Burg, near Magdeburg, is one German town that likes to let you know where it stands. And that would be firmly above you, thank you very much. While other towns charms with age, trade, or copious amounts of beer, Burg bei Magdeburg is going firmly for stature.
As a result, the town is known as the “City of Towers.” There are more medieval spires, turrets, gables and lookout points here than nearly any other place in Germany. Thus, when you arrive in town, be sure that your first move is to start looking up.
You’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to aiming your camera. In fact, if you’d like, you can just specialize. You can do only unfortified medieval showpieces, or stick to combat ready churches.
Frankly, if architecture is at all interesting to you, it’s best to book at least an overnight stay.
If you don’t care for the old stones, you’ll at least love the old stories that go with them. Burg earns its place on the Romanesque Route for the tall tales, many of which are rooted in true stories. Watching the sunset over the spires and listening to locals fill you in or even just reading tales from the guidebook can make a great end to the day.
There’s the haunted Witch’s Tower (Hexenturm), the Slaughterhouse (Schlachthof), and the Freedom Tower (Freiheitsturm) that actually was a prison for the insane. But they are just the tip of the iceberg.
If you want to get the real, non-guidebook scoop… try one of the guided town tours for even more detail. They run daily in the summer.
Don’t forget you can also hike the castle parks, bike through the countryside and invest in some of the local handicrafts. In addition to the Romanic Road souvenirs, Burg also is known as a shoe manufacturing capital. Up to 4,000 pairs a day were once made here, and even now the local selection is quite broad.
