In the distance from our aire in Eisenach we could see Wartburg Castle. It looked impressive and we read it was on the UNESCO World Heritage list so we had to visit it.

The parking was mega expensive at 12 euro so we left 1 van at a shopping centre and took only 1 up the hill to the parking.

It was now 33 degrees so instead of walking up the very steep hill from the parking lot we took the shuttle bus at 4 euro per person. It was money well spent! 

Wartburg is 1000 years old and famous as the refuge where Martin Luther translated the New Testament, and the home of Saint Elizabeth.

We were given audio guides to go round the castle. 

The castle had been renovated in the 1800s when it fell into major disrepair, and wall paintings had been done in the early 1900s – so it was a mix of old and new.  

The minstrel room is where 12 minstrels had performed in a competition for the lord of the castle. The one coming last was killed. A painting from the time shows the competition in this room with the stage where the lord sat.

There are amazing shiny mosaic decorations  on the walls and ceiling of St Elizabeth’ s room where she used to spend time practicing poverty weaving with her ladies in waiting.

She had a very interesting life. She was born in 1207 to the king of Hungary. At 4 years old she was sent to live in Wartburg Castle with her future husband Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia. They married when she was 14 and they had a loving marriage with 3 children. 

Louis went on crusades but died of sickness on the way. Elizabeth was only 20.

She was spending a lot of money on the sick and poor so her relatives threw her out of the Castle penniless. She managed to get part of her dowry back which she used to set up hospitals and looked after the sick herself. Unfortunately she died at only 24. Later after many miracles she was canonised as a Saint.

The paintings in the next room show the story of her life.

The large banquet room at the top of the castle was used as a meeting place for students in the 1800s. This is where the principles of German democracy came to be set up. This flag is the first use of black and red which is now part of the German flag. It would be great to attend one of the many music events here.

We then went into the museum. The lord of the castle in the 1800s decided to become a collector – so there are many, many items. Only part of the collection is on show. 

There were many old bibles due to the Martin Luther connection.

Musical instruments from the 1500s were very intricate.

The cutlery room was amazing with a huge collection of very fancy sets.

There was also a large tiled heater from the 1600s that I particularly liked.

Next was Martin Luther’s room which had been stripped back to look like it would have in the 1600s. You come to it walking along a covered corridor along the top of the castle wall.  

This room is where he translated the original Greek bible into the German language of the day. This made the bible more accessible to everyone. 
The dragon well was very impressive.

After finishing all that we walked down the hill to the car park – it was very steep. We were glad again we didn’t climb up earlier.

We headed back to shops and had sushi in the cool shopping centre while we were there. We enjoyed a scout around Action – a discount shop with lots of things that might be handy at low prices. 

We then started the long drive of 270km to Camping Colditz. At one point we could see 3 castles.

We arrived at the campsite just before reception closed at 8pm. We got set up in a nice grassy spot near the trees. 

I immediately got into making dinner of a super fast chicken curry that we all enjoyed – thanks Recipetin Eats! We enjoyed the Swiss chocolate given to us by Carsten from Switzerland last night.

Lisa had the first shower and had a difficult time – she put her euro in the machine and the water immediately came on. She had only 4 minutes of water. Unfortunately she still had conditioner in her hair when it stopped. She then had to run out of the shower to put another euro in the machine. The shower was also like a hard concentrated stream of water- it was like being hosed down. 

I had a go next and was forewarned. But didn’t enjoy being hosed down. 

We went to bed immediately- we have another big day tomorrow!