Germany, Czech Republic & Austria: Gems of Central Europe

During the National Socialist era, the building at Bendler­s­trasse 11-13 was the seat of the General Army Office. There was the centre of resistance against Hitler within the Wehrmacht (armed forces). The attack carried out by Colonel Graf von Stauffenberg in the Wolfss­chanze on 20 July 1944 was planned and orga­nized here.
The perma­nent exhi­bi­tion Memo­rial to the German Resistance in some of the former offices commem­o­rate the resistance fight­er­s and the memo­rial in the court­yard  reminds of the offi­cers executed there.

Using the Bran­denburg Gate as an example it is possible to illus­trate the city's history: Built in 1791 the gate was designed with the Quadriga as Triumphal Arch through which the glorious Prus­sian soldiers were to march into the city. When Napoleon defeated Prussia a few years later, the Quadriga was deported to Paris and returned only in the wars of liber­a­tion. Ever since that time it was consid­ered a monu­ment with national symbolism. On 30 January 1933 after the seizure of power, the Nazis staged an eerie torch­light proces­sion through the gate. Twelve years later the heavily damaged bombed gate became the sector boundary between the eastern and western parts of a city that was lying in ruins. The walled gate also became the symbol of the walled city and the front of the iron curtain that divided Europe from the Baltic Sea all the way to the Mediterranean. Thus, the Cold War ended logically on 9 November 1989, with a cheerful spectacle and cele­bra­tion on the Wall at Bran­denburg Gate.

The largest Jewish museum in Europe offers a perma­nent exhi­bi­tion with an overview of two millennia of German-Jewish history – depicting highs and lows of the rela­tion­ships between Jews and non-Jews in Germany. In addi­tion, there are several tempo­rary and changing exhi­bi­tions each year. Even the building in itself is worth a visit. The baroque Kollegien­haus was symbolically extended in 1999 after a design by Daniel Libe­skind with a zigzag-shaped building and a tita­nium facade.

The village in the Spree­wald biosphere reserve with a mere 500 people has a long history. This is evidenced by the 1000 year old Slavic refuge built by the local Sorbs to protect against the invading Saxons. Today it has been almost completely rebuilt true to the orig­inal. The shape and struc­ture of the ramparts were recon­structed by exca­va­tions. Other details have been taken from other Slav castles in the area, all of which have fallen victim to lignite mining. The inte­rior of the wall now houses a museum and the castle restau­rant. With the perma­nent exhi­bi­tion “Archae­ology in Lower Lusatia”, the museum offers a journey through time through 12,000 years of settle­ment history from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages with Slavic castle building.

Lübbenau is a popular town in the Spree­wald. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle, you can explore the wetlands around Raddusch a few kilome­tres south on a moor nature trail. Towards the end you can stop at the romantic Dubkow Mill. (round trip: 14.9 kilome­ters, 3:30 hours, up and down: 30 meters)

The heart and tourist magnet of Dresden is the rebuilt Frauenkirche in the centre of the old town. The monu­mental Protestant church building is the old and new landmark of the city. Built between 1726 and 1743, destroyed on 13 and 14 February 1945, it has been rebuilt since the 1990s with the help of a large amount of dona­tions. In 2005 the new conse­cra­tion took place.
Also the place at the church, the Neumarkt, was recon­structed. After the Second World War, the most important inner-city square next to the Altmarkt with the symbolic ruins of the Frauenkirche remained almost untouched for half a century. Then a lively building activity set in, quarter by quarter the typical baroque gabled houses were rebuilt.

Behind the Resi­den­zschloss the proces­sion of princes connects the Neumarkt with the Schlossplatz. The rulers of the House of Wettin are depicted as a cavalcade on a 100 meter long mural made of Meissen porce­lain tiles. Between 1872 and 1876 the gigantic work of art was painted. However, the colors on the outer wall quickly faded and the pictures were trans­ferred to porce­lain tiles. This required 24,000 indi­vidual tiles.

The Renais­sance building was first erected in the late 15th century as the new power centre of the Saxon electors and kings and was rebuilt after a fire in 1701 under August the Strong. After its destruc­tion in the Second World War, it was recon­structed in 1985 as a museum complex of the Dresden State Art Collec­tions. Since then the castle has housed the Histor­ical and the New Green Vaults, the Kupfer­s­tich-Kabi­nett, the Rüstkammer with the Turkish Chamber and the Münzk­abi­nett.

The health resort is located below the rocky scenery of the Elbe Sand­stone Mountains in the center of the Saxon Switz­er­land. A cable ferry that runs only with the force of the current, connects the districts of the beau­tiful town on both sides of the Elbe. A footpath leads up to the Bastion, a wildly romantic gorge labyrinth with a ridge and a unique view that has inspired the painter Caspar David Friedrich.

