Sign in with FacebookIn den Weiden 11, Gewerbegebiet, Erfurt, Thuringia, 99099, Germany
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Rathaus, Erfurt, Deutschland 2009
View from Ägidienkirche
The tower and the shoe shop
Historic pictures
From the Bismark memorial (pic 3) to the modern bas reliefs (pic 2) there is so much to see while strolling along the Anger. Tucked in the back streets (pic 4) is a tarted up bland communist-style high density housing block that, with and imaginative paint scheme, has been almost transformed.
There's also a wealth of late 19th and early 20th century stuff whose facades look glamorous by the standards of today's bland shopping centres. No wonder people prefer to stroll here.
This has been a city parish since 1223. Destroyed by fire, the church was rebuilt between 1409-1472 in the Gothic style. Between 1668-1822 the church fell under the administration of the Augustinnerordens. The church was site where the Mainzer Governor was named from 1664-1802.
A mass was being celebrated during my visit so I did not take any pictures inside the church.
Schillerstr. 5, 99096 Erfurt, Germany
The river that flows through Erfurt is called the Gera, but the river that flows through the city of Gera, in the eastern part of Thüringen, is called the White Elster.
So the city of Gera has nothing to do with the Gera River, and visa-versa. (Sorry, it took me a while to figure this out.)
The Augustinian monastery is today an ecumenical church. In years 1505 - 1511 lived here as a monk Martin Luther. Protestant and Catholics from the all over the world went on a pilgrimage here. As early as in the 16th century Luther´s cell was regarded as a sight worth seeing.
The monastery have an important library with old rare books. You can see here a permanent exhibition about Luther´s life and his times. Very interesting are too the stained glass windows of the 14th century.
When you compare this small church to the splendour of the cathedral,
you'll be disappointed. But the Church of St. Michael has seen quite a few of "firsts" in the course of the centuries.
It was built in 13th century and used both as a Christian church and as a Jewish synagogue. There is a small churchyard, where you can still see tombstones from this time,some with a cross, others with the star of David.
In the beginning of 16th century a student named Martin Luther was attending service here and a few years later he himself was preaching in this church.
In the year 1520 the first ever evangelical sermon was held here, three years later for the first time a protestant priest got married in this small church.
I think it's true to say that these events shaped the course of European history.
When we were there I noticed a new window, dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg. He had saved many Jews during World War II, but vanished without a trace somewhere in Russia after the war. This window had been given to the church as a donation to point out the special relationship between the Christian and Jewish community in this area of Erfurt. There was also an exhibition about Wallenberg's life, but this is only temporary.
There is a beautiful organ in the church. Since almost every street in the old part of Erfurt seems to have a church of its own, there simply wasn't enough money to keep all the organs in good shape. The one in the St Michaels church was built in 1650 by Compenius and is called the Compenius organ.
A few years ago it was in really bad shape, when a visitor happened to see it and managed to raise enough money for a complete restauration.
This church is one of my favourite places in Erfurt, even though it's not one of the most beautiful. But you can truly feel history in there.
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Q: ERFURT OR WEIMAR "I have 2 nights to stay in either Erfurt or Weimar in the middle of June, en route to Frankfurt, which one would anyone suggest..."
A: "Erfurt. It's got a beautiful centre, is larger than Weimar and there's lots to see. Weimar is also nice, but it's an easy trip from Erfurt and perfectly doable in a day..."
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