Eisenach

Church where J. S. Bach was baptised

Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is famous both as the birthplace of the Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the city where Martin Luther lived as a child. It was while he was staying at Wartburg Castle that he translated the New Testament into German.

Get in

1 Eisenach station sees local, regional, InterCity and InterCityExpress services to all major destinations. The station is unusually well served and equipped for the towns size, you'll find an information office, paid suitcase lockers and toilets, there are lifts to the 3 island platforms (6 tracks).

Get around

The town is walkable, and it is a brisk 30-minute hike to the Wartburg Castle up a hill. All other attractions, such as the Bachhaus, Lutherhaus and the churches, are within 10 minutes from the station.
Local buses serve the town, fares in 2024 are €2.10 for an adult single trip or €5.00 for a day ticket, for children thats €1.50 and €2.50 respectively. Regional buses have a different fare.

To the Wartburg take Bus 3, daily every hour between 09:00 - 17:00.

See

Lutherhaus

• 1 Wartburg Castle, Auf der Wartburg 1 (From stop 3A at Eisenach bus station take Bus #3), ☏ +49 3691 2500. English guided tour: daily 13:30. A magnificent example of historic architecture and the place where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. Also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. €9. (updated Mar 2018)
• 2 Bachhaus, Frauenplan 21, ☏ +49 3691 79340, info@bachhaus.de. Daily 10:00-18:00. A museum dedicated to the life and works of the Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Although Bach himself was not actually born here, the building is historically significant as one of the oldest surviving residential buildings in the town, and dates back to the time when he was alive. €9 adult, €5 student. (updated Dec 2023)
• 3 Lutherhaus, Lutherplatz 8, ☏ +49 3691 29830. Daily 10:00-17:00. One of the oldest surviving half-timbered houses in Thuringia. Tradition holds that Martin Luther lived there with the Cotta family during his schooldays in Eisenach from 1498 to 1501. It was designated a "European cultural heritage site" in 2011, having been run as a cultural history museum since 1956. (updated Sep 2023)
• 4 Stadtschloss, Markt 24, ☏ +49 3691 670450, museum@eisenach.de. W-Su 10:00-17:00. (updated Sep 2023)
• Rathaus
• Reuter-Wagner-Museum
• Kartaus Garden and Wandelhalle

Do

Landhaus Pflugensberg, a manor in the style of a castle that was built in the late 19th century

Eat

• Ristorante Michelangelo, Karlsplatz 21 (city centre), ☏ +49 3691 73 40 81, michelangelo-eisenach@outlook.de. (updated Nov 2024)
• Cafe Toccata, ☏ +49 3691 21 75 88, fax: +49 3691 88 35 25. 
• Burger King. (updated Dec 2015)

Sleep

Keep in mind that Eisenach charges a "tourism tax" of €2 per night per person, which is usually charged on top of the going rate per room.

• Glockenhof, ☏ +49 3691 2340, info@glockenhof.de. singles from €69, doubles from €99. (updated Jun 2015)
• Steigenberger Hotel 'Thüringer Hof', ☏ +49 3691 28-0. 
• Hotel auf der Wartburg, Auf der Wartburg, ☏ +49 3691-797 223. 

Go next

On Deutsche Bahn, the other two main attractions of Thuringia: Erfurt and Weimar are within easy reach, with frequent and direct trains.

Routes through Eisenach

Frankfurt ← Bad Hersfeld ←

Frankfurt  Dresden

→ Gotha → Erfurt