Photo: Kultur- und Tourismusamt Neustadt an der OrlaLuther house in Neustadt an der OrlaIf travelling through the ‘Orla depression’, you should not miss Neustadt an der Orla. Today, Neustadt has nearly 9000 inhabitants. It is a town with a significant history and was first mentioned in a source from the High Middle Ages. Luther, the Protestant reformer, stayed in Neustadt more than once.

One of Thuringia's most beautiful town houses

He led the town’s monastery of Augustinian Hermits and preached in the parish church, St. John’s. The Luther House on the market square is one of the finest Renaissance burghers’ houses in all of Thuringia. It has been supposed that Luther lived here during his stays in Neustadt. If you cross the market, you will pass the medieval town hall, whose beauty derives from its ornate decoration. The venerable parish church, which contains an altarpiece from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder, can be reached by passing through the ‘Fleischbänke’ (a medieval street of butchers’ shops).