Germany
Erfurt Angermuseum

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  • Day 7

    das Thüringische Rom

    September 14, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Unser nächstes Ziel ist die Stadt Erfurt. Im Mittelalter erhielt sie den Beinamen "Thüringisches Rom" weil innerhalb ihrer Mauern so viele Kirchen & Klöster waren.
    Die Stadt ist durch den Handel mit der blau färbenden Waidpflanze reich und mächtig geworden.
    Wir parken uns am Domplatz-Parkplatz ein (Lore bezahlt erstmals die Parkgebühr mit der PayByPhone-App) und stürzen uns ins Treiben. Auf dem riesigen Platz wird für das Erfurter Oktoberfest ein Zelt aufgebaut und ein Stand mit "Thüringer Bratwürsten" verlockt uns zum Kosten.
    Derart gestärkt geht es die "vielen" Stufen zum Mariendom hinauf. Drinnen stoßen wir auf eine beeindruckende Architektur und edle Kunstwerke.
    Die Severinkirche (gleich daneben) kann da nicht mithalten dafür werden hier die Reliquien des Hl. Severin aufbewahrt.
    Wir machen uns also auf die Suche nach der Krämerbrücke. Sie überrascht uns, weil wir nicht bemerken, dass wir über die Brücke gehen ... es gibt auf beiden Seiten Geschäfte und erst eine neue Perspektive eröffnet und den Blick auf die "Ponte Erfurt".
    Gegenüber vom Rathaus bekommen wir einen schönen Platz im Café-Vorgarten mit Kaffee, Weckerl & Kuchen.
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  • Day 6

    Alte Synagogue Erfurt

    December 1, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 41 °F

    Also on our list for today, was the Alte Synagogue and the remains of the mikveh, the Jewish ritual bath which was discovered during work by the Kramerbrücke.

    The structure dates back to Eleventh Century, though most of the building are from the period 1250-1320. It is believed to be the oldest intact synagogue surviving in Europe. You can see traces of the former dancehall decoration on the upper floor.

    The Erfurt Massacre of 1349, a deadly pogrom against the town's Jews, occurred. Those who weren't killed were expelled, and the building passed into the hands of a private owner. In the following centuries, it was used for various things including warehouse space, a ballroom, and a bowling alley. Because of the structural changes all of these conversions caused, and the fact that it was located out of the way, the building survived the Nazi period.

    Today, the Alte Synagogue houses a museum that contains the Erfurt Treasure: a collection of silver coins, gold and jewelry that had been hidden by Jewish residents before the 1349 massacre. Also on display are copies of significant Jewish religious texts dating from the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Century, including a copy a record of oral Jewish law. The original manuscripts are in the Berlin State Library.

    The mikveh can only be visited by special tour, and no pictures in the treasury. So sorry: no bling and only two shots down through the glass into the mikveh one without flash and one with, which is pretty far under the current street. Also, the Kramerbrücke, near the location of the mikveh.
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  • Day 6

    Augustiner Brewery, Erfurt

    December 1, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 39 °F

    Lunch time. Tired of Christmas Market food, which is not good because we have a lot of time ahead of us. Had my German goose, so that's another objective off my list. It was good. And Augustiner dunker, good as always. Venison schnitzel was good, but goose was better. I never had it before, but apparently it's the quintessential German Christmas meal.Read more

  • Day 4

    Erfurt Christmas Market by day

    November 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Was a bit crowded, even at mid-day, but not as chaotic as the main market in Leipzig. Lots of interesting things to eat, it looks like. We had our first Thuringer Rostbratwurst. It was good, different from the ones our German butcher makes, but they come from Baden Wurttemberg so I'm thinking these are the real deal. Gluhwein as well, but it didn't come in a real cup so we'll have to get more.

    There are a handful of other markets, but one looks totally bougie/hipster. We'll see tonight, or Sunday night. Or both.
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  • Day 4

    Sankt Severi

    November 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Right next door to the Cathedral of Saint Mary, is Saint Severus. The original structure dates from the Eighth Century, a monastery was founded there. In 836, the bones of Saint Severus of Ravenna were brought to the church.

    The Romanesque church was largely redone in Gothic style in the 1300s. After a fire in the city in 1472, the church was rebuilt yet again. It barely survived secularization and the reign of Napoleon, who offered it for sale so that it could be destroyed. Go figure. Bombing during World War II almost destroyed it again, and since the end of the war, it has undergone several more renovations.

    The relics of Saint Severus in an elaborate sarcophagus are the most significant item in the church. Also of interest, the Virgin Mary altar which features Mary and several other female saints
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  • Day 4

    Erfurt

    November 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Today, we're off to Erfurt, where we'll spend the weekend. Erfurt is the capital of the state of Thuringia, which so happens to be the state in which my maternal grandfather lived. That's not why we chose to visit here though. Erfurt is another old city that came highly recommended by the smart volunteers on the Germany forum at trip advisor, as well as being interesting historically and aesthetically. Remember those half-timbered houses I liked so much in Franken? Well they're here, too. I was told it has an exceedingly pretty Altstadt, and it does. Of note is the Kramerbrücke, built in the 1100s, that to this day houses shops and homes on either side. When I get the time, I'll dump a lot more pictures on Facebook.

