Germany The Black Forest is Europe’s most famous woodland. Bordered by the Rhine River and the Alps in the heart of Europe, the Black Forest is the land of Germanic legend and the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. It is the forest of ‘once upon a time’, the fabled bedtime words heard every night by children around the world. It is also a place of hiking trails, waterfalls … [Read more...]
ZUGSPITZE
Austria/Germany (2,962 m) – Site of the World’s Highest Cog Railway The Zugspitze is the tallest mountain in Germany and one of the most iconic mountains of the Alps. Thanks to its location near major cities and the cable cars which climb to its peak, the summit of the Zugspitze is one of the most easily accessible of all the major mountains of Europe. It is famous as the … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF LEIPZIG (LEIPZIG BATTLEFIELD)
Leipzig, Germany (1813 AD) The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was the largest single military engagement ever to be fought in Continental Europe prior to the 20th century. It was also one fought by one of the greatest military coalitions that had yet been seen in Europe: an army composed of forces from Russia, Austria, Prussia and Sweden defeated … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF BLENHEIM (BLENHEIM BATTLEFIELD)
Blindheim, Germany (1704 AD) The Battle of Blenheim was one of the most important, if not decisive, battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. It was also the largest military engagement in Central Europe between the Thirty Years War and the Napoleanic Wars. Essentially a showdown between the French and the Hapsburgs for influence in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, it … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF NORDLINGEN (NORDLINGEN BATTLEFIELD)
Nordlingen, Germany (1634 & 1645 AD) Two of the most important and bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years War took place at Nordlingen in Southern Germany. The first battle in 1634 was a decisive Catholic victory which avenged the battles of Breitenfeld and Lutzen a few years earlier. It also led directly to the French intervention on the side of the Protestants. The … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF BREITENFELD & LUTZEN (BATTLEFIELD)
Leipzig, Germany (1631 & 1632 AD) The Battles of Breitenfeld and Lutzen took place at the beginning of Swedish Intervention on the continent and roughly marked the turning point of the Thirty Years War in favor of the Protestants. These two engagements saw the armies of Sweden and the Protestant Union smash the hitherto seemingly invincible Hapsburg armies. Though there … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF TEUTOBURG FOREST (TEUTOBURG FOREST BATTLEFIELD)
Osnaburg, Germany (9 AD) The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was one of the most important in the history of the Roman Empire. It marked one of the greatest defeats of the imperial legions, and effectively ended for all time Roman efforts to expand the empire beyond the Rhine River. This in turn marked the end of further Roman expansion into Europe. In later years, the Battle of … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF TRIER
Trier, Germany The Cathedral of Trier was the first major church to be established in what is now Germany, and is the oldest standing cathedral in Europe east of France. Once the most important Christian center in the Rhine region, the Archbishops of Trier were among the most powerful and influential outside of Italy. In early centuries the Cathedral of Trier was a major … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF FULDA
Fulda, Germany According to some historical sources, the Arian form of Christianity may have arrived in Germany as early as the days of the barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire. Catholicism, or at least the Roman Catholic Church, had little or no formal presence east of the Rhine until the arrival of Boniface in the early 8th century. Boniface, sometimes called the … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF ROTHENBURG
Rothenburg, Germany Rothenburg is the definitive fairy-tale walled city of Europe. Not quite as large as Avila or Carcassonne, when it comes to charm and enchanting walks, Rothenburg easily surpasses its rivals. The walled city and its treasure of architectural masterpieces, among the oldest in Bavaria and Germany, look as if they have been lifted straight out of a story by … [Read more...]
