1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel and the crisis in the Middle EastGerman coalition collapseUS election

Small-town charm

DW-TVJanuary 7, 2013

Hollywood star Tom Hanks on the David Letterman show recently spoke about the charms of a small German town called Eisenhüttenstadt. Located near the Polish border, its architecture and history make it worth a visit.

https://p.dw.com/p/17F5W
24.03.2012 hin und weg eisenhuettenstadt 1
24.03.2012 hin und weg eisenhuettenstadt 1

When it was established in 1950, Eisenhüttenstadt was touted as the first socialist city on German soil. The steelworks are the heart of the town. Known as EKO in the former communist East Germany, today they are owned by ArcelorMittal, a global steel company. The factory is open for guided tours.

Lindenallee, formerly Leninallee, is the road leading into the city. It features 1950s apartment blocks, built in the Stalinist neoclassical style. The architecture forms the most spacious monument in Germany—a monument to the model socialist city. The city museum gives an insight into how it all came about. Elsewhere, the Documentation Center of Everyday Life in the GDR aims to give visitors an understanding of life in communist East Germany.

Eisenhüttenstadt - Three Travel Tips

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

Christmas market in Aachen. Fotograf: Andreas Herrmann

We visit Aachen, Charlemagne's city ahead of Christmas

We visit Aachen, Charlemagne's city ahead of Christmas

Aachen is first and foremost the city of Charlemagne. In the late 8th century, the Holy Roman emperor made Aachen his imperial residence and had the Palatine Chapel built there. (17.12.2012)
December 17, 2012
Castle Sababurg in Reinhardswald Forest

A Tale of the Brothers Grimm in Marburg and Kassel

A Tale of the Brothers Grimm in Marburg and Kassel

December 20th marks the 200th anniversary of the publishing of the first volume of the Brothers Grimm’s "Children’s and Household Tales". We discover there is more than make-believe when it comes to the Brothers Grimm. (10.12.2012)
December 10, 2012
24.11.2012 DW hin & weg Ueberblick Wagner1

Following Wagner's footsteps in Leipzig, Dresden and Bayreuth

Following Wagner's footsteps in Leipzig, Dresden and Bayreuth

When we think of Richard Wagner, most of us think of Bayreuth and its renowned festival. Wagner's 200th birthday is coming up in 2013, a good occasion for us to visit some of the sites where he lived and worked. (28.11.2012)
November 28, 2012