a museum for artistic and historical artifacts from Thuringia. •
Hellgrevenhof at Georgenstraße is part of a former inner-town castle, named after Heinrich Hellgreve, a rich citizen who lived here in the late 13th century. It consists of five buildings, the oldest dating to around 1200, although it has been modified several times over the centuries. •
Bechtolsheim Palace at Jakobsplan is a
neoclassical palace, built in the late 18th century. •
Schloss Fischbach in Fischbach district is a small 17th-century castle. •
Jagdschloss Hohe Sonne is a hunting lodge south of the city in the Thuringian Forest. It was built in the mid-18th century in the Baroque style. •
Alte Residenz at Esplanade is the relic of the former ducal residence, rebuilt in the Renaissance style after older predecessors. File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img23 Wartburg Castle.jpg|Wartburg File:City castle of Eisenach (3).jpg|
Stadtschloss File:ESA Bechtholzheim.jpg|Bechtolsheim Palace File:ESA FISCHBACH.jpg|
Schloss Fischbach File:ESA HOHESONNE2.JPG|
Jagdschloss Hohe Sonne File:ESA RESIDENZHS2.jpg|
Alte Residenz Memorials • The
Bach monument was constructed in 1884 by
Adolf von Donndorf. Financed by other well-known musicians, the more-than-life-size figure portrays Johann Sebastian Bach in his
St. Thomas's choir-master's clothes and wig. It is situated on the Frauenplan next to the
Bachhaus. • The
Martin Luther monument at Karlsplatz was designed by Adolf von Donndorf and was dedicated on 4 May 1895 on the 374th anniversary of Luther's arrival at Wartburg castle. The more-than-life-size statue of Martin Luther on a pedestal also has reliefs depicting events of his life leading up to and including his stay in Eisenach as well as the title of one of his most famous hymns, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). • The
Burschenschaftsdenkmal (literally: "Monument to Student Fraternities") on Göpelskuppe hill was built in 1902. The monument stands on a hill opposite the Wartburg in memory of the members of the liberal and nationalistic student movement and others who were killed in the struggle for a united Germany between 1864 and 1871. The monument that reaches a height of 33 meters and proclaims "Honour, Freedom, and Fatherland", was dedicated on 22 May 1902 and was extended in 1933 to honour those who fell in World War I. Since reunification, fraternities again have been meeting in Eisenach in memory of the demonstrations held at the Wartburg in the past. •
The "Dejudaization Institute" Memorial was unveiled on May 6, 2019 at the beginning of Bornstrasse. A plaque with text, which is integrated in the memorial, acknowledges the churches’ guilt, summarizes the "
Dejudaization Institute’s" work and impact, and remembers the victims of the church's
anti-Judaism and
anti-Semitism. File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img15 Monument to Bach.jpg|Bach monument File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img11 Monument to Luther.jpg|Luther monument File:Burschenschaftsdenkmal 07.jpg|
Burschenschaftsdenkmal File:Eisenach Entjudungsinstitut Gedenktafel Ecke.jpg|"Dejudaization Institute" Memorial
Other sights • The town walls were built during the 13th century and demolished in the 19th century. Remains visible today are the
Nikolaitor and the
Glockenturm. • The
Kartausgarten is all that remains of the original
Carthusian monastery, consecrated to St. Elizabeth in 1380. In 1700 it became a royal kitchen garden and around 1800 was changed into a park. The "Wandelhalle" (covered walk and foyer), built in 1906, was originally intended as a pump room to a
spa planned for Eisenach that never materialised. • The
town hall at Marktplatz was a former wine cellar and became the townhall of Eisenach in 1596. The building, having been destroyed by fire in 1636, was rebuilt in 1641. The southern part of the complex suffered considerable damage in a bombing raid in 1945 during
World War II. It was renovated in 1996 and it now houses the municipal administration offices. • The
Landestheater (state theatre) was established in 1879 by Julius von Eichel-Streiber and constructed to the design of the
Leipzig architect Karl Weichardt. It was later renovated in 1993. The theatre holds an audience of 600 and has two balconies. • The
narrow house may be the narrowest half-timbered house in Germany. It was built before 1750 and is only 2.05 meters wide. Inside visitors can view a small exhibition. Notably, Bach composed several sonnets here as he liked the acoustics of the house. File:Nikolaitor Eisenach.jpg|Town gate
Nikolaitor File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img05 Wandelhalle.jpg|The
Wandelhalle at Kartausgarten File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img06 Old Town Hall.jpg|Town hall File:Landestheater Eisenach.jpg|Theatre File:Eisenach Schmales Haus.jpg|Narrow House ==Politics==