Have you heard of Quedlinburg? Now you have! This UNESCO town is SO CUTE! Filled with thousands of half-timbered houses (some of Germany’s oldest), the city will have you snapping pictures left and right. It’s a UNESCO site for being representative of a historical medieval town and for the famous medieval church St. Servatius upon the Schlossberg. But there’s even more which makes Quedlinburg worth a visit.
Arrival
Quedlinburg is a bit too far from Berlin to make a day trip out of it. Instead we spent a weekend in the town. There is a lot in the region to discover too, so (per usual) I would like to go back and spend more time in the area. We took the RE1 from Berlin to Magdeburg (another trip for another weekend) and got our connecting train. Since there are no “fast trains” involved in this trip, we could use the Regio 120plus ticket, which is €22.50 each way.
Markt
In Quedlinburg, we walked from the train station, over the Bode River into the city and made our way to the Marktplatz. I was drooling the whole way over all of the Fachwerkhäuser, stopping every 3 feet to take another picture of the two thousand 500 year old houses. It was a Saturday morning, so the market was bustling with people, vegetable stands, flower vendors, and bread, cheese, meat, and fish wagons. The renaissance Rathaus characterizes the market square, covered in ivy.
Quedlinburg’s Rathaus 
Marktplatz in Quedlinburg 
Fachwerkmuseum
Our first stop in Quedlinburg was to the Fachwerkmuseum inside the Ständerbau. How fitting that it is built inside one of Germany’s oldest half-timbered houses? Inside, you can follow the progression of this construction style throughout six centuries. There are many models to look at as well as pictures comparing buildings from different towns in the region from different epochs. The information in the museum is only in German, and even C found it a bit cumbersome and technical to read. Despite that, I think for the €3 (or €2 if you paid your tourist tax) it is worth it to see the tools, construction, and development of these historic (and adorable!) buildings.
Wandering the Old Town
One of the best ways to explore Quedlinburg is to just wander around the old town. There are many tiny alleys waiting for you to discover them. Each street has houses more adorable than the previous.
Gildehaus zur Rose is one of the most famous half-timbered houses, known for its renaissance carvings. 
cute cafes fill the old town
During our visit in Quedlinburg, we learned that many of the town’s 2000 half-timbered houses are not inhabited. This is because they were built before modern conveniences. In order to bring them up to date, archaeological excavation would need to be done before the sewage system can be put into place. This long and expensive process means that many of the homes are without running water and toilets. Don’t worry, all tourist accommodations are required to have such amenities.
Spielzeug Museum
If you love trains, old toys, and nostalgia then the Toy Museum is for you! The top two floors of this store have been turned into a display of popular toys, including trains, dolls, books, and models of cowboys, soldiers, farms, and circuses. One floor is completely reserved for the trains. There are several models of varying sizes set up. Press the button and watch the trains light up and go through the station as they race around the track while tiny people look on.
City Tour
An odd thing in Quedlinburg is that there are two tourist information buildings right next to one another on the main market square. And both provide tours of the city at the exact same times. It was more than clear that there was quite a rivalry going on. Our tour through Quedlinburg was a little over two hours and ended at the Schlossberg. Funnily enough, there you’ll find another strange rivalry between two cafés. One has nearly 200 different kinds of cheesecake while the other claims to be the original cheesecake café with the original recipe. Anyways, the Schlossberg houses a museum in the castle, the St. Servatius church, and a beautiful garden. The museum and church are under renovation until 2023.
St. Servatius
Despite the renovations, it is still possible to visit the church amidst all of the scaffolding. C and I showed up as a service was about to start, so we got a peek at the church and a mini organ concert for free!
Münzenberg
Across from the castle is the Münzenberg, once rival parts of town because of the different churches atop each hill. From here, you can get a great view of the Schlossberg. We were so distracted by all the cute half-timbered houses in this neighborhood that we walked right past the museum we wanted to visit. The Münzenberg museum is housed inside of the former Klosterkirche St. Maria (a convent) which was built in 986 for the Abbess Mathilde to honor her brother, Emperor Otto II.
The museum is free to visit. As you wander through some ruins and reconstructed rooms of the church, there are information plaques (in German) about the history of the building and the Münzenberg. At the end, there are a couple of skeletons to see in the ground beneath the church. C started with asking one question and the man there told us all about the area and what had been found out through excavations. I learned that “short people” is a common myth of medieval times, as the skeletons we saw were 1.70m and nearly 2m tall (5 ft 6, and 6 ft 6)! And these skeletons had beautiful white sets of teeth, blowing apart the myth that everyone had poor diets and bad teeth back then.
Sternkiekerturm
Regardless of which tourist info place you decide to get a tour from, I always encourage a city tour. I like getting an overview of the city’s layout and history, and you never know what kind of useful information you’ll get out of them. On our tour, we learned about the existence of the Sternkiekerturm. Officially known as the Lindenbeinscher Turm, the tower was a medieval defense tower and is Quedlinburg’s highest observation tower at 42 m tall. It’s located next to the Hotel Zum Markgrafen in the historical Lindenbeinsiche Villa. Visiting the tower was one of my favorite parts of Quedlinburg. Just put in a euro to go through the turnstiles and hike up the many stairs to get a stellar view over the city. We had it all to ourselves (but for a few pigeons) while we were there.
Park Brühl
After a snack break in the courtyard of St. Aegidii Church and cake at a café in the old town, C and I spent some time in Park Brühl and the nearby Abteigarten.
“Roland” is the story by Germany’s Homer, Klopstock. His home can be visited in Quedlinburg 
St. Aegidii
The Abteigarten is the land behind/below the Schlossberg. The gardens were filled with red poppies and beautiful purple flowers. Then we walked over to Park Brühl, which is a beautiful wooded park just outside the old town containing some nice paths for biking and walking. We settled in a field with a bubbling fountain to take a rest before catching the train back to Berlin.
Quedlinburg was a pleasure to visit. As a UNESCO site, it is a well-known and popular destination in Germany. We made our trip just as Corona restrictions were being lifted, but I can imagine it gets VERY full, so book in advance or travel there on weekdays or non-high times. Two days was enough time to enjoy the highlights. But I can’t wait to get back to the region to explore more of the Harz, including Gosslar and Thale. If you have more time, be sure to check out Wernigerode and the Brocken, northern Germany’s highest mountain.
