The Wartburg castle is by far the most popular tourist attraction. Following is a selection of other sights in Eisenach:
Karlsplatz: adjoins the Nikolaikirche (Church of St. Nicholas) and the Nikolaitor ( St. Nicholas Gate), the only surviving city gate in the town.
Marktplatz: the market square with the Georgenkirche (the Church of St. George), the town hall, the Baroque city castle, as well as a number of highly decorative administration buildings and merchants' houses. It also features the gilded market fountain designed by Hans Leonardt in 1549, of St George, the patron saint of Eisenach.
Jakobsplan: named after a chapel destroyed by fire in the Middle Ages. Jakobsplan comprises a monument to St George in the centre of the square, part of the old town walls (including one of the look-out towers, and the Goethe Garden
Frauenplan: a small courtyard-type square that takes its name from the "Church of Our Lady". The church was demolished for local defence strategies in 1306. Today Frauenplan is the location of the Bachhaus and the Bach Monument in front of it.
The Stadtschloss (town palace) is situated at the north end of the Market place and was built between 1742 and 1745. This palace was constructed to the plans of Gottfried Heinrich Krohne, architect of Ernst August I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Later Johann Wolfgang von Goethe frequently stayed here in his capacity as Weimar prime minister from 1777 on. Today the Stadtschloss acts as a venue for special exhibitions and as a museum for artistic and historical artifacts from Thuringia.
This former wine cellar on the market square became the townhall of Eisenach in 1596. The building, having been destroyed by fire in 1636, was rebuilt in 1641. The southern part of the complex suffered considerable damage in a bombing raid in 1945 during WW2. It was renovated in 1996 and it now houses the city administration offices and is connected to a savings bank.
Remnants of an early
