Wartburg - a castle with over 900 years of history

Once you visit Warburg castle you will see it sitting on a steep hill, overlooking the beautiful and quaint city of Eisenach in Thuringia, Germany. You will walk over a draw bridge to access the castle. It is one of the oldest and best preserved Romanesque castles in Germany. Built in 1067 and attributed to Count Ludwig der Springer, the castle grounds display art treasures collected over centuries including medieval musical instruments. In 1999, the Wartburg castle was added to the list of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The Wartburg used to be an important place of courtly culture: Medieval singing contests were held here.  The legendary Minnesingers' Contest or "Singers' War" dates back to 1206. Although it was only a legend, this courtly and knightly epic vividly depicts the rule of landgrave Hermann I and the Thuringian court as its centre.
The Wartburg became the refuge for the German church reformer Martin Luther, who was excommunicated by the pope and outlawed by the emperor. He sought refuge in the bailiff's lodge at the Wartburg. During the months of his protective custody, he lived and worked in a sparsely furnished room, today known as the Luther Room. In only 10 weeks he translated the New Testament from the original Greek texts into German. Two and a half centuries later Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed at the Wartburg Castle for five weeks in 1777. His visit there is characterized by his enthusiasm for nature. Today the visual knowledge of the decayed buildings that Goethe preserved in his drawings is invaluable. Another stepstone in history was the Wartburgfest of the Student's Association. On October 18, 1817, 500 students gathered for the Wartburgfest, the first middle-class democratic public meeting in Germany. They met at the Wartburg for the 300th anniversary of the Reformation and the fourth anniversary of the Battle of Nations at Leipzig against Napoleon's rule. The students fought for a unified Germany under the motto, "Honour - Freedom - Fatherland."