Thuringia

Thuringia (Thüringen) is often called the "green heart of Germany" due to its central location and extensive forests, including the famous Thuringian Forest (Thüringer Wald). The state capital is Erfurt, a city with a well-preserved medieval center. Thuringia has a rich cultural heritage and is known as the land of poets and philosophers, with historical connections to Goethe, Schiller, Bach, and Luther. The Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thuringia is also home to the Bauhaus movement, which originated in Weimar. The state is economically diverse with strengths in optics, automotive components, and food processing. Thuringia has the best-known hiking trail in Germany, the Rennsteig, which runs along the ridge of the Thuringian Forest. Interestingly, the kindergarten was invented here in 1840 by Friedrich Fröbel, and four different places in the state claim to be the geographical center of Germany.