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All Germany

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Germany

702 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Germany

Updated February 6, 2024

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Cities

Top Cities
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  1. Aachen
  2. Altenburg
  3. Augsburg
  4. Bad Dürkheim
  5. Bamberg
  6. Berchtesgaden
  7. Berlin
  8. Bielefeld
  9. Bingen
  10. Binz
  11. Bonn
  12. Bremen
  13. Brunswick
  14. Chemnitz
  15. Cologne
  16. Darmstadt
  17. Dresden
  18. Duisburg
  19. Dusseldorf
  20. Erfurt
  21. Essen
  22. Frankfurt
  23. Frankfurt (Oder)
  24. Freiburg Im Breisgau
  25. Garching Bei München
  26. Garmisch Partenkirchen
  27. Giessen
  28. Goslar
  29. Göttingen
  30. Haigerloch
  31. Halle (Saale)
  32. Hamburg
  33. Hanover
  34. Heidelberg
  35. Karlsruhe
  36. Kassel
  37. Koblenz
  38. Königswinter
  39. Landsberg Am Lech
  40. Leipzig
  41. Lemgo
  42. Lübeck
  43. Mainz
  44. Munich
  45. Nuremberg
  46. Oranienburg
  47. Passau
  48. Potsdam
  49. Regensburg
  50. Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber
  51. Schwangau
  52. Schwerin
  53. Siegen
  54. Sindelfingen
  55. Stuttgart
  56. Trier
  57. Tübingen
  58. Ulm
  59. Waldeck
  60. Wiesbaden
  61. Worms
  62. Wuppertal
  63. Xanten
  64. Zossen

Unusual Attractions in Germany

See All 702 Things To Do in Germany

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Germany

See all 10 Places to Eat in Germany
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Explore Germany

Military 82
World War Ii 79
Architectural Oddities 66
Museums And Collections 65
Nazis 47
Sacred Spaces 44
History 43
Collections 41

Germany Leaderboard

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Stories About Germany

The Virgin Mary was a common feature on Schluckbildchen.

These Tiny Baroque Prints Once Served as Edible Prayers

The sacred scraps were meant to be ingested.
by Amelia Soth
Scientists finally find out something they haven't been able to see.

Why Holes at the Bottom of the Ocean Disappear and Reappear

What lurks below doesn’t always stay beneath the sand.
by Hannah Seo
Frau Perchta is often called the Christmas Witch, but that is just one aspect of who she is: a powerful winter goddess who has endured a centuries-old campaign to vilify her.

Fearsome Frau Perchta Is an Ancient Alpine Winter Goddess

Today, she's commonly called the Christmas Witch or even "the female Krampus"—but she is so much more.
by Victoria Linchong
Traditional wooden nutcrackers await the finishing touches at the Füchtner family workshop in Germany, where the iconic style is said to have originated.

The Family Behind the First Traditional Nutcracker Is Still Making Them

Wilhelm Füchtner's iconic 1870s design began a legacy that continues in the same small workshop in Germany's Ore Mountains.
by Carole Rosenblat
Pöschel (left) and Schmelzer, with the mite-cheese monument in Würchwitz.

The Biology Teacher Resurrecting Germany's 500-Year-Old Mite Cheese

At this charming farm, quirk meets quark to make a unique cheese.
by Susannah Edelbaum
The limestone canopic jars of lady Senetnay featured lids shaped like human heads. Two jars are kept at the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany.

Get a Whiff of Ancient Egypt’s 'Scent of Eternity'

Experts reconstructed the smell of mummified organs—and it’s actually pretty pleasant.
by Roxanne Hoorn
The beautiful, renovated "cow chapel" at the Kruger-Rumpf winery.

The Beauty and Brilliance of Germany's 'Cow Chapels'

“The shape of the interior feels sacred, but it’s not. It’s where the cows were fed.”
by Christie Dietz
A commemorative head, part of the so-called Benin Bronzes, which were looted from the royal palace in Benin City in 1897. The image was taken in December 2022 in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, when the piece and several other objects were formally repatriated from Germany to their homeland.

Are the Benin Bronzes Made From German Brass—And Does It Matter?

The famous West African artworks, long at the center of repatriation debates, were made from materials sourced in Rhineland.
by Gemma Tarlach

Lists Featuring Germany

The "pet ham" is 119 years old.

Bog Butter, Ancient Beef, and Other Remarkably Old Foods on Display in Museums

Some of these foods are centuries past their expiration dates.

6

Including Ancient Bog Butter, Preserved Victorian Wedding Cake, and World’s Oldest Edible Ham

Bolivia's Witch Market
Dubrovnik Maskeron
The Statue of St. Anthony's Pig
The Guardhouse Monkey

15 Unlikely Places to Re-Up Your Luck

Luck be a... llama fetus?

15

Including Bolivia's Witch Market, Dubrovnik Maskeron, and Statue of St. Anthony's Pig

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