Get unlimited access to the latest travel industry news and analysis, comment on articles and sign up to newsletters.
Register for free
Already registered? Login here or below.
Having difficulty logging in? Try these tips, or contact support@flymy.co.uk
From the majestic symphonies of Beethoven to the breathtaking gothic architecture of Cologne Cathedral, Germany is certainly home to some of the world’s most significant cultural advances.
I met up with Klaus Lohmann, UK and Ireland director for the German National Tourist Office, at the Goethe- Institut in London. He was keen to share the country’s recent successes.
“Last year UK tourist numbers were up 7% on 2014 and for the period of January to June 2016, figures show a 5% spike on the same period in 2015,” he said.
Upcoming cultural highlights should continue to attract more UK visitors over the coming years, Lohmann explained. Foremost of these is Luther 2017. Next year the country will mark 500 years since the reformation, when Luther nailed his theses to the door of Witternberg’s Castle Church. Tributes will be paid in Wittenberg, Luther’s hometown of Eisleben and Berlin over the course of the year. The International Garden Exhibition in Berlin’s Marzahn-Hellersdorf district from April 18 to October 15 should also be a good draw for UK visitors, he added.
“It’s bigger than Hampton Court, Chelsea and Tatton Park shows combined.”
Highlights include urban gardening demonstrations, and an English garden recreation in the Gardens of the World exhibition.
Green-fingered clients should also relate to the British German Royal Heritage Route, which walks in the footsteps of former monarchs by way of their castles, gardens, palaces and forts. The latest addition is Hohenzollern Castle, famous for its suits of armour, the Prussian royal crown and the snuff box that saved the life of Frederick the Great, when, in his breast pocket, it deflected a musket ball.
Next year’s 500th anniversary of the Berchtesgaden Salt Mines will be as good a time as any to journey deep into the Bavarian caverns.
Dressed in miners’ overalls, visitors can descend two slides, ride on a miniature train and take a raft trip across the underground Mirror Lake.
There’s some quirky new product on offer too. Clients can spend a night stargazing in a schlafstrandkorb (a sleeping beach chair) on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. This quirky pod is big enough for two and has a retractable roof.
With typical German efficiency, the tourist board has campaigns lined up until 2020.
“Culinary Germany” is set to tease taste buds in 2018 and the 250th birthday of Ludwig Van Beethoven in 2020 will ensure the decade ends
with a resounding crescendo.
