racetrack
Sachsenring
A uniquely anti-clockwise circuit in Saxony with dramatic elevation changes, famous as a left-turn-dominant MotoGP venue.
28 km · about 30 min drive
EuropeGermanyThuringia
Altenburg
Thuringia, Germany · Europe
About Altenburg
Altenburg is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Nobitz, 28km from Sachsenring.
Altenburg is in Thuringia, Germany, with about 39,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Nobitz, about 4 km away.
Altenburg (German pronunciation: [ˈaltn̩ˌbʊʁk] ) is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Leipzig, 90 kilometres (56 miles) west of Dresden and 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textileRead more
and metal production region between Gera, Zwickau and Chemnitz with more than 1 million inhabitants, while the city itself has a population of 33,000. Today, the city and its rural county is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region.
Altenburg was first mentioned in 976 and later became one of the first German cities within former Slavic area, east of the Saale river (as part of the medieval Ostsiedlung movement). The emperor Frederick Barbarossa visited Altenburg several times between 1165 and 1188, hence the town is named a Barbarossa town today. Since the 17th century, Altenburg was the residence of different Ernestine duchies, of whom the Saxe-Altenburg persisted until the end of monarchy in Germany in 1918. Industrialization reached Altenburg and the region quite early in the first half of the 19th century and flourished until the Great Depression around 1930. Economic malaise set in while Altenburg was in East Germany and continued after German reunification in 1990, evidenced by a decline in population, high unemployment and house vacancy rates.
The main sights of Altenburg are the castle, the Lindenau-Museum, the historic city center (most buildings are from early-modern origin) and the Gründerzeit architecture around the center. The popular German card game Skat was developed in Altenburg during the 1810s and the founder of the famous Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, lived and worked in Altenburg between 1810 and 1817.
Altenburg lies in the flat and fertile landscape of Osterland on the Pleiße river in the very east of Thuringia, next to the neighboring federal state of Saxony.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Altenburg?
Within an hour or so of Altenburg: Sachsenring (28 km), August Horch Museum (28 km), Monument to the Battle of the Nations (36 km), Auerbachs Keller (39 km).
Are there any good drives near Altenburg?
The nearest famous roads are Schleizer Dreieck.
Where is Altenburg?
Altenburg is in Thuringia, Germany, about 4 km from Nobitz.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 38,568
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Germany
- Region
- Thuringia
- Timezone
- Europe/Berlin
- Coordinates
- 50.9876, 12.4368
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Germany
ADAC roadside assistance: +49 89 22 22 22. No general speed limit on some autobahn sections but advisory 130 km/h.
Full driving guide for GermanyTags
Worth the detour from Altenburg
4 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
August Horch Museum
Museum in the birthplace of Audi tracing Saxon automobile history from Horch and DKW through Trabant and modern Volkswagen.
28 km · about 35 min drive
landmark
Monument to the Battle of the Nations
A colossal 91m granite monument in Leipzig marking the 1813 battle, climbable for sweeping city views.
36 km · about 40 min drive
restaurant
Auerbachs Keller
Leipzig's 500-year-old cellar restaurant, immortalised when Goethe set Faust's barrel-riding scene here; bronze Mephisto and bewitched students guard the stairs down from the Mädlerpassage.
39 km · about 45 min drive
Driving roads near Altenburg
- 64 kmSchleizer DreieckGermany's oldest road racing circuit, in use since 1923, a triangle of Thuringian public roads still raced on today. The public sections make an atmospheric drive with the racing surface underfoot.
Driving in Germany
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.78/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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