Host cities & Regions (2018-2023)

Weimar

 

 

The city's outstanding role as an intellectual centre in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries directly shapes the cityscape with its buildings and parklands. The small tranquil town on the Ilm was the centre and origin of great cultural and intellectual events.
Hardly any guest of the city can really escape the "myth of Weimar", that fascination of five centuries.

Cranach, Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland wrote cultural history here - poets, artists and musicians struggled for supreme mastery.

But Weimar's beautiful side cannot be mentioned without also speaking of it´s other side - that side through which Weimar gained a sad notoriety in the 20th century:
84 years ago, the Buchenwald concentration camp was also built here in this city, which was supposed to stand for Germany's democratic history with the name of the "Weimar Republic".

If you look north out of the city, you can see the large tower that reminds and admonishes you of this history of Weimar from afar.

Today, in addition to its ambivalent history, Weimar is known for its cosmopolitanism, its vibrant city centre and numerous large and small events that attract not only Weimar residents but also many guests.

And last but not least, Weimar is also a sports town, with over 10,000 people in Weimar registered and organised in sports clubs. Whether junior or senior, amateur or professional athlete - the fascination of movement unites everyone.
Time and again, Weimar is the venue for major sporting events. Most recently in 2019, for example, when the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus Marathon took place here with around 2,500 participants. In the summer of 2021, the Tour of Germany visited Weimar in stages. In 2022, it will stay for two days. The tour will start here and will be an ambassador for Weimar and the region at the same time.  

The city welcomes all participants and guests with a warm "SALVE"!

www.weimar.de

Meiningen

 

 

Situated between the Rhön Mountains and the Thuringian Forest in the Werra Valley, Meiningen is the city pearl of southern Thuringia. Surrounded by forests with a variety of hiking and cycling trails, the town impresses with its sophisticated classicist architecture, unique natural monuments, significant cultural history and a modern, multifaceted city life.

Meiningen gained international fame in the second half of the 19th century. George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, revolutionised the theatre world. He implemented his own artistic ideas in the Meiningen Court Theatre after taking office in 1866. The Duke became the first real director in theatre history and his groundbreaking ideas continue to influence directing to this day. The fame of the theatre duke is still tangible today in the pretty Thuringian town. In the theatre museum, the exhibition "Magic World of the Set" shows impressive stage sets from the ducal theatre era. In the imposing baroque Elisabethenburg Palace, the living quarters of George II can be visited. The old court theatre burned down in 1908, and the following year the Meiningen State Theatre was opened on the same site. To this day, the renowned theatre is a Mecca for theatre fans from all over Germany and presents productions of the highest standard, from opera to drama to ballet.

Meiningen has given a home to many famous personalities such as Jean Paul, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig Bechstein or Max Reger in its tradition-steeped history and is still home to a small, fine artistic scene with singers, actors, sculptors and painters.

The impressive cultural programme counts more than 1,000 events and festivals per year. The annual series of events such as "GrasGrün", the "Meininger Kleinkunsttage", the "Frühlingslese" and the Thuringian "Märchen- und Sagenfest" (Fairy Tale and Legend Festival) are known far beyond the state's borders and are supported by top-class national and international artists of the respective genres.

Artists, thinkers, writers and musicians have left their mark on the town's history over the centuries. Today Meiningen is also a special attraction for technology freaks and railway enthusiasts. Their enthusiasm is for the Deutsche Bahn steam locomotive works. The last major repair plant for steam locomotives in Western Europe has developed into a centre of excellence for historic rail vehicles. Customers from all over the world commission repairs, and steam locomotives are also rebuilt.

In addition to international attractions such as the steam locomotive works, the state theatre, Elisabethenburg Castle and the Goetz Cave, Europe's largest accessible fissure and crevice cave, Meiningen's unique character is characterised by two spacious landscape parks, the pale ditches that flow around the town centre in the shape of a harp, and architectural gems. These include Büchner's Hinterhaus, a 350-year-old half-timbered building with a richly decorated façade, Henneberger Haus and Fronveste - once a prison, now a hotel with a beautiful view over the town.

The Meiningen districts of Dreißigacker, Herpf, Henneberg, Stepfershausen, Walldorf, Wallbach, Einödhausen, Unterharles and Träbes complete Meiningen's townscape with a variety of cycling and hiking trails and excursion destinations. Small castles, castle ruins, lovingly restored half-timbered houses and show mines invite you to get to know Meiningen and its surrounding area.

www.meiningen.de

Marburg

 

 

History, culture and science are not just slogans in Marburg, here they are lived and experienced. The open-minded university town delights students, conference guests and visitors from all over the world with its unique ambience, high-quality cultural offerings and versatile event venues. Even from afar, the view of the imposing castle with its 1000-year architectural history is impressive. From the Elisabethkirche in the valley, the ensemble of exemplary renovated half-timbered houses and time-honoured churches, traditional cafés and student pubs as well as shopping facilities in attractive business premises stretches up the slope. The expansion of the new university campus and municipal facilities in ultra-modern, architecturally sophisticated buildings make for a successful future-oriented addition to the tradition-rich city centre.
In 2022, the university city will celebrate its 800th city anniversary together with the Deutschland Tour and host the finish of the second stage on 26 August. In 2019, it was already one of six stage locations of the Deutschland Tour - as the finish of the second stage.

www.marburg.de

 

Freiburg

 

 

Spoiled by the sun and full of joie de vivre - this is how Freiburg welcomes its guests. Great thinkers such as Heidegger, Husserl and Eucken have worked in this traditional university town with its winding streets and idyllic courtyards. Freiburg is a historic city with over 900 years of history, but not a city of yesterday. Today it presents itself as a first-class science location in Germany. And not only because the bicycle is one of the most popular means of transport, Freiburg also enjoys an excellent reputation as a sports city. Golf courses, sports and tennis facilities, the thermal baths, hiking trails, an extensive network of cycle paths - in one of the greenest cities in Germany, active visitors have numerous opportunities to explore the city and the region.

The Schauinsland is Freiburg's local mountain. Whenever clouds and fog dominate the city, Freiburg residents like to head for the top. The Schauinsland cable car takes you up the mountain. At an altitude of over 1,200 metres, you can enjoy a fantastic panorama that stretches all the way to the Alps.

Freiburg's most beautiful sights include the Minster with its world-famous 116-metre tower, the "Historic Department Store" and the two city gates "Martinstor" and "Schwabentor". The historic city centre is also the vibrant centre of today's Freiburg, and its extensive pedestrian zone with numerous shops, boutiques and arcades makes strolling and shopping a real pleasure. On the Münsterplatz, a large and colourful weekly market takes place every weekday morning.

You can't imagine Freiburg without the famous "Bächle". They run through the city centre over a total length of 9 kilometres and are now a popular tourist attraction. But be careful - according to legend, anyone who accidentally steps in must marry a Freiburg citizen.

https://visit.freiburg.de/

Region Belchen -
Breisgau -
Schauinsland

 

"Wild Black Forest above, mild Breisgau below" - the two temperaments of the Belchen - Breisgau - Schauinsland region.

Between the Belchen (1414m) and the Schauinsland (1284m), the Black Forest shows its wild side: striking peaks, imposing rocks, deep gorges and rustic mountain forests.

The Münstertal makes this landscape accessible to you in a comfortable way. Extensive meadow valleys lead deep into the mountains. Halfway up, the magnificent Black Forest farms greet you - and the venerable monastery of St. Trudpert reveals that people were already drawn to the Black Forest here in the early Middle Ages. At the end of the valley, the Faust town of Staufen awaits you with its medieval town centre. The historical Doctor Faust met his mysterious death here - so mysterious that it ignited world literature. From the defiant castle ruins towering over the town, the view sweeps over the vineyards of the Breisgau and the Markgräflerland to the spa town of Bad Krozingen, which beckons with its thermal spa landscape and revives tired cyclists' legs. What makes the cyclist's heart particularly happy: you can switch at will between mountain passes, wild Black Forest peaks, gentle hills and the Rhine plain all the way to the Vosges - in short: an ideal training area for every level.

www.muenstertal-staufen.de

Schiltach

 

 

Schiltach is located in the upper Kinzig valley in the Black Forest, at an altitude between 300 - 842 metres and is a state-recognised climatic health resort with around 4,000 inhabitants.

Half-timbered houses, rafting, a living history and picturesque squares await visitors to the small town of Schiltach. The town has always cultivated its traditions and cultural treasures such as the rafting and sawing crafts or the exhibits in the numerous museums and is happy to present them to its guests. Schiltach lies at the confluence of the Schiltach and Kinzig rivers, lined by wooded slopes. It is a wonderful place from which to discover nature, as Schiltach not only offers hiking and cycling trails, but is also the gateway to the Black Forest Nature Park Central/North. There are many charming places to discover in and around the town.

A living piece of Black Forest history
Old town, rafting or museums - Schiltach offers a wide range of different guided tours. Visitors stroll through the history of rafting, tanning or industrial development and bath design.

From May to September, you can take part in a free guided tour of Schiltach every Friday at 3:00 pm (meeting point: Schüttesäge, Hauptstraße 1). Theatre city tours and thematic city tours, e.g. on the topics of rafting or half-timbered houses, are also available.

www.schiltach.de

Stuttgart

 

 

Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, is home to over 600,000 people. As one of the economic powerhouses of Europe, it is known for its technological leadership and excellent universities. Stuttgart also inspires with its wide range of cultural events: the ballet and opera in particular have a world-wide reputation.

Road cycling has a great tradition in the state capital Stuttgart. The city hosted the Road Cycling World Championships in 1991 and 2007, a "Tour de France" stage and several stages of the former Deutschland Tour. In 2018, road cycling returned to Stuttgart with the Deutschland Tour and its Jedermann Tour. The German Road Cycling Championships and the Brezel Race Stuttgart & Region followed as road cycling highlights in 2021.

Sport and exercise enjoy a high priority in Stuttgart. The city's goal is to provide sports and exercise facilities for all population groups, performance levels and ages, including the appropriate sports facilities. Cycling also benefits from this.

A BMX Supercross track makes Stuttgart a centre for top BMX athletes from all over Europe. For all courageous bikers, Stuttgart also has a legal downhill track, the "Woodpecker Trail". Suitable for every fitness level is the Radel-Thon: the circular route, divided into four tours, leads over 83 km around the Stuttgart basin.

The bicycle is not just a piece of sports equipment in Stuttgart. The people of Stuttgart see the bicycle as an urban, environmentally conscious means of transport and are pedalling more and more often - often electrically assisted due to the beautiful topography. Through the continuous expansion of the cycle path network, the share of cycling in total traffic is to be increased to 25 percent in the long term.

www.stuttgart.de

 

Region Stuttgart

 

 

The Stuttgart region is the core region of Baden-Württemberg and one of the strongest business locations in Europe. Many global players are based here - Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch, Trumpf or Festo are just a few well-known names. People from around 180 countries live and work in the region's 179 municipalities. At the same time, around three quarters of the region's land is forest, meadow or agriculture. Varied landscapes offer local recreation and a wide range of leisure activities right on the doorstep: scattered orchards on the Alb ridge, vineyards in the river valleys of the Neckar and Rems and on steep slopes with spectacular rock formations, ancient forests in the Schönbuch or in the Swabian Forest as well as numerous historic half-timbered towns provide a wonderful backdrop for cycling excursions and tours in hilly countryside. Highlights include the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the UNESCO biosphere area of the Swabian Alb or the twelve architecture stations in the Rems Valley, which have also won many awards.

Wonderful impressions can be gained not only on the Neckar Valley Cycle Route, but also, for example, on the Remstal Cycle Route, the Württemberg Wine Cycle Route, along the Industrial Culture Route or on the "Discovery Tour - Cultural Landscape between Heckengäu and Schönbuch". And for those who prefer a more leisurely ride, the e-bike route has been specially developed for e-bike riders: the 400-kilometre long, varied route of the "Stuttgart e-bike region" around the capital of Baden-Württemberg.

Sustainable mobility is a priority here - for example with the inter-municipal bike rental system RegioRadStuttgart with more than 220 stations throughout the region or with cycle expressways that are being planned and promoted between the major centres of the region. The enthusiasm for cycling is also evident in the sporting arena. In 2018, for example, the final stage of the first relaunched Tour of Germany ended in Stuttgart and the region. In 2021, the professionals competed here in the German Road Cycling Championships, accompanied by the "Pretzel Race" for everyone.

