About this Destination
Wartburg Castle represents Outstanding Monument of Feudal Period Central Europe built around 1067, first documented 1080, perched 400m above Eisenach. UNESCO World Heritage Site 1999 citing Cultural Values of Universal Significance. Luther stayed May 1521-March 1522 as Junker Jörg translating New Testament Greek to German in ten weeks, calling castle his Patmos after Revelation island. 12th-century Palas (1157-1170) represents best-preserved non-ecclesial Romanesque building north of Alps. Saint Elizabeth lived and worked here, Landgrave Hermann I hosted poets Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach around 1200 cultural heyday. Symbol of German integration and unity, particularly during former inner German border location. Substantial original 12th-15th century structures with 19th-century interior reconstitution.