Worms

Worms carries more historical weight than its modest size suggests. This is the actual setting of the Nibelungenlied, the medieval German epic that inspired Wagner's Ring cycle operas -- the legendary quarrel between Kriemhild and Brunhild supposedly took place right at the cathedral's Kaiserportal, and a bronze statue of Hagen on the Rhine promenade marks where he's said to have sunk the Nibelung treasure into the river. Worms Cathedral (Wormser Dom), built 1130-1181, is one of Germany's three great Romanesque imperial cathedrals alongside Speyer and Mainz -- and Worms shares the same UNESCO SchUM World Heritage designation as those two cities, recognizing one of the most significant medieval Jewish communities in Europe. The Worms Synagogue, built around 1034, is the oldest surviving example of Jewish religious architecture in Germany, rebuilt after its 1938 destruction. History piles up further here: in 1521, Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms and refused to recant his writings, reportedly declaring "Here I stand, I can do no other" -- a pivotal moment of the Reformation, now marked by a large Luther monument in the city. If timing allows, the Nibelungen Festival brings open-air theater performances to a stage set up directly in front of the cathedral each summer.