If you follow these signs, an exciting trip back to the Middle Ages awaits you. It takes you more than 1,000 (600 miles) kilometers through the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and links 88 structures that were built during the Romanesque period of architecture — that is, from 950 to 1250 A.D.

Magdeburg is a wonderful starting point. This is where the Romanesque Road was first opened — on May 7, 1993, which is the anniversary of the death of Otto the Great, the first German Holy Roman Emperor. Otto was fond of Magdeburg and generously enlarged the city on the River Elbe. He was among the great patrons of architecture of his time, and is buried at Magdeburg Cathedral.

Semicircular arches are a signature feature of Romanesque architecture, and nowhere else in Germany are they as prevalent as in Saxony-Anhalt. That's due to the industrious building of medieval kings and emperors. They founded numerous churches and monasteries, like the one in Jerichow on the Elbe (pictured above). It was the era of Christianization in Germany.

St. Mary's Cathedral rises majestically over the old town in Havelberg, like an advertisement for the Christian faith. Otto the Great founded the bishopric of Havelberg on the Elbe as early as 946 to 948 in order to convert its inhabitants, the western Slavs, to Christianity. The long process was not without violence — but in 1170 the mighty cathedral was finally consecrated.

Compared to Havelberg's cathedral, the church in Gernrode is tiny; but it, too, is a magnificent architectural monument. First mentioned in 961, it is more than a thousand years old. It is one of the few churches that managed to preserve its Romanesque style. The most important artwork there is the Holy Sepulcher (pictured above), among the earliest copies of the grave of Christ in Jerusalem.

Early kings and emperors had no permanent royal residence, they traveled with their retinue from one palace complex (Pfalz) to the next. They were catered to and administered justice there, thus establishing their presence throughout the realm. The Pfalz in Tilleda has been excavated, partially reconstructed and turned into an open-air museum that offers insights into life in medieval Germany.

The town of Quedlinburg is a must-see on the Romanesque Road. St. Servatius, the former collegiate church of its abbey, contains the tomb of King Heinrich I and his wife Mathilde. Heinrich made Quedlinburg a center of power in the Middle Ages. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site in 1994.

In 2018, Naumburg Cathedral also achieved UNESCO World Heritage status. It was begun in the Romanesque style, but then finished as a Gothic cathedral. In its interior are 12 life-size sandstone figures. They represent donors to the cathedral, and are among the most impressive sculptures from the German Middle Ages.

The series of large cathedrals in Saxony-Anhalt continues: Merseburg, Zeitz, Halle, Halberstadt. Halberstadt Cathedral is famed for its church treasures. They include some of the earliest-known woven tapestries, dating from the Romanesque period. The Abraham Angel Carpet (pictured above), for instance, was woven in 1150.

On the Romanesque Road, not only do large and famous cathedrals invite you to stop and admire them; small village churches do so, as well. Precious treasures slumbered in Pretzien's church for centuries. They were first uncovered in the 1970s during restoration work, including these: frescoes painted in the 13th century.

The history of the Benedictine convent of St. Vitus in Drübeck in the Harz region dates back to 960. It was damaged and rebuilt several times in subsequent centuries. Nowadays behind the old walls, there is a well-maintained convent garden. You can also spend the night in the complex.

A deep moat, 10-meter (33-foot) thick ramparts and three mighty towers: This massive fortified castle in Querfurt was meant to deter enemies even from afar — and did so successfully through the ages. Today, it is one of the largest and best-preserved medieval fortifications in Germany. It was first documented in 880.

Our trip along the Romanesque Road ends where it began, in Magdeburg. Next to Magdeburg Cathedral is another Romanesque attraction: the Convent of our Blessed Lady. In 1993, then-president of Germany, Richard von Weizsäcker, opened the Romanesque Road here with the words: "The cradle of German history lies in Saxony-Anhalt."

Quedlinburg's center and roots are on the hill with its castle and collegiate church. The chapter of secular canonesses was founded by the future emperor Otto I to commemorate his late father, Henry I, and provide for his widow Mathilde and unmarried daughters of the nobility. The town that resulted remained an important temporary residence for the itinerant rulers for two centuries.

1,100 years ago, in the year 919, Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, was appointed the first German king. According to legend, he was on a bird hunt in Quedlinburg when it happened. In the crypt of the Collegiate Church of St Servatius, Mathilde and Henry, the first German royal couple, are buried. With its simplicity and round arches of early Romanesque architecture, the room is very impressive.

Every year a historical Easter procession commemorates Quedlinburg's tradition as a residence for itinerant emperors and kings in the Middle Ages. There were temporary palaces all over Germany, about a day's ride from each other, but Quedlinburg was the preferred destination when it came to celebrating the important Easter festival.

Quedlinburg remained largely unscathed in the Second World War, and because in communist East Germany plans for demolition and rebuilding were not implemented, the town is one of the best-preserved half-timbered ensembles in Germany. Since the 1990s many buildings that threatened to collapse have been restored. In 1994 UNESCO declared the Old Town area a World Heritage site.

The market square was remodelled in about 2013. It lies in the so-called New Town, which is actually quite old, as it was founded in the 12th century. In the late Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became an economic power through its cloth traders and merchants, among other things, as a member of the Hanseatic League.

Parts of this Gothic stone building date back to the 14th century, and it's one of the oldest town halls in central Germany. Not only did the building house the city administration; it also served as a venue for special events, from theological debates after the Protestant reformation to unusual presentations. In 1645, for instance, one source reports the exhibition of a lion from Egypt.

The 1,200 historically listed buildings in Quedlinburg include timber-framed houses from 6 centuries. One of the oldest of these, a post structure with tall, vertical struts (Ständerbau), dates from the 14th century. It houses the town's Museum of Half-timbered Architecture, which provides information about the history of this method of building.

This gallery exhibits works by the German-American Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger, who lived in Germany until 1937. Shortly before he returned to the US, Feininger left a large number of his works to a friend of his in Quedlinburg, who saved them from destruction by the Nazis. The gallery is the only museum in Europe devoted to Feininger.

Of course, such an inviting backdrop can't be without a Christmas market. This one has already been honored twice as the most beautiful in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, for "Advent in the Courtyards," usually closed historical inner courtyards are opened to the public, offering visitors everything from handicrafts to cuisine.

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railway is the perfect way to travel to and from Quedlinburg. That's partly because parking space for buses and cars is limited in the town, and also because the steam train fits so perfectly in this historical setting.

In the twilight, the Bauhaus building looks much smaller than it seems to be. All the photographers who have captured it and published their perspectives in architecture guidebooks likely used particularly sophisticated vantage points to give it a larger-than-life look. Nevertheless, seeing it with your own two eyes is a memory in the making.

Gropius wanted to do away with the heaviness in architecture; by using a large amount of glass in the Bauhaus workshop building, it appears airy and light. It should appear as though the building is floating. Not a single column is used to support the glass façade and the window ledges run horizontally. The architecture resembles a sculpture as new viewpoints are constantly emerging.

The director's room of Walter Gropius is located on the bridgeway connecting the workshop building and the former vocational school across the street. The two parts of the building share an underground floor. The architecture was designed by Walter Gropius himself, attributed to his name alone and not a Bauhaus design.

The heaters are hung beneath the ceiling. Most of the first generation of Bauhaus architects wanted as a rule to have no picture on the wall and therefore saw the heating elements as an accessory, or replacement for image. That's why the radiators are located in a place where few would expect.

Located along a green, tree-lined boulevard, the Master Houses were built in 1926/27 at the same time as the Bauhaus in Dessau and can be reached in five minutes from the Bauhaus workshop. Designed by Walter Gropius, the detached house belonging to the Bauhaus director has the largest yard. Located at the head of the avenue, the original was destroyed in World War II. Above, the reconstruction.

Georg Muche, a painter and graphic artist, shared a semi-detached house with his colleague Oskar Schlemmer. The studios, wall-to-wall, employ large picture windows that face the street to the north. There are a total of three semi-detached houses for Bauhaus teachers. A common feature among the houses (above), which are situated in a park, is that one can go directly outside from almost any room.

Inside the Master House where Georg Muche lived with his family is a bedroom with a wall of built-in wardrobes painted in primary colors. As the rooms were quite small in size, residents required quite a bit of storage, which the closets provided as they were integrated into the room seamlessly. The colors in the image above are the originals. These built-in closets were beloved by Walter Gropius.

Walking upstairs in the studio building, you'll find the rooms where Anni and Josef Albers, Gertrud and Alfred Arndt or architect Franz Ehrlich worked. The Prellerhaus was the first student residence. As on a modern university campus, ithe dormitories were directly connected to the Bauhaus workshops. The women lived in the basement, the men on the three upper floors.

The "Prellerhaus" still has the flair of the 20s. Many at the Bauhaus designed their furniture themselves. Five rooms have been restored to their original look, including one where Marianne Brandt, the first and only woman in the metal workshop, stayed. Many rooms in the studio building can be rented by guests, like this one. If you want to feel the Bauhaus spirit, you've come to the right place.

Walter Gropius has left his mark across Dessau, including at the employment office, which was completed according to his plans in 1929. The semicircular building does not correspond to the cliché of the Bauhaus as a white, square cube but it does follow the maxim of form follows function. The building with its five entrances still houses the employment office today.