22. Tourism

22.1 Tourism Hot Line

The Deutsche Fremdenverkehrsverband (DFV) has created a network of information hot lines to connect to local touristic bureaus, using always the same telephone number. In most cities you can now get information by calling (possibly the area code and then) 19433.1996-1

22.2 On-Line -- German Cities Info

Any major German city has its own webpage, usually maintained by the city administration. These pages often contain links to a lot of resources that you will find interesting if you are going to visit there. The websites are usually located at www.cityname.de where cityname is the name of the city in question in its German spelling. Examples: Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Köln, Mainz, Mannheim, München, etc.

Excite maintains a list with information about most German cities.

22.3 Monuments to Visit

For a rather conventional description see Scharf, Helmut: Kleine Kunstgeschichte des Deutschen Denkmals. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (1984) ISBN 3-534-09548-0.

It's a short history of monument-building and -art in Germany, covering early middle ages to almost present.

• The Voelkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig, or Monument to the Battle of Nations, commemorating the victory over Napoleon in 1813 by the Russians and their German allies.
• Niederwalddenkmal near Rüdesheim; Emperor Wilhelm I 1871 - 1888
• Kyffhäuserdenkmal east of the Harz-mountains
• Bismarckdenkmal in Hamburg
• Denkmal am Deutschen Eck in Koblenz/Rhine
• Kaiser-Wilhelm-Monument at the Porta Westfalica, Westphalia; on the slope of the Wiehengebirge, overlooking the river Weser valley.
• Hermanns-Denkmal, South of Detmold; built in the last century to commemorate the victory of the germanic chieftain Arminius (aka Hermann) over 3 roman legions in the year 9 A.C.
• Walhalla near Regensburg; resembles an ancient greek temple overlooking the river Danube; it contains busts of a number of famous Germans.

22.4 Youth hostels

For budget-conscious travellers, Youth Hostels offer some of the cheapest accomodations available. Some of the Youth Hostels in Germany are located in stunningly beautiful parts of town: for example, the Youth Hostel in Nürnberg is in the Burg (castle), dab-smack in the center of town, in a medieval building.

The Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk runs almost all Youth Hostels in Germany. It's mailing addresses can be found at this website 1999-02

22.5 Sights to See in the Cities

Frankfurt

• Paulskirche (assembly of first German parliament)
• Art Museum

Stuttgart

Staatsgalerie (Modern Art)

Dresden

Zwinger (Art)