Erfurt has a rich historical heritage in general and is home to one of the largest contiguous medieval old towns in Europe. There are three buildings in the city center that are now among the most important legacies of mankind: The Old Synagogue is considered one of the oldest synagogues in Central Europe that has been preserved up to its roof. Today, the building, whose construction began back in 1094, houses a museum documenting medieval Jewish life in the city. Not far away is a medieval ritual bath, a mikveh. The Stone House, built around 1250, is also located in the old part of town. Thuringia now boasts five World Heritage Sites. The title was awarded to the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1996 and to classical Weimar as the place where Goethe and Schiller worked in 1998. Wartburg Castle near Eisenach made it onto the UNESCO list in 1999, followed by the ancient beech forests in Hainich National Park in 2011. (hw)
