Molsdorf: From Baroque Garden to Landscape Park

Molsdorf Palace Park illustrates the transition from a Baroque garden to a landscape park. This transformation gives the place a clear cultural focus: two different approaches to garden design can be explored here. If you include Erfurt as another focal point of your trip, you can discover subjects ranging from medieval history to garden landscapes.

Molsdorf Palace Park: Garden Art Through the Ages

Gustav Adolph, Count of Gotter, had a Baroque garden laid out in Molsdorf Palace Park, featuring the Hercules Fountain, a cascade, an orangery, ornamental flower beds, and an abundance of sculptures. These features are part of the park’s historic design. Together with its documented transition to a landscape park, they offer a concrete way to explore the garden’s history: the two approaches to garden design provide a guiding thread for understanding the park’s significance.

Guided tours of Molsdorf Palace Park are available on request from the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation. If you are interested, a tour offers a way to explore the garden’s history in greater depth, rather than focusing your visit solely on individual design features.

Erfurt: Architecture, History and More to Discover

Erfurt offers its own cultural focus. The UNESCO World Heritage Site “Jewish-Medieval Heritage in Erfurt” is in the heart of Erfurt’s Old Town and comprises the Old Synagogue, the mikveh, and the Stone House. These rare and exceptionally well-preserved examples of Jewish architecture in Central Europe offer a different historical perspective from the garden art of Molsdorf. The Old Synagogue presents evidence of Erfurt’s medieval Jewish culture.

Different architectural periods meet at St. Mary’s Cathedral: it has a High Gothic choir, a Romanesque tower area, and a Late Gothic west hall. The central tower houses the Gloriosa, the world’s largest medieval free-swinging bell. A 70-step outdoor staircase leads from Cathedral Square up to Cathedral Hill, where St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Severus Church stand.

St. Severus Church is a five-aisled Gothic hall church and, from the 12th century onward, served as the collegiate church of a community of canons. Its works of art include the Severus sarcophagus from 1365, whose side panels depict the saint’s life, a stone Madonna from 1345, and a 15-metre-high baptismal font from 1467. The different architectural forms and dated works provide several specific points of reference for exploring Erfurt’s religious architectural and artistic history.

The Krämerbrücke offers a different view of the city: it is one of Erfurt’s landmarks and Europe’s longest bridge continuously lined with houses that are also inhabited. A tasting is offered at Goldhelm right on the bridge; if you are interested, check the latest details in advance. The Petersberg Citadel adds a military-history focus. It is one of the largest Baroque city fortresses in Central Europe and the only one there to have been largely preserved. Its elevated position offers several viewpoints with sweeping views across the city; sunsets can be seen from the Michael Bastion to the west.

The egapark Erfurt offers another kind of discovery. It includes the Danakil Desert and Jungle House, themed gardens, the Forest of Knowledge, and the German Horticultural Museum. Europe’s largest flower bed planted with ornamental plants covers 6,000 m²; the park also has Thuringia’s largest playground, covering 35,000 m². For families looking for a playground as an outing destination, this is a specific option to consider. Facilities and programs may change; check the latest information before visiting.

Plan Your Accommodation and Journey

Bus route 51 connects Erfurt and Molsdorf. Check the latest timetable before travelling and adding the connection to your plans.

Discover more destinations: Frienstedt, Kerspleben, Niedernissa, Kühnhausen, Erfurt, Tiefthal.

Go to the main travel overview: Erfurt.