The medium intensity hike leads from Bad Schandau to the Schrammsteine and on to Hohe Liebe. After climbing the stairs through the Schrammtor, you will find dream­like views, wildly romantic gorges, natural monu­ments and fairy­tale houses. There is an inn on the way in the Schrammsteinbaude. (round trip: 14.9 kilome­ters, 4:30 hours, up and down: 440 meters)

At 62 metres long, 16 metres wide and 13 metres high, the Hall of Homage of the Bohemian Kings in Prague Castle is one of the largest rooms ever created during the Renais­sance. Orig­inally, banquets and tourna­ments were held here, with the knights riding in on horseback over the eques­trian stairs. In 1618 the hall was once the focus of world history, or more precisely: the large window. The governor of Emperor Ferd­inand II was thrown out of it. The Defenes­tra­tion of Prague marks the beginning of the Protestant revolt against the Habsburgs, which marks the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.

At Jiřské náměstí, the George Square, stands one of the most important Roma­nesque build­ings in the world: the second oldest church in Prague, founded around the year 920. Two white towers, reaching a height of 41 metres, dominate the basilica. The wider tower on the south side is called Adam, the narrower, northern tower Eve. It's crooked and tilts 40 centime­ters. Inside, the Roma­nesque choir is impres­sive. On the gallery of the basilica you can see remains of the painted ceiling “Heav­enly Jerusalem” from around 1200. The neigh­boring Bene­dic­tine monastery was founded in 973.

The artists' quarter near the Loreto Sanctuary dates from the 16th century and was orig­inally the quarter for the castle servants. Over the centuries the “New World” crumbled more and more and became the poor quarter of Prague. In the 1920s, the district even had to be evac­u­ated once because of the danger of epidemics. But then Bohemians and students started to settle there. After the fall of commu­nism, most houses were sold and reno­vated. Simple cottages and magnif­i­cent town houses stand side by side and are by far not as crowded as the Golden Lane.

The romantic castle near Ceske Budejovice is prob­ably the most visited monu­ment in South Bohemia. Orig­inally a royal castle from the 13th century, the resi­dence of the Princes of Schwarzenberg was often rebuilt – the last time from 1845 to 1871, when it received its magnif­i­cent neo-gothic face. The lock chambers and richly deco­rated rooms can be visited, but also the armory or the adja­cent South Bohemian Aleš Mikoláš-gallery (Alšova Bohemian Gallery). A stroll through the large park in English style is also very nice.

Krems, the oldest city in Lower Austria, is surrounded by vine­yards and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape of Wachau. The town is famous for its medieval gate called the “Steiner Tor.” A Capuchin monastery called “Kloster Und” is located in front of the gates. Today, the monastery houses wine cellars, confer­ence rooms and museums devoted to art and carica­ture. The old town of Stein, where hardly anything has changed for centuries, is only a short walk from here.

For six centuries, from the 13th century to 1918, the Vienna Hofburg was the resi­dence of the Habsburgs. The Hofburg grew with the rise of the noble family from a small country nobility to Europe's leading dynasty. In the beginning there was a small castle. In the end, it had 2,500 rooms. In addi­tion there is the Winter Riding School, where the Lipizzaner horses train, the National Library with a magnif­i­cent domed hall, the Museum of Art History and the seat of the Federal Pres­i­dent. A large part of the Hofburg is open to the public.

In 1857, Emperor Franz ordered the old fortifica­tions to be razed. In its place, a magnif­i­cent boul­evard was built around historic Vienna, which leads to the Danube at both ends. The almost 5 km long road is lined by public and private build­ings, which try to surpass each other in splendor, pomp and pathos. The build­ings imitate earlier style epochs, from Greek antiq­uity to Gothic cathedrals and the Renais­sance. The ring road was inau­gu­rated in 1865. Today it is regarded as a complete work of art, which is unique in the world.

The museum is located at Berggasse 19, where Sigmund Freud lived and worked for 47 years. In his study he wrote the majority of his writ­ings, which are an integral part of the intel­lectual history of the 20th century. When the family moved in in 1891, the house was a new building. After the transfer of power to the Nazis in 1939, the seri­ously cancer-ill founder of psycho­anal­ysis had to emigrate to London. Orig­inal pieces from Freud's posses­sion can be seen in the museum as well as the waiting room of the practice and some pieces from Freud's exten­sive collec­tion of antique works of art, mainly small statues. Most of the earlier furni­ture with the famous couch, however, is in today's Freud Museum in London, where Anna Freud lived until her death in 1982.

The park is located in the mountai­nous area south of the town of Bercht­esgaden. The eastern, southern, and western bound­aries of the park coincide with the state border between Germany and Austria. The area of the park is econom­ically unde­vel­oped, and there are no settle­ments. In the center of the park is a large lake, the Königssee. West of the lake is the massif of Watzmann (2,713 metres (8,901 ft)), the third highest mountain in Germany.

The village with almost 8,000 inhab­i­tants lies picturesquely in a basin surrounded by high mountains. The settle­ment emerged in the 11th century from a monastery foun­da­tion. The monastery had forestry sovereignty and the mining rights to salt and metal, which led to an early boom. The first holiday guests arrived in the middle of the 19th century. During National Socialism Bercht­esgaden was declared a “Führ­ersperrge­biet” (restricted area for the Führer). The market square is surrounded by medieval houses with frescoes. The nearby Wittelsbach Castle now houses a museum.

