Luther Trail Tour Tip: 'Luther's silence' – Cycle tour Erfurt – Weimar – Jena
The first section takes you to Weimar. Luther often came here as a young monk on behalf of his order, and he frequently stopped there on his numerous journeys through central Germany. His last visit was in 1540 to see his very sick friend Philip Melanchthon, who made a miraculous recovery after Luther’s visit.
Almost 300 years later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said this about Luther:
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Luther and the Reformation in general. We are free of the shackles of spiritual narrow-mindedness, and as a result of our continuously growing culture we have been able to return to the source and grasp Christianity in all its pureness. We once again have the courage to stand firmly on God’s earth and to sense ourselves in our God-given human nature.”
The second section of the cycle tour leads from the town of Melanchthon and Cranach along the River Ilm, through fields and meadows into the Kernberge mountain range and the town of Jena, which Luther visited at least eleven times. This is where he settled a score with a former ally, Andreas Bodenstein (known as Karlstadt), who instead of choosing Luther’s non-violent route to Reformation encouraged the people to attack monasteries and other religious institutions. The University of Jena, founded in 1558, is also a product of the Reformation, albeit a late one.
From the tower of the town church – where Luther preached and where his bronze gravestone is displayed – you can get a good view of the individual stations of the Luther Trail, which criss-crosses the town.
Author’s recommendation

Track types
Rest stops
Gasthaus Feuerkugel - ErfurtMittelalterrestaurant "Lutherkeller" - Erfurt
Hotel Elephant, a luxury Collection Hotel - Weimar
Hotel & Gaststätte "Zur Noll" - Jena
Hotel Schwarzer Bär**** - Jena
Safety information
The cycle tour uses some public roads. Please make sure that your bicycle conforms to national road traffic regulations.Tips and hints
The Thuringian Chain-of-Towns Cycle Trail stretches from West to East to the federal border of Thuringia. The entire route for a multi-day trip can be found here.Start
Destination
Turn-by-turn directions
Public transport
Public-transport-friendly
You can get to Erfurt from anywhere in Germany via Deutsche Bahn. Once you arrive in Erfurt, take tram number 1 (towards Europaplatz) or number 5 (towards Zoopark) to get to the Augustinian Monastery. Timetable information (Germany only)You can travel back from Jena using the DB Regio trains. Timetable
By road
From the A4, take exit 46 ‘Erfurt-West’ towards Erfurt via Arnstädter Straße. Cross Schillerstraße at the Kaffeetrichter intersection and continue onto Juri-Gagarin-Ring. Turn right until Boyneburgufer and then continue straight ahead on ‘Am Hügel’. At the end of the ring, turn left into Augustinerstraße.Parking
Please use the car park on Huttenplatz. LinkCoordinates
Author’s map recommendations
Equipment
Lightweight luggage, drinkStatistics
- 76 Waypoints
- 76 Waypoints
Questions and answers
Would you like to the ask the author a question?
Rating
Help others by being the first to add a review.
Photos from others