Easy hikes and walks around Mühlhausen/Thüringen

Delicious ice cream and coffee at affordable prices

Directly below the parking lot.

The inner, oldest city wall of Mühlhausen was almost 2.8 kilometers long (of which 2.2 kilometers are preserved to this day) and enclosed an area of around 50 hectares. This area had the shape of a slightly rounded and not entirely regular rectangle, whose maximum east-west extent is almost twice as long (1000 meters) as its maximum north-south extent (500 meters). Its original structure included the four main gates, namely the Görmartor in the northeast, the Erfurter Tor in the southeast, the Felchtaer Tor in the southwest, and the Frauentor, named after the Marienkirche (=Frauenkirche), in the northwest, as well as probably four posterns: the Eselspforte and the Burgpforte on the north side, and the - unnamed - postern at the exit of Brunnenkreßstraße and another, only inferred, postern to Spielbergstraße on the south side. It is unclear whether the original main access to the castle via Breitenstraße was already closed with the construction of the wall between the castle and the city before 1251 or only after the demolition of the castle from 1256 onwards. As material for the inner (and later also outer) city wall, including the gates and towers, the travertine found in Mühlhausen and quarried here was used, a geologically young freshwater limestone. The inner city wall was constructed as a double-shell masonry. Its thickness up to the height of the rampart varies between approximately 1.5 meters and - reached only exceptionally - a maximum of 2 meters. Source: https://www.muehlhausen.de/tourismus/erkunden/sehenswuerdigkeiten/besondere-baudenkmaeler/stadtmauer/

The church is the parish church of the Mühlhausen old town and was gifted to the Teutonic Order in 1227. The current building was constructed between 1270 and 1300 as an early Gothic hall church, influenced by French cathedral architecture. It possesses significant art-historical elements such as a rose window, medieval stained glass, a late Gothic carved altar, and tomb slabs of important personalities. After the Reformation, religious expressions changed, and much of the original furnishings were lost. The west towers still date from the predecessor building and house historical bells. The church also developed into an important center for Protestant church music, with a peak in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach in the early 18th century.

From the Hohen Graben, visitors enjoy a beautiful view of the imposing double-towered St. James' Church. Construction of the present-day St. James' Church began around 1280. An inscription, now lost, attributes the imperial figure in the arch of the north portal to Henry VII. Another inscription names 1363 as the year of completion of the church. The motif of the unequal couple is taken up in the impressive tower group completed in 1418. After the Reformation, the church seems to have been used only sporadically. It lost almost all its furnishings in the last century. St. James' Church was extensively renovated from 1992 to 2004 with financial support from the state of Thuringia, the federal-state program "Urban Monument Protection," and the German Foundation for Monument Protection. Since April 2004, St. James' Church has housed the city library with a children's library and a sound library. Interesting for visitors: so-called "Archaeological Windows" provide insights into the church's construction history. Source: https://www.thueringen.info/kultur/muehlhausen-stadtbibliothek-jakobikirche/

Is the café still open?

The house is a gem with a richly decorated facade on Mühlhäuser Untermarkt. After a comprehensive renovation, it shines again in its new splendor. about the history: The "Tilesius House" at Untermarkt 16 was built in 1729 in the Rococo style. The resident Adolph Gottlieb Tilesius was the last mayor (1794-1802) of the Free Imperial City of Mühlhausen. He was buried in 1802 in the New Cemetery on Eisenacher Straße. Beneath the house are even older vaulted cellars from the predecessor building. During the GDR era, the Department of Public Education of the District Council was located here. Source: https://www.muehlhausen.de/tourismus/sehenswuerdigkeiten/buerger-und-fachwerkhaeuser/

Since April 2004, the Mühlhausen city library has been located in the renovated and converted Jakobikirche. Here, the main library, children's library, and phonotheque have been brought together under one roof. As a cultural and educational institution, working with children, particularly promoting reading, is a focus of the library team's activities. The Jakobikirche is also a popular venue for lectures, author readings, and concerts. Since 2021, the city library has also offered a scientific and local history reference library in the Jakobikirche. The user workstations of the Mühlhausen City Archives are also located there. Source: https://www.muehlhausen.de/rathaus-erkunden/stadtverwaltung/stadtarchiv-stadtbibliothek/stadtbibliothek-jakobikirche/