Greiz

Greiz is a town in southeastern Thuringia , situated directly on the border with Saxony. The town lies in the valley of the White Elster River in the Thuringian Vogtland region . Due to its picturesque location in a valley basin and its numerous historical buildings, it is nicknamed the Pearl of the Vogtland. Greiz is characterized by large Gründerzeit-era buildings in the Historicist and Art Nouveau styles , which testify to the city's former wealth resulting from the textile industry. The Upper Castle, built on a 50-meter-high, elongated hill of clay slate in the valley of the White Elster River, is the landmark of the city. It is an architecturally valuable and striking cultural monument.

RR: Australia & New Zealand x world
Date: Dec 8

Wild Cat Village

Meet Emil. Hütscheroda, which has been known as the Wild Cat Village since 2012, is located in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Hainich National Park - just a stone's throw away from Wartburg Castle and the treetop trail. In the Wildcat Village, wild cats (males) are kept in four spacious and natural enclosures. A pair of lynx have been at home in the adjacent lynx enclosure since 2019.

Unesco: Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
RR: 10 Countries RR
Date: Dec 27

Bad Sulza

The picturesque spa and wine town of Bad Sulza, situated on the banks of the Ilm River. The historic inhalatorium in the middle of the spa park in Bad Sulza currently houses the tourist information office. The spa park is protected as a historic monument.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Dec 15

Thüringer Zoopark Erfurt

Thüringer Zoopark Erfurt is located in the north of the state capital Erfurt on the Red Mountain and is with almost 63 hectares the third largest scientifically managed zoo in Germany. It currently has the largest facility for African elephants in Germany. The facility was inaugurated in 2014 and is home to the bull elephant Kibo and the elephant cows Safari, Chupa and Csam. Chupa has two calves Ayoka (2020) and Banjoko (2024). The outdoor area alone is 11,000 m².

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: Oct 28

Trusetaler Waterfall

Built in 1865 by local miners, Trusetaler Wasserfall is regarded as the highest waterfall in the region of Thüringen and offers a picturesque view of its surrounding lush green forests.

RR: 10 Countries RR (20)
Date: March 25

Marienkirche

The Marienkirche is a late Gothic church in the Untermhaus district of Gera. The church is located on Mohrenplatz, the historic center of Untermhaus, on the Untermhäuser Bridge leading over the White Elster.

RR: Just Postcards RR
Date: Jan 1

Erfurt

Erfurt was once lauded as the City of Towers in reference to the lofty spires of the city's 25 parish churches, 15 abbeys and monasteries and ten chapels that stretch their way up to the heavens. Particularly striking are St. Mary's Cathedral and the Church of St. Severus, as together these two masterful examples of German Gothic design form an architectural ensemble like no other in Europe. Nowadays, the church towers cast their shadows over the lovingly restored timbered-framed houses and beautiful Renaissance buildings of the historical city centre, where one of Germany's finest open-air theatre events, the Cathedral Steps Festival, takes place every year.

RR: January Alternative RR
Date: Jan 2

Ayoka

Ayoka is an African elephant calf in Erfurt Zoo, where it was born in August, 2020. The mother of the little ones is 16-year-old Chupa and father is 14-year-old Kibo . For both parents she is the first offspring, the first elephant offspring after 60 years of keeping elephants in the Zoopark Erfurt and a real F2 generation, as both parents were born in zoos. She weighed 114 kg at birth, was 93 cm tall and looked very fit.

RR: December Alternative RR
Date: Dec 20

Goethe´s Garden House

Goethe's garden house is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Classic Weimar', which, as unique testimony to the cultural epoch of Weimar Classic, reflects the outstanding role of Weimar as an intellectual centre in the late 18th and early 19th century. Goethe purchased the garden house and garden in April 1776. It was opened as a museum in 1886. The garden house was radically renovated in 1995/96. The type of museum exhibits had changed several times and the interior decoration was restored to its original condition. It is located in  Park an der Ilm, a large Landschaftspark in Weimar.

Unesco: Classical Weimar
Thanks a lot Sylvia.
RR: Many themes RR - Unesco
Date: Dec 20

Zeulenrodaer Meer

Zeulenroda-Triebes is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Its districts are located along the so-called Zeulenrodaer Meer, a beautifully-situated rural reservoir with three beaches.

Distance: 634 km
Travel time: 6 days

From Thüringen

I've been getting a very extreme amount of official postcrossing cards from Germany lately! This is another card from Thüringen. The card shows the Cathedral and the St. Severi church in Ertfurt, The Wartburg near Eisenach, Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar, the Jentower in Jena and Friedenstein Castle in Gotha.

Distance: 463 km
Travel time: 6 days

Wartburg Castle

The Wartburg is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of 410 meters to the southwest of Eisenach overlooking the town. In 1999, UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List. Wartburg Castle blends superbly into its forest surroundings and is in many ways "the ideal castle". Although it contains some sections of great antiquity, it acquired the current layout over the course of 19th-century reconstructions. This renewal of interest was justified by its symbolic nature for the German people, and today the castle continues to be a symbol of the nation's past and present. Its current state is a splendid example of what this fortress might have been at the peak of its military and seigneurial power.

Unesco: Wartburg Castle
Distance: 564 km
Travel time: 3 days