Worms

Worms will forever be associated with Germany's great medieval epic, the Nibelungenlied, but its real history is just as fascinating. The early Germanic period brought conflict around Worms involving the Burgundians, Franks and Huns that perhaps gave rise to the legend.

One of Germany's great Romanesque cathedrals, the Dom St Peter, stands in a city marked by much medieval architecture, some built over Roman remains.

A prominent medieval Jewish community built a synagogue that was burned by the Nazis but recreated over the original mikveh and a Jewish museum is housed in a medieval school building. The Jewish cemetery is a monument to centuries of the community in Worms.

In Worms, Martin Luther defended his Reformation ideals before an assembly of imperial magnates. A later monument displays statues of Luther and other religious reformers.