Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Meiningen (Germany). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Meininger Staatstheater, Elisabethenburg Palace, and Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works. Also, be sure to include Schloss Landsberg in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Meiningen (Thuringia).
Table of Contents
Meininger Staatstheater
Theater in Meiningen, Germany. The Meiningen Theatre, now called the Meininger Staatstheater, is a four-division theater in the Thuringian town of Meiningen. The theatre offers music theatre, drama, concerts and puppet theatre. The programme is further enhanced by the inclusion of ballet performances produced and performed by Landestheater Eisenach. The orchestra affiliated with the theatre is the Meininger Hofkapelle. Until 2017, the theatre operated as "Südthüringisches Staatstheater" before changing its name to "Meininger Staatstheater". It is jointly funded by the state, city and county of Schmalkalden Meiningen under the umbrella of the Cultural Foundation Meiningen-Eisenach, Thuringia.
Meiningen is the birthplace of the modern director's theatre which was famously promoted by the theatre's acting ensemble - dubbed as "Die Meininger" – during guest appearances throughout Europe in the years 1874 to 1890. Between 1880 and 1914, the Meininger Hofkapelle was conducted by Hans von Bülow, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Berger and Max Reger. To this day, this tradition, its history and further successes has secured the Meininger Theater a special place in the theatre world. The importance of the Meiningen Theatre is highlighted by the Thuringian region naming Meiningen "Theaterstadt" (theatre town).[1]
Address: Bernhardstr. 5, 98617 Meiningen
Elisabethenburg Palace
Also known as: Schloss Elisabethenburg
Museum. Elisabethenburg Palace is a Baroque palace located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. The castle now houses the Meininger Museum as well as the Max Reger archives, the Thuringian State Archives, the Max Reger music school, the Johannes Brahms concert hall, a restaurant, the tower Cafe, and the ceremonial rooms of the Meinigen City Council and Registry Office.[2]
Address: Schlossplatz 1, Meiningen
Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works
Also known as: Dampflokwerk Meiningen
Railroad contractor in Meiningen, Germany. The Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works is a railway repair shop in Meiningen, Germany. It is owned by Deutsche Bahn and has specialised in the maintenance of museum steam locomotives since 1990, having extensive experience in maintaining steam engines. Today, customers of the factory include railway museums and museum railways from all over Europe. The factory is responsible for the safety inspections of all operational German steam locomotives.
Dampflokwerk Meiningen is the only facility in Europe capable of constructing new locomotive boilers up to modern standards of construction, performance, and safety. The newly built British steam locomotive 60163 Tornado that was delivered in 2008 had her all-steel, high-performance boiler made at Meiningen; the only part that could not be made in Britain.[3]
Schloss Landsberg
Landsberg Castle in Meiningen is a former pleasure palace of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen and housed a romantic first-class hotel until December 2013.
The castle was built on the ruins of Landeswehre Castle, which was destroyed in the Peasants' War, between 1836 and 1840 and is located on the northern outskirts of the district town of Meiningen on a 378-meter-high mountain cone that juts into the Werra Valley between the Meiningen district of Walldorf and Meiningen. Landsberg Castle has been owned by a Chinese consortium since 2016, which intends to continue operating it as a hotel.
Address: Landsberger Straße 150, Meiningen
Wasserhochbehälter
Gedenkstein Fritz Scherer
Fritz Scherer was an anarchist migrant worker and bookbinder.
Dampflok Erlebniswelt
Address: Am Flutgraben 2, Meiningen
Bakuninhütte
The Bakunin Hut is a cultural monument of anarcho-syndicalism near Meiningen on the 498 meter high mountain Hohe Maas. Named after Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian revolutionary, anarchist and opponent of Karl Marx, the hut was built from 1926 by the syndicalists of the Meiningen chapter of the Free Workers' Union of Germany.
The Bakunin Hut, the Bakunin Memorial Stone belonging to it and the historic property have been recognized as a cultural monument by the Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeology for historical and scientific reasons since September 2015. This status refers to the historical function of this site: originally as a refuge, later as an excursion and hiking destination, as well as a training and recreation site for the labor movement.
Since October 2018, the Bakuninhütte is a Naturefriends connection house.