Arnstadt Attractions

In a landscape reserve extending on both sides of the motorway northwest of Arnstadt is the group of three castles known as the Drei Gleichen: the ruined Mühlburg (first mentioned in the records in 704), probably the oldest castle in Thuringia; Burg Gleichen, also ruined, the subject of many legends; and the Wachsenburg, now a hotel.

Johann Sebastian Bach was organist in the Bach Church (originally known as the New Church) in Arnstadt. In front of the church is the Hopfenbrunnen (Hop Fountain; 1573).

Near the Town Hall, in the Haus zum Palmenbaum (Palm-Tree House), is a collection of mementos of Bach's stay in Arnstadt and the Municipal Museum.

A modern monument to Bach (by Bernd Göbel, 1985) shows the composer as a young man.

The Liebfrauenkirche (1180-1330) in Arnstadt is the finest 13th C church in Thuringia after the cathedral in Naumburg. In a style transitional between Romanesque and Gothic, it contains numerous works of art, including a Late Gothic altar.

The Neideckturm in Arnstadt is all that remains of a once splendid Renaissance palace.

The old paper-mill (16th C.; enlarged in 1633) in Arnstadt is a handsome half-timbered building.

The three-story Renaissance Town Hall (1581-83) in Arnstadt shows the influence of Dutch models. Nearby are galleries in Renaissance style, built in the late 16th C. as a cloth hall.