Attractions and Places To See around Wethau - Top 20

What does the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts and Nevis have to do with Naumburg Cathedral? What has this country, which has only been independent for four decades and is one of the smallest states in the world with around 51,000 inhabitants and an area of just under 263 square kilometers (the Burgenland district is almost six times as large), done for the historic cathedral city on the Saale? Quite simply: without St. Kitts and Nevis, Naumburg Cathedral would not have become a World Heritage Site. In 2018, the mini-state was one of the 21 countries represented on the World Heritage Committee. After Naumburg's application for inclusion in the World Heritage List had already been rejected three times, St. Kitts and Nevis submitted the decisive amendment proposal along with written justification. On July 1, 2018, a majority of the World Heritage Committee approved this proposal. Naumburg Cathedral became a World Heritage Site.

In the second half of the 1240s, a second, largely late Romanesque cloister was built on the south side of the cathedral. A cross-ribbed vault was added around 1270. The original presence of two cloisters is remarkable and is related to the two existing foundations at the church. The northern cloister was probably initially used for the capitularies of the cathedral, then for those of the Marienstiftskirche, after the southern one was built for the clergy of the cathedral. While the east and north wings have largely been preserved in their late Romanesque form, only remnants of this remain in the west and south wings.

Museum & Exhibitions High above the wine-growing town of Freyburg lies Neuenburg, the sister castle of Wartburg, founded around 1090 by the Thuringian Count Ludwig the Springer. The first mighty complex was built by 1150. The rise of the Landgraves of Thuringia was accompanied by further magnificent expansion. By 1230, Neuenburg was already around three times as large as Wartburg! The Romanesque double chapel built around 1170/75 is still an architectural gem today. On behalf of Hermann I, Heinrich von Veldeke completed the Eneasroman around 1185, the first Middle High German knightly-courtly verse epic ever. Neuenburg experienced the end of its high medieval heyday under Landgrave Ludwig IV and his wife, Saint Elisabeth.

UNSTRUT Source near Kefferhausen in Eichsfeld (400m); Length 192 km; Estuary Großjena near Naumburg into the Saale The Unstrut rises west of Kefferhausen near Dingelstädt in northern Thuringia in southern Eichsfeld. In the Sachsenburg or Thuringian Gate it breaks through the Hainleite. In its lower reaches it flows in numerous loops through the Burgenland district in southern Saxony-Anhalt; below Memleben it is initially flanked by the Ziegelroda Plateau, near Laucha by the Dorndorf Plateau, near Freyburg by the limestone-rich Silent Mountains and flows into the Großjenaer Blumengrund near Naumburg Saale. SAALE Source near Zell in the Fichtelgebirge (728m); Length 413 km; Estuary near Barby into the Elbe The Saale rises in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia between Zell and Weißenstadt. The upper reaches of the Saale between Zell and Hof are quite leisurely. The river then runs straight through the Thuringian Slate Mountains. The Saale is dammed several times here. The area of the middle Saale begins with the river exiting the Thuringian Slate Mountains and entering the Triassic plate and hill country. After leaving the Saale-Unstrut-Triasland Nature Park near Naumburg, the lower reaches of the river begin. This runs in a flat landscape to the mouth of the Elbe near Barby. Source: http://www.reportagereisen.de/unstrut_01.html

A feast for the eyes and ears, a guided tour with an audio guide is a highlight. Since the cathedral no longer belongs to the church, you have to pay an entrance fee of €7.50 and €2 if you want to take pictures. But the money is well spent here.

The highlight of the cathedral is currently the new Naumburg Altar by Michael Triegel. It originally came from Lucas Cranach the Elder, who created it in 1519. Iconoclasts destroyed the central panel in 1541. The United Cathedral Donors commissioned the Erfurt artist, known for his Old Master style, to create a new central panel. The new part fits harmoniously between Cranach's Renaissance side wing and is located in the west choir of the cathedral. It can still be viewed until December 4th, then unfortunately it's supposed to be gone.

On the first weekend in Advent, the cloister is open to visitors and stalls sell handicrafts and sweets.

On the other side of the Wasserschlösschen also very interesting and a place with plenty of fish