The mountains in the Thuringian Forest provide a backdrop for one of Germany’s most beautiful trails, the 168-kilometer long Rennsteig. It is just as much a trademark of the state as its long thin sausages, the historic Wartburg and the Weimar poets Goethe and Schiller. However, Thuringia not only has a culinary and literary tradition, it was always a state of researchers. Zeiss and Schott founded the modern optics industry in Jena; Jenoptik is nowadays one of the most important companies there. Erfurt, the state capital, is proud of the flourishing biotechnology and microelectronics solar technology there, in addition to the excellent educational opportunities offered by four institutes of higher education.

Capital: Erfurt
Population: 2,133,378
Surface area:  16,202 km2