    Short history, feel free to skip if you're tired of me rambling, or you know all of this. Erfurt comes into the records in 742, when the English Benedictine, Saint Boniface established a diocese here. Another example of the English Christianizing the Germanic people, as we saw on our last trip to Austria and Bavaria. The city is on the Via Regina, that vital east-west trade route across Europe, which contributed to its wealth. Erfurt was a member of the Hanseatic League, which I tend to associate with northern and coastal Germany, but I imagine other inland trading cities/towns were in the League as well. During the Holy Roman Empire, Erfurt was under the power of the Electorate of Mainz (and yes, Mainz itself is clear across the country on the Rhine, but the HRE was that way), and had significant town rights. At some point in the early 1800s, it passed to Prussia, and then, as with most other places in Europe, it was overrun and taken by Napoleon.

    The University of Erfurt was founded in 1379, the oldest university in what today is modern day Germany. This is the university Martin Luther was attending when he decided to become a monk. He entered the Augustinian Cloister right here in town. Other intellectual luminaries associated with Erfurt: the mystic and philospher Meister Eckhart, and the sociologist Max Weber, best known by me as the author of “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” which I had to read in my historiography class back in college.

    Like Leipzig, there are intriguing (to me) musical associations here. Johann Pachelbel was the organist at the Predigerkirche from 1678-1690. Several members of the Bach family lived here, including the parents of JS Bach. The church were his parents married is still standing.

    I'm going to cut this short, giving more detail (sorry) when we actually do the sightseeing, after one last bit of information. Topf and Sons, the company that provided the crematoria to the Nazis, was located in Erfurt. You can visit the site of their headquarters, and we're going back and forth on that. We'll see.
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  • Day 10

    Erfurt day 2

    December 14, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Today we had another wander around town to see all the things. We explored farther out than we did last time and we just really love it here!

    We found some pea soup for lunch which was really tasty and another fresh hot soft pretzel. I don’t know why more places don’t have fresh soft pretzels! They are so good!!

    There is a small waterway we followed north a bit to a park where apparently all the ducks congregate! So many ducks all over the place! Along the way we saw a grey heron which was fun. It was super cold again today, but kept snowing a little bit all day which I loved. This was a very nice stop and I am glad it was just as amazing as last year! Tomorrow we head home, but stop at one last Christmas market along the way!
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  • Day 6

    Augustinerkloster

    December 1, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 27 °F

    Building began in 1277, and continued into 1300s.
    Includes the chapter house, cloister, tower, priory and St Katherine's chapel. In 1482 two Woad houses were built: one for storage of grain, the other to process woad-- the blue dye that helped to make Erfurt's riches. The monks traded in woad to fund the monastery.

    Had a notable school, which was started in the early 1300s.
    Martin Luther entered the monastery in 1505, was ordained in 1507, and was at the monastery intermittently until sept 1511.

    He stopped at the monastery and preached outside of it on his way tot he Diet of Worms (and little child Lutheran me was so disappointed to learn that no, the “evil Catholics” didn't make him eat worms) in 1521

    During the beginning of the reformation, the prior supporter Luther, and distributed Luther's writings. In 1522 many of the monks followed Prior Johannes Lang in leaving the Order and becoming Evangelical. When the last monk died, the town council took over the property.

    It was used as a school, then part of it reverted back to the Evangelical church. It also housed an orphanage, and in the 1800s, a school for orphaned and neglected children.

    The property suffered considerable damage during WW2, leading to the deaths of 267 people who were sheltering there. The Fourteenth Century stained glass windows and many of the books survived, having been removed and stored elsewhere. Today, you can visit the cell Luther lived in after his return from Rome in 1511, and there's a picture of that. Also, the grave of the founder of the monastery, which is where novices would prostrate themselves when they took their vows-- got that too.
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  • Day 4

    Erfurter Dom

    November 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    The Cathedral of Saint Mary stands on the site of two former churches, including one established by Saint Boniface in 742. In the mid Twelfth Century it was rebuilt as a Romanesque basilica. The church's current form was reached in the Fourteenth Century, went another renovation was undertaken in Gothic style.

    The church is home to the oldest free standing cast work in Germany, a candelabra called the Erfurter Wolfram and the Maria Gloriosa, which was the world's largest free swinging bell when it was made in 1497. Today, it's the world's largest surviving free swinging Medieval bell, and is still in use. No chance to see the bell, and we might have seen the other thing. We definitely saw the relics of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (though they call her Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia), and Saint Boniface.

    Two significant historical events occurred in the cathedral. The first, on July 26, 1184, is known as the Erfurt Latrine Disaster. Yes-- latrine disaster. King (later Emperor) Henry VI met with vassals and other area lords to try and broker an end to a feud between Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia, and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. At some point during the meeting, the floor collapsed, sending nearly everyone in the room into the latrine beneath the church. Sixty people died, though Louis and Henry both survived.

    On April 3, 1507 Martin Luther was ordained in the cathedral.

    Today, the church is still Catholic, though Erfurt and the surrounding area by and large went Lutheran during the reformation.
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  • Day 2–3

    Erfurt

    October 10, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Nach einer erholsamen Nacht im "Opera Hostel" - Sightseeing in der Altstadt von Erfurt! Bernd getroffen und noch ein paar