Naumburg

Naumburg is a town in southern Saxony-Anhalt, perhaps best known for its cathedral, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018.

The nearby district Bad Kösen is a sanatorium and saline bath. The district Schulpforte hosts the former monastery Pforta (German: Kloster Pforta) including the boarding school Landesschule Pforta.

Understand
Naumburg used to be a historical centre with its cathedral, old city and the proximity to the old Via Regia, and the several castles around, e.g. Neuenburg and Rudelsburg. Later on in the 20th century, it hosted a large number of soldiers in its garrison. After reunification, the population declined from 50,000 to below 35,000 inhabitants. Nowadays, tourism is receiving more focus in the area. Naumburg is the vine area of Saale-Unstrut, the smallest vine area of Germany. However, Naumburg is not a university city, so don't expect too many people to speak English.

By plane
The closest airport is Leipzig/Halle Airport, sometimes called Schkeuditz Airport, 22 km northwest of central Leipzig. Trains run between the airport and Leipzig Hbf every 30 minutes; the trip takes 14 or 18 minutes and costs €4.20. Then you change to a train to Naumburg, which is connected to the Leipzig railway network. When arriving at the main station from the airport you have to go up the stairs for connecting services.

By car
A9, running from Munich to Berlin, has an exit marked "Naumburg"; however, it is still 15 km to the city centre.

By train
Since the completion of the Leipzig/Halle–Erfurt high-speed route that bypasses Naumburg, intercity trains only call a few times per day: There is one ICE high-speed train from Hamburg (4 hr) and Berlin (2 hr) in the evening and regular intercity trains from Düsseldorf (5½ hr) via Kassel (2 hr 15 min) and from Stuttgart (5½ hr) via Nuremberg (3 hr), each 1–2 times a day.

Otherwise, you will have to change from intercity to regional trains in Halle, Erfurt or Leipzig. From each of these cities there is hourly service with "regional express" trains, taking between 35 (Halle) and 50 minutes (Leipzig).

Get around
All the inner city is in walkable distance. For trips to nearby Freyburg, Schulpforte or Bad Kösen try to catch a bus or more comfortable a taxi; if you are fit, a bicycle also does it.

See




Buy
By local wines from the Saale-Unstrut region.

Nearby

 * Bad Kösen, 7 km west, brine well and health resort
 * Rudelsburg, 11 km southwest (another 4 km from Bad Kösen), romantic ruined castle from the 12th century, considered one of the most beautiful castles on the Saale and was idealised by artists and poets. Just across a valley is the similar Saaleck Castle.
 * Goseck, 9 km northeast, neolithic circular enclosure with a reconstructed wooden pallisade, that was probably used as an early solar observatory and calendar, sometimes compared to Stonehenge. Moreover there is a medieval castle-turned-monastery.
 * Freyburg, 10 km north, is the heartland of the Saale-Unstrut wine region, home to the Rotkäppchen sparkling wine factory incl. museum and the home city of "Turnvater" Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who made gymnastics and sports popular in the 19th century. Another sight is the high-medieval Neuenburg Castle on a hilltop above the town. Naumburg and Freyburg are linked by the Unstrut cycle path.
 * Eckartsburg in Eckarstsberga, 20 km west, well-preserved Romanesque hilltop castle
 * Nebra Ark Visitor Centre, 33 km northwest, finding place of the precious bronze sky disk from 3000 BC. On the Unstrut cycle trail beyond Freyburg.
 * Memleben, 35 km northwest (another 5 km from Nebra), early medieval power center, the site of the lost imperial palace is yet to be identified, the remains of the monumental Romanesque abbey can however be visited as well as a museum informing about the history of the place.

Go next

 * Merseburg, 30 km north, more than thousand-year-old town with interesting old centre, Romanesque/Gothic cathedral and Renaissance palace (c. 25 minutes by train)
 * Jena, 33 km south, university city and research centre, picturesque old town and modern high-tech industries (half hour by train)
 * Weimar, 50 km southwest, Germany's "classical city", where several poets, philosophers and artists of the classical era lived and worked, is half an hour away by train.
 * Halle, about 50 km north. Has some great things to see. Largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, birthplace of George Frideric Handel and has a few castles (35–40 minutes by train).
 * Leipzig, 60 km northeast, trade city and cultural metropolis, "boom town" of Eastern Germany (45–50 minutes by train).
 * Erfurt, 75 km southwest, state capital of Thuringia, medieval old city (45–50 minutes by train).