Thuringian State Chancellery
by iandsmith
This baroque palais was built for the governor of the electorate of Mainz in the 9 years from 1711 and incorporates two Renaissance buildings "Zum stolzen Knecht" and "Zur guldenen Flechte". Designed by Maximillian von Welsch it was inside here that the city's fate was determined for a long time.
In the 21st century it now houses the Thuringian State Chancellery.
The small green space just across the road from the building was landscaped in the 18th century and made open for people in decent dress on Sundays.
Erfurt was incorporated into Prussia in 1802, a time of change for Thurlingia.
The American military government of this area was based in this building from April 12 to July 3, 1945. With the finalization of the borders the Soviet military government took over until 1949 when the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was founded.
In the 1990s the building was thoroughly restored and renovated and since 1995 it has been the seat of the government of Thüringen, including the office of the prime minister. Napoleon was in a bit of bother. He'd just lost a battle against Spain, his first such defeat, and he was a little bit bothered.
Austria was rampant and looking for further expansion, England was still there, untouched, and so he turned to Prussia and Czar Alexander I. They met in Erfurt and reminders of that meeting can be found at many sites in Erfurt. It dragged on for more than a fortnight and the parties were lavish but, in the end, the treaty sought by Napoleon to get the Czar to align himself with Napoleon in case he was attacked was never agreed to.
During his time here Napoleon also spent time with Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, the man who wrote "Don Carlos", first performed orally in Erfurt.
Pictures to come in April
Regierungsstraße 73, 99084 Erfurt
Front of the Old Opera
by Nemorino
On September 15, 2004, exactly 110 years after its original opening, the Old Opera reopened as a privately operated theater with a revue called, appropriately enough, “The show must go on.”
They now offer a varied program (mainly on the weekends) of musicals, recitals and plays, mostly light comedies done by visiting theater troupes.
During renovation they increased the seating capacity from 700 to 970, so the Old Opera is now once again the largest theater in Erfurt as far as seating is concerned, since the new opera house only seats 800 in its main hall.
Address: Gorkistraße 1, 99084 Erfurt
Of Course... St. Marien´s Cathedral and Severi
by elgin99
"Erfurt Cathedral is the most beautiful Church in the City and it is unique in Germany. St. Mary's Cathedral was and is Thuringia's main Catholic Church. After World War II, it attracted many Pilgrims and after Germany's reunification, it became Diocesan Church of the Erfurt Bishopric." This is the official description about that unique cathedral in Erfurt. From the far you see that special ensemble of the charming town. The Dom (Cathedral) and Severi church is so much impressive and the landmark of the town.
Another unique you can hear, seldom but than it is an event: the famous bell Gloriosa.
"The Gloriosa (of Erfurt Cathedral) is the outstanding specimen among the older bells to have survived. This is one of the finest achievements of European bell-casting and one of the largest bells to emerge from the Middle Ages , being about 2 meters high and 2.57 m across. "
During the XMas time the market is on the place of Cathedral, what an unique scenery, you should not miss that! And don´t miss the great festival in August (see that tip), too.
By the way, on website you can hear the voice of that great bell.
An unusual doorknocker
by christine.j
Again, I like to look for the smaller details. To me, there are more interesting than the huge cathedral as such. On the main door to the cathedral you see a doorknocker in the shape of a lion.You can see this more often, but this one here happens to be eating a man. I don't know if there is some medieval significance to it or if the artist simply liked to add this detail for some extra thrill.
Update March 2008:
I learned from a priest at the cathedral that there are two possible explanations:
1. It says in the bible - 1 Peter,5,8 - that the devil is like a lion, trying to devour mankind. So if a lion eating a man is part of the door knocker, the medieval artists were trying to say."If you don't want to be eaten by a lion = devil, enter this church here.
2. If the lion's mane is shaped like the sun, then it's not just a lion but a symbol for the sun = light = God. Especially when the lion is sculptured so much bigger than the man he's eating, this was supposed to tell the people how much bigger God is than mankind.
So again, as with many symbolic sculptures, several possible and sometime contradictory explanations.
Haus zum Sonneborn
by iandsmith
At some stage during your time in Erfurt you'll either be on a tram or walking down Markt Strasse and, out of the corner of your eye a flash of golden yellow will beckon you down the Grosse Arche. Mind you, there'll be a few other distractions as well but the ancient laneway tends to be dominated by the Haus zum Sonneborn, a fine building dating from 1536.
Today it houses the registrar's office and what you see is just a few bits of the original as not a lot was salvageable during restoration but the atunning portal (again with those beer holes you'll note) is the initial focal point but you also can't help but see the 16th century sgraffiti above the portal.
Inside, a panelled room with Renaissance murals ands some timber frames are all that remain of the original. Let that not detract from your enjoyment!
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Erfurt
What, no snow?
Krämerbrucke
Cousin and the photographer