And if you want to combine cycling with tourist attractions, this can be wonderfully complemented with cultural offerings throughout the region. You can head for one of the many galleries or museums, such as the Stihl Gallery in Waiblingen, the Göppingen Art Gallery, the Ritter Museum with chocolate exhibition in Waldenbuch or the Märklineum in Göppingen and, last but not least, the German Literature Archive in Marbach. The baroque residential palace in Ludwigsburg with its parks or Esslingen Castle are just as much evidence of the magnificent history as picturesque medieval towns that invite you to linger with their alleyways. Or simply relax on the banks of the Neckar, Rems or Fils rivers - the region has created the best conditions for this with its landscape park projects.

www.stuttgart-tourist.de

Erlangen

 

 

Erlangen presents itself as "Bavaria's smallest metropolis", multi-faceted and dynamic. Located in the heart of the Nuremberg metropolitan region, it combines Franconian tradition, student flair and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. These attributes make the Huguenot city worth living and lovable. Internationally, Erlangen enjoys the highest reputation as a business location for Siemens and innovative companies in the medical technology sector. The dynamically growing city also owes its worldwide reputation to the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, which with its 40,000 students shapes the cityscape. The wide range of cultural events, such as the International Comic Salon, the Poet-Festival and the “international figuren.theater.festival”, is a showcase for a flourishing cultural scene. And as a tip for cycling fans: in no other Bavarian city is the proportion of cyclists higher than in the Huguenot City, which makes Erlangen the secret cycling capital of Bavaria...

www.erlangen.info

 

Nürnberg

 

 

Nürnberg is the liveliest city in northern Bavaria, with a visible, nearly thousand-year history. The innovation-friendly city is the center of a European metropolitan region with around 3.6 million people. Surveys in Europe and around the world constantly confirm its high quality of life with good infrastructure, respected universities and research centers, variety of cultural facilities, and model social projects. It also offers all the advantages of a big city, a high level of security and a clean environment. Nürnberg's historical Old Town with the overwhelming Kaiserburg, neighborhoods with tradition and character, a varied offering of sport and leisure activities, attractive living and work possiblities and a moderate price level make the city attractive. For shopping, malls and shopping streets are on offer, as are numerous markets in this „Bio“ and fair trade town. Recreational areas, which are vacation destinations for many guests from other regions, lie directly there at one's house door.

Nürnberg's growing population is cosmopolitan: 21 percent of the inhabitants do not have German citizenship. This co-existence in Nürnberg of different generations, religions and nationalities is marked by tolerance. Multi-cultural festivals and open-air events are a part of this co-existence, which the city also promotes through varied integration activities. The city is „friends“ with 21 cities around the world. Every two years „the City of Peace and Human Rights“ awards the International Nürnberg Human Rights Prize.

 

www.nuernberg.de

Thüringen

 

 

Take a deep breath in original landscape. Marvel at incomparable cultural highlights. Enjoy life in urban areas. Thuringia is one thing above all: versatile. The proximity of nature and culture is unique. In the morning in the Hainich National Park, in the afternoon at the Wartburg - both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Thuringia makes it possible. Weimar is equally fascinating. The classic city is the transit point of the second stage of the Deutschland Tour 2020 and home to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. From Weimar the riders go to Ilmenau. The stage ends here, on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest. Ilmenau is known for its technical university, which is one of the best in Germany. You can also study in other places in Thuringia in a stimulating environment and under good conditions.


www.das-ist-thueringen.de

 

 

Mecklenburg-

Vorpommern

 

Willkommen im Land zum Leben. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern lockt mit seiner Vielfalt, bietet Genuss für alle Sinne. Es ist die einzigartige Mischung aus unberührter Natur, ob an den vielen Seen oder dem Strand der Ostsee, ob aus Kultur und urbanem Flair in Städten zwischen jahrhundertealter Tradition und innovativer Moderne. All das zieht Menschen an und lässt sie bleiben. Arbeiten, studieren, forschen, gründen, investieren, genießen; dazu ein einzigartiges Lebensgefühl – das ist MV. Drei Nationalparks, sechs Naturparks und drei Biosphärenreservate, dazu viele Naturschutzgebiete und eine vielfältige Kulturlandschaft machen den Charakter unserer Natur aus. Sie ist Ursprung natürlicher Lebensmittel von bester Qualität und besonderem Geschmack, gemacht in handwerklicher Tradition und mit moderner Leichtigkeit. Studierende und Wissenschaftler aus dem In- und Ausland finden hier moderne Universitäten und Hochschulen mit anerkannter Qualität in Lehre und Forschung. Das Land bietet zudem ein sehr gutes Investitionsklima durch seine geografische Lage, zukunftsorientierte Branchen und kurze Wege. Die Hansestadt Stralsund und die Landeshauptstadt Schwerin sind stolz, Start- und Etappenorte der Deutschlandtour 2021 zu sein.

www.mv.de