Eisenberg, chief town of a district, lies 20km/12.5mi northwest of Gera between the Saale and the Weisse Elster. It is an industrial town (manufacture of pianos) and an attractive holiday resort on the northern edge of a tract of wooded country; the Mühltal in particular attracts many visitors.
The Teufelstal lies near the Hermsdorf motorway junction (Hermsdorfer Kreuz), in an area which preserves some stands of old beeches. The Eisenach-Dresden motorway is carried over the valley on Europe's largest single-span prestressed concrete bridge (1936; 138 m/453ft wide, 253 m/276yd long, 61 m/200ft high).
12km/7.5mi southwest of Eisenberg on B 7 lies Bürgel. At Töpfergasse 14 is the Ceramic Museum, which illustrates the development of this potters' town with a tradition going back more than 300 years; old potter's kiln.
In the rectangular Marktplatz in Eisenberg are the aisleless Late Gothic church of St Peter (1494; altered 1880; extensively restored 1990), the Superintendentur (1580), a three-story Renaissance building, the Mohrenbrunnen (Moor Fountain; 1727) and burghers' houses of the 16th-18th centuries.
Schloss Christianenburg (now occupied by local government offices) is a three-story Baroque building (1678-92) with an imposing doorway in the main block. The Schlosskirche (1680-92) has galleries round three sides, rich stucco decoration and wall and ceiling paintings by Italian artists; it is now used as a concert hall. The beautiful Schlossgarten was laid out in 1683 (rose-garden).
Thalbürgel, near Eisenberg, has a Benedictine church, a Romanesque basilica founded in 1133. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1526 the buildings fell into a state of dilapidation; they were restored in "historicizing" style between 1863 and 1890.
In the charming old town center in Eisenberg stands the Town Hall (1579, enlarged 1593), a three-story Renaissance building with two towers and two richly decorated round-arched doorways.
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Burgel, Germany
