Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [239]
Fahrrad Anschütz ( 403 909; Stiller Gasse 17; per day €5-10; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat) rents out city, touring and mountain bikes. A recommended route is the 28km Mommelstein-Radweg that follows a former railway line and some forest trails through a tunnel and viaduct (the tourist office has maps and directions).
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MEININGEN
03693 / pop 21,000
Tranquil, idyllic and blessed with vast expanses of parkland, Meiningen is one of the nicest towns in a region rife with rural gems. Some 30km south of Schmalkalden, it’s a former ducal residence with a long tradition in the performing arts. The resident theatre, founded in 1866 by Duke Georg II, went on tour, playing before sold-out audiences in London, Vienna, Moscow and other European cities. Georg II also catapulted the court orchestra (the Meininger Hofkapelle) to international fame by appointing pianist-conductor Hans von Bülow as musical director; the baton later passed to Richard Strauss and Max Reger. The theatre festival in early summer draws thousands of fans to the little town on the Werra River.
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Orientation & Information
The Schlosspark to the west and the English Garden to the north fringe Meiningen’s town centre. The train and bus stations are east of the English Garden, the site of the Meiningen Theater. Signs near the train station point across the English Garden towards the tourist office on Markt, which also has a post office and banks.
The tourist office ( 446 50; www.meiningen.de; Markt 14; 11am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat year-round, plus 10am-3pm Sun May-Oct) is behind the Stadtkirche (parish church). Das Waschcafé ( 885 571; Anton-Ulrich-Strasse 49; 9am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-10pm Sat) does triple duty as an internet cafe, laundry and travel agency.
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Sights
The lavish late-17th-century Schloss Elisabethenburg ( 503 641; www.meiningermuseen.de; adult/concession/family €4/2.50/7.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun) served as the ducal residence until 1918 and sports neo-Renaissance and other revivalist features in addition to the pure-baroque central floors of the main wing. Some rooms showcase paintings, sculpture, furniture and knick-knacks from throughout the ages, while others deal with Meiningen’s music and theatre traditions. Tickets are also good at the Baumbachhaus ( 502 848; Burggasse 2), a small literature museum.
The nearby Theatermuseum ( 471 290; tour adult/concession/family €3.50/2/6; 10am, noon, 2pm & 4pm Tue-Sun) displays some of the 275 original stage backdrops from the early days of the Meininger Theater, sketches of set designs and costumes drawn by Georg II, and historic photographs of well-known actors.
A combined ticket for the Schloss and museums costs €5.50 (concession €3.50, families €12.50).
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Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Schlundhaus & Rautenkranz ( 813 838; www.meininger-hotels-mit-flair.de, in German; Schlundgasse 4; s €50-55, d €78-108; ) Rustic-style rooms with new furnishings in a historic hotel and guest house make this a comfortable place to repose. The restaurant is well priced and claims to be the place where the Thuringian potato dumplings were invented.
Sächsischer Hof ( 4570; www.saechsischerhof.com; Georgstrasse 1; s €78-102, d €110-140; ) Life goes from frantic to romantic as soon as you check yourself into this 200-year-old inn, which used to be a postal coach stop. The standard rooms are spacious, others are palatial (most have ante-rooms), even if the bathrooms are a trifle small.
Schloss Landsberg ( 440 90; www.meininger-hotels-mit-flair.de, in German; Landsberger Strasse 150; s €100, d €134-168; ) Fancy yourself knight and damsel in this turreted medieval castle on the northern edge of town. The nicer rooms with sumptuous canopy beds, painted