At the end of an eventful polit­ical life in 976, when Saint Wolfgang built a monastery with his own hands and worked several miracles, he had no idea that his hermitage would become one of the most famous tourist resorts in Austria. St. Wolfgang owes this above all to the pilgrimage church, which is dedicated to him and enthroned in perfect grace over the Wolfgangsee. Inside, the late Gothic church impresses with a richly deco­rated altar, which Michael Pacher completed in 1481. He shows Our Lady kneeling in front of her child and framed by two monks, Saint Bene­dict and of course Saint Wolfgang.

The 1,783 meter high rock is only for those who are free from vertigo. It towers above the foothills of the Alps and offers a fantastic view across the Salzkammergut. However, the ascent to the summit can even be done by sheep. It belongs to the most beau­tiful hikes near and far. For those who find just under 1,200 metres of alti­tude too much, you can take the rack-railway, which was opened in 1893. The valley station is in St. Wolfgang, where the hiking trail begins. At the top you can stop at a hotel. (one way: 7.3 kilome­ters, 4 hours, up: 1170 meters)

The varied hike leads along the Schatt­seitweg from the Gasthof Oberwirt in Ramsau to Hintersee. After a few minutes you reach the glacier springs, which are fed by the melt­water of the Blaueis glacier at Hochkalter, 1,500 metres above sea level. After you have crossed the Marxen­klamm gorge, through which a torren­tial white water rushes, you go on a nature trail through the magical forest. Over bridges and footbridges you reach the Hintersee and go back halfway up. (round trip: 15.7 kilome­ters, 5:15 hours, up and down: 734 meters)

The hike leads through the history of alpine farming. Three alpine pastures are on the way, where informa­tion boards provide informa­tion about the alpine pasture system. You also have wonderful views of the Bercht­esgaden and Chiemgau Alps. The tour leads along paved alpine and forest paths. The alpine steep tracks require a certain amount of surefoot­ed­ness. (Round trip 11.1 kilome­ters, 4 hours, up and down: 670 meters)

The small town in the valley of the Weißen Traun has been the most popular holiday resort in the Chiemgau Alps for over a hundred years. This is mainly due to the parish church of St. George, which, with the Ruhlpoldinger Madonna from 1230, is consid­ered the most beau­tiful village church in Upper Bavaria. The local museum exhibits alpine folk art, the wood­cutter museum docu­ments the everyday life of the wood­cutters in Chiemgau. An alpine nature trail has been set up at the Rauschberg.

In 1873 the largest of the three islands in the Chiemsee Lake was acquired by King Ludwig II. to build his Herrenchiemsee Palace. However, the reduced copy of the Palace of Versailles remained unfin­ished. In fine weather the serrated mountains of the magnif­i­cent Chiemgau Alps are mirrored in the lake. A passenger ferry runs to the island regu­larly. There one can visit the castle or stroll through the park.

The 1,838 metre high mountain belongs to the Mangfallgebirge, the eastern part of the Bavarian foothills of the Alps. It is the highest peak of the Wendelstein massif. Because of its exposed loca­tion it offers a very good view of the foothills of the Alps and at the same time can be seen from many loca­tions. The Wendelstein cable car and the Wendelstein rack and pinion railway open up the mountain, which consists of light grey Wetter­stein lime­stone. Around 100 metres below the summit stands the Wendelstein Church of 1889, Germany's highest church. There is also a mountain obser­vatory. The mountain top is also easily acces­sible on foot. From the valley station of the Wendelsteinbahn in Bayris­chzell-Oster­hofen it takes about three hours to reach the summit.

A visit to the castle that Elector Ferd­inand Maria once gave his wife on the occa­sion of the birth of the heir to the throne is a journey through time to the Bavarian monarchy. Two shady avenues lead to the castle, between them lies the Nymphenburg Canal. In summer it belongs to the swans, in winter to the ice skaters. At the end the half a kilometer wide castle rises. The 230-hectare English castle park with its streams, canals and bridges looks like a fairy tale forest. Today the castle houses four museums.

The semicircular Karlsplatz, better known as Stachus, is the gateway to Munich's trendy pede­s­trian zone. Here you can find several S-, U- and tram lines, cars, buses, cyclists and pede­s­trians. Some only want to cross the old town, others start their city stroll here in the pede­s­trian zone. Or go shopping in the Stachus Passagen. The large fountain with its water jets invites you to cool off on hot summer's days.

The Gothic cathedral and city parish church “Zu Unserer Lieben Frau” dating back to the 15th century is the landmark of the city. The nave is 109 meters long, 40 meters wide and 37 meters high and is said to accommo­date 20,000 people. The 100 meter high towers with the so called “Welschen Hauben” are based on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. From the south tower of the Frauenkirche one has a magnif­i­cent view over the city. The footprint in the entrance hall is called the Devil's Step. The devil himself is said to have stood here because he had bet with master builder Jörg von Halspach for his soul. The church regu­larly gives organ concerts, has several choirs and its own cathedral singing school.