Why this ride
From Eisenach it runs 223 km to Eisenach; allow about 6 h 18 of riding. It goes by way of Hainich, Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt and back through Hainich. History sets the stops.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wartburg Castle and Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 223 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 18
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Wartburg Castle → Hainich
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 19 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 42 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wartburg Castle
Martin Luther spent ten months of his life in a small room in the Wartburg, and it changed the German language. In 1521, after he had refused to recant at the Diet of Worms, his protector, the Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony, had him seized on the road and secretly taken to the castle above Eisenach, where he lived in hiding under the name of Junker Jörg, a knight. There, in a few weeks, he translated the New Testament from Greek into German, a version that helped fix the written language and spread Reformation ideas. The room, with its panelled walls and a stove, is the heart of the castle.
Read the complete Wartburg Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wartburg Castle is where the day begins. Next is Hainich.
2. Hainich
Hainich is a long, low ridge of beech forest in the middle of Germany, and it has the distinction of being one of the few places in Europe where beech trees have been left to grow old. The national park, established in 1997, covers a large part of the ridge, and its oldest stands are part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other Regions of Europe, a UNESCO listing. You notice the difference at once: tall, straight silver trunks, massive fallen logs covered in fungi, and a forest floor that smells of mould and mushrooms.
Read the complete Hainich write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hainich comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt.
3. Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt
Erfurt is a compact, well-preserved medieval city in central Germany, and for hundreds of years it was home to one of the most important Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. The Old Synagogue, with parts dating back to about 1100, is one of the oldest surviving synagogue buildings in Europe, and a ritual bath, or mikveh, uncovered in 2007 beside the Gera river was found in remarkably good condition. UNESCO listed the Jewish-medieval heritage of Erfurt in 2023, recognising the buildings as testimony to a community that thrived and then suffered.
Read the complete Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt. Next is back through Hainich.
4. back through Hainich
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hainich write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hainich, late in the day. Next is Wartburg Castle.
5. Wartburg Castle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wartburg Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Wartburg Castle. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Wartburg Castle to Hainich
Wartburg Castle → Hainich is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hainich to Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt
Hainich → Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt to back through Hainich
Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt → back through Hainich is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hainich to Wartburg Castle
back through Hainich → Wartburg Castle is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.