Erfurt, formerly a powerful trading and university town with a history going back 1,200 years, lies in a wide stretch of the Gera valley, in the south of the fertile Thuringian Basin. It belonged to the Electorate of Mainz until 1802, when it passed to Prussia. Erfurt was the meeting-place of church Synods and Imperial Diets and the scene of the Congress of Erfurt (Napoleon's meeting with the Czar of Russia and the German princes) in 1808. The first German Garden Show was held here in 1838.
Churches
Erfurt once had some 36 parish churches and chapels and 15 religious houses, earning it the style of the "many-towered city".
Although it was founded in the mid 8th C, the Cathedral has been twice rebuilt over the years. Particularly impressive are the fifteen medieval stained glass windows in the choir.
Northeast of the Fischmarkt in Erfurt is the famous Krämerbrücke, on the old east-west trade route. First recorded in 1117, it spans the Gera at the old ford (now again visible). The bridge, with houses along both sides (originally there were 62), is one of the most interesting features of Erfurt (shops selling arts and crafts and antiques).
Southwest of Erfurt stands Schloss Molsdorf, one of the finest Roccoco buildings in Thuringia, built by Count von Gotter between 1736 and 1745. Thoroughly restored, it is now a museum. It is set in a beautiful park laid out in 1826.
Along Michaelisstrasse in Erfurt is Augustinerstrasse, with a well-known Augustinian monastery (founded 1277) and Augustinian church (1290-1350). The young Martin Luther became a monk here in 1505; his cell is shown to visitors. Among the surviving conventual buildings is the beautiful Comthureihof (1570-93).
The Barfüsserkirche in Barfüsserstrasse has the oldest stained glass in Erfurt (13th C.) and some fine monuments. It is now occupied by the Museum of Medieval Art. Organ recitals are given in the choir.
In Allerheiligenstrasse in Erfurt is the Engelsburg, which around 1511 was the meeting-place of a group of humanists led by Crotus Rubeanus and Ulrich von Hutten.
Marktstrasse in Erfurt leads into the Fischmarkt, where the east-west and north-south trade routes intersected. In the center of the square is a figure of Roland (1591), the symbol of municipal authority. On the west side of the square is the house "Zum Roten Ochsen" (1562), on the north side the house "Zum Breiten Herd" - two richly decorated Renaissance buildings.
Along the Johannesstrasse in Erfurt is the Kaufmannskirche, with a richly decorated interior by local Renaissance masters. The parents of Johann Sebastian Bach were married in this church.
On the near side of the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt is the Michaelisstrasse, lined with old burghers' houses. No. 39 was the old Erfurt University (1392-1816). The building is now occupied by the Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek (Library), with the world-famous Amploniana Collection (535 volumes containing 4,000 works in 15th C and earlier manuscripts).
Augustinerstrasse in Erfurt leads into Johannesstrasse, in the eastern part of which are numerous handsome old houses, including the richly decorated house "Zum Stockfisch" (Late Renaissance, 1607), now occupied by the Museum of Municipal History; the house "Zum Mohrenkopf" (1607), with fine half-timbering; the house "Zur Mühlhaue", with traces of Gothic work; and the high-gabled house "Zum Grünen Sittich und Gekrönten Hecht" (before 1600), also with fine half-timbering.
In Schottenstrasse stands the Schottenkirche (originally founded by Iro-Scottish monks), one of Erfurt's few surviving Romanesque buildings and perhaps its oldest church (before 1150).
Opposite the Domberg in Erfurt rises the Petersberg (St Peter's Hill), once crowned by St Peter's Monastery (founded 1060; rebuilt 1103-47; burned down during the French bombardment of the citadel in 1813). The Peterskirche (St Peter's Church), a Romanesque aisled basilica, is one of the earliest buildings of the Hirsau school in Thuringia. There are also extensive remains of the old citadel on the Petersberg (1664-1707). From the top of the hill there is a fine view of Erfurt.
To the north of Erfurt, on the Roter Berg, is the Thuringian Zoo, with some 1,100 animals, including rare species of monkeys (black-and-white colobuses, John's langurs, Entellus langurs, Douc langurs).
Address: Thüringer Zoopark, Zum Zoopark 8-10, D-99087 Erfurt, Germany
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Engelsburg, Germany
Erfurt Cathedral, Erfurt
