The Romanesque Road is one of the most famous tourist routes in Germany. Over a total length of more than 1,000 kilometres, it connects 88 Romanesque buildings (domes, churches, monasteries and castles) in 73 towns in Saxony-Anhalt. Similar to an eight, the Romanesque Road is divided into a north and south route, with the state capital Magdeburg forming the centre. The Romanesque Route is a partner of the Transromanica network, a major European Cultural Route since 2006.
Lined up like a string of pearls, monasteries and cathedrals, treasure chambers, village churches, castles and palaces present themselves as contemporary witnesses to a ground-breaking epoch of German and European history in the Middle Ages.
Between 950 and 1250, the region of present-day Saxony-Anhalt developed into a political and cultural centre of Europe under Ottonian rule. More than in almost any other federal state, the legacy of this heyday has been preserved in Saxony-Anhalt in such splendour and diversity.
We offer you several romantic trips in frames of the South part of the Romanesque Road in the region which is close to Halle (Salle) and in the Saale-Unstrut wine region.
We offer tours that take you through the area around Halle (Saale).
How to get:
Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEJ)
Halle (Saale) Railway Station
Halle (Saale) Central Bus Station is situated on the Halle (Saale) Railway Station
Three women exemplify the influence of Helfta Monastery on 13th century German mysticism and literature: Gertrud die Grosse, Mechthild von Magdeburg and Mechthild von Hackeborn. The reconstruction of Kloster Helfta is the most important work of the monastery.The reconstruction of the monastery of St. Mary of Helfta – more than 450 years after the secularisation of Helfta – is praised as the “Wunder von Helfta” (Miracle of Helfta). On 13 August 1999, 10 nuns moved into the Helfta convent and formed a new monastic community under Abbess Maria Assumpta Schenkl.
The impressive castle of Querfurt is seven times larger in area than the famous Wartburg near Eisenach (or Eisenach). This is one of the oldest and largest feudal castles in Germany.
The tithe register of the late 9th century names Querfurt as the most important of the 18 castles included in the list. It is known that the castle originated from a Frankish settlement and was the seat of the Carolingian administration. Since the 10th century he served the nobles of Querfurt. If you look even deeper into history, archaeological finds in the castle area date back to the Bronze Age.
Nowadays a museum is opened in the castle. In addition to exploring the fortress, visitors are recommended to look into the funeral chapel of Gebhard XIV. The skillfully executed bas-relief on the lid of the sarcophagus still amazes with its realism.
Naumburg, a small town in the Saale valley, has a superbly preserved historical center with numerous buildings in the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque styles. This is an ancient city with a 1000-year history and an impressive ancient cathedral, which is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
When visiting the cathedral, the greatest admiration is caused by the works of the “Master of Naumburg” – an unknown architect and sculptor who created real masterpieces. The expressiveness of the stone reliefs of the Passion and the twelve figures of the benefactors is unparalleled in the whole world. “The most beautiful woman of the Middle Ages,” Margravine Utah, enchants thousands of visitors every year, and Reglindis captivates every guest with a smile. The cathedral also houses other artistic treasures created by recognized masters. Here you will find stained glass windows by Neo Rauch and an altar painted by Lucas Cranach.
With the historic saltworks and castle ruins of Saaleck and Rudelsburg, Bad Kösen invites you to take a trip to one of the most beautiful areas of the Saale Valley. Today the city is a suburb of Naumburg. However, it contains as many as four objects of the Romanesque Route.
With the combination of Sweet Lake and wine, the state-recognized resort of Seeburg (Mansfeld Südharz district) can score points with tourists. It is sutuated 20 km west from Halle (Saale).
The starting position provided by nature is also extremely favorable where the Saale-Harz cycle path, the Romanesque Road, the Luther Trail and the Mansfeld Lakes Wine Route touch each other. The proximity to the northernmost German wine-growing region as well as the approximately five kilometer long and 800 meter wide Süße See as a paradise for swimmers, surfers and sailors make the recreational area interesting for visitors for various reasons.
Around 880/899 the so-called Hersfeld Tithe Directory mentioned the town of Goseck for the first time. Up to this point the castle is not listed, which does not mean that it did not yet exist.
It was not until the change of ownership in 1997 that the entire area was renovated. A European music and cultural center was also founded on the site, which still hosts various events today. If you want to find out more about the history of the castle complex in Goseck, it is best to use the multimedia permanent exhibition, which has existed since 2015.
The “wine capital” of the Saale-Unstrut region has two Romanesque Route sites:
Apart from Neuenburg castle, St. Mary’s Church is the most important attraction in Freyburg. Its architecture resembles that of the cathedral in Naumburg. The three-nave basilica was built during the late Romanesque period (1230). The long choir dates from 1420/30. It was converted into a hall church in the late 15th century. Of particular interest are the altar, architectural sculptures and tombs. The church bells date from the 13th to 16th centuries.
Merseburg is located 15 km from Halle. The great past of Merseburg is symbolized in our time by the city cathedral, which was built at the beginning of the eleventh century by order of Henry II. Very soon the cathedral will turn a thousand years old and during this time it has seen more than forty bishops and a huge number of other famous contemporaries, for example, Martin Luther. Nowadays, the cathedral is decorated with an old large organ, including five thousand seven hundred pipes and eighty-one registers. This instrument once inspired Franz Liszt.
On the territory of the cathedral and palace ensemble there is a large cage with ravens. This is also part of the history of the legendary Palatinate. The crows take us back to the era of Bishop Tila von Trote, who in the 15th century radically rebuilt the cathedral in the style of late Gothic and Renaissance. You can hear the famous Merseburg legend about the raven on our excursion.
Giebichenstein Castle is the site of the Romanesque Road in Halle (Saale). One of the oldest settlements in Halle is located in the vicinity of the Giebichenstein rock. After the Thirty Years’ War, the upper castle was reduced to ruins and today houses an open-air museum, which offers magnificent views of the Saale River in the summer months.
