Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [321]
Coburg languished in the shadow of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, all but closed in by East Germany on three sides, but since reunification the town has undergone a revival. Its proud Veste is one of Germany’s finest medieval fortresses. What’s more, some sources contend that the original hot dog was invented here.
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Orientation
Markt is the old town’s central square. The Hauptbahnhof lies to the northwest, Veste Coburg to the northeast.
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Information
Postbank (Hindenburgstrasse 6)
Stadtbücherei Coburg ( 891 421; Herrengasse 17; noon-6pm Mon, Tue & Thu, 9am-1pm Wed, 11am-5pm Fri, 9am-noon Sat) Free internet access.
Tourist office ( 898 000; www.coburg-tourist.de; Herrengasse 4; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Apr-Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat Nov-Mar) Just off Markt.
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Sights & Activities
Coburg’s epicentre is the magnificent Markt, a cafe-filled square oozing a colourful, aristocratic charm. The fabulous Renaissance facades and ornate oriels of the Stadthaus (town house) and the Rathaus vie for attention, while a statue of Prince Albert calmly surveys the scene.
The lavish Schloss Ehrenburg ( 808 832; Schlossplatz; tours in German adult/under 18yr/concession €4/free/3; tours hourly 9am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-3pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar) was once the town residence of the Coburg dukes. Albert spent his childhood in this sumptuous, tapestry-lined palace, and Queen Victoria stayed in a room with Germany’s first flushing toilet (1860). The splendid Riesensaal (Hall of Giants) has a baroque ceiling supported by 28 statues of Atlas.
Towering above everything is a story-book medieval fortress, the Veste Coburg ( courtyard dawn-dusk). With its triple ring of fortified walls, it’s one of the most impressive fortresses in Germany, but curiously has a dearth of foreign visitors. It houses the vast collection of the Kunstsammlungen ( 8790; adult/concession €5/2.50; 9.30am-5pm daily Apr-Oct, 1-4pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), with works by star painters such as Rembrandt, Dürer and Cranach the Elder. The elaborate Jagdintarsien-Zimmer (Hunting Marquetry Room) is a superlative example of carved woodwork.
Protestant reformer Martin Luther, hoping to escape an imperial ban, sought refuge at the fortress in 1530. His former quarters has a writing desk and, in keeping with the Reformation, a rather plain bed.
The Veste-Express (one-way/return €2.50/3.50; Apr-Oct), a tourist train, makes the trip to the fortress every 30 minutes. Infrequent bus 8 goes uphill year-round from Herrengasse near the Markt (€1.40 each way). Otherwise it’s a steep 3km climb on foot.
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Festivals & Events
It may seem an unlikely pairing, but every year in mid-July Coburg explodes into Europe’s largest Samba Festival (www.samba-festival.de), an orgy of song and dance that attracts almost 100 bands and up to 200,000 bum-wiggling visitors.
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Sleeping & Eating
DJH hostel ( 153 30; www.coburg.jugendherberge.de; dm under/over 27yr €18.10/22.10) Coburg’s spick-and-span hostel is housed in a mock redbrick castle, Schloss Ketschendorf, located some 2km from town. Take bus 1 from the Hauptbahnhof.
Gasthof Fink ( 249 40; www.gasthof-fink.de; Lützelbucher Strasse 22; s €32-48.50, d €52-73) This smart English-speaking inn, 4km south of town, consists of a traditional Gasthof (inn), with timber-lined rooms, and a light-strewn contemporary hotel with balconies. Take bus 7 from the Hauptbahnhof to Lützelbuch.
Hotelpension Bärenturm ( 318 401; www.baerenturm-hotelpension.de; Untere Anlage