Just in time for this year’s 1700^th anniversary of Jewish life in Germany, entrance to the new core exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) will be offered free of charge: The free admission is valid for all visitors as soon as the museum reopens its doors after the lockdown. The children’s world ANOHA, which is due to open this June, will also be accessible at no cost.

Tourism Australia at ITB Berlin NOW: no borders to open yet

Australia has been doubly hit by the pandemic. In early 2020 the country suffered the worst bushfires in its history, leaving the visitor records of 2019 almost a memory. As the nation began to recover, Covid-19 spread across the world. Over the last year, the tourism industry in the southern Pacific has more or less come to a standstill.

 Saxony boasts outstanding art and cultural attractions, has a rich and lively history of artisan manufacturing, is full of mythical castles and palaces and has fascinating natural beauty. Saxony draws visitors from around the world and  impresses with its many standout attractions. Thus, Saxony is the only place where one can visit the Sistine Madonna, the famous painting by Raphael, and the Bastei, a unique bridge-like rock formation. Moritzburg Castle is where the cult film Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel has its origins in Germany.

In 2021 numerous highlights await visitors to Bavaria’s palaces – and at ITB Berlin NOW the Bavarian administration of state-owned palaces, gardens and lakes is reporting on what has been going on these last weeks and months.

The fully refurbished episcopal quarters of the New Residence Bamberg were re-opened in autumn 2020 and new exhibition rooms were created in many houses. At the Residence in Ansbach for instance, a new permanent exhibition entitled “No duke without a horse“ awaits visitors.

Saxony’s natural wonders are no less fascinating than its art treasures. Scenic landscapes whet visitors’ appetite for hiking tours full of adventure. Be it the fascinating Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Zittau Mountains, Ore Mountains or the Vogtland: these regions offer great variety for hiking enthusiasts.

Saxony has enough palaces and castles to fill an entire landscape. Many of these historical buildings are surrounded by a park such as Pillnitz and Moritzburg Castle or Großsedlitz Baroque Gardens. It is where visitors can take a deep breath, enjoy the sun, greenery and bright flowers and listen to the silence. For many visitors to Saxony, the historical parks and gardens are a new experience.

In Saxony visitors can take an adventure trip in historical style and savour the state’s industrial heritage both on water and by rail. The state capital Dresden is home to the world’s oldest and largest fleet of paddle steamers, and nowhere else in Germany are there so many steam engines.

With regions like the Erzgebirge and Vogtland increasingly attracting mountain bikers, Saxony’s reputation as a paradise for the sport is spreading in the MTB scene. Among mountain bikers the Erzgebirge is no longer an insider tip. Everywhere, mountain bikers are finding their needs well catered for with soul and passion. Ronny Schwarz manages active tourism product development at Tourismusverband Erzgebirge e. V.. In addition to having successfully organised biking adventures with the Stoneman Miriquidi trail, he also has new mountain biking projects up his sleeve.

Centuries of experience, good soil and the right climate are ideal conditions for making special wines – and all in one of Europe’s smallest winegrowing regions. Under the painstaking care of 1,860 winegrowers, an area that covers only 511 hectares produces genuinely rare wines. Among the many grape varieties at home in the Elbe valley are Sächsischer Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Weißburgunder, Dornfelder and Traminer. An outstanding and recently revived variety is the seldom-found Goldriesling grape, now only grown in appreciable quantity in Saxony.

Their names are Muskau Park / Park Mużakowski or the Ore Mountain Mining Region / Krušnohoří, and they are cultural treasures of the highest order. Worldwide, only 1,121 exist. In Germany there are 44 places that UNESCO has elevated to World Heritage status. The two Saxon sites highlight the region in its role as the number one cultural destination in Germany.

Muskau Park in Bad Muskau – the art of garden landscaping in Saxony’s east

Chemnitz is full of ideas and surprises, which include pioneering inventions, courageous decisions and cultural innovations. In 2025 Chemnitz will be the European Capital of Culture. But even before then, it is worth exploring the region’s cultural attractions and meet the people shaping the city and region with their “can do“ approach.

Saxony is a federal state with a rich cultural heritage. The many-faceted and fascinating history of its handicrafts industry is key to its reputation as an attractive cultural destination. Many of the handicraft skills practised in Saxony today originated here. It boasts records such as the world’s largest nutcracker, the oldest registered trademark and the largest functioning violin. These traditional and rare skills, handed down over generations of artisan production, can be witnessed throughout Saxony. Almost everywhere, visitors can watch master craftsmen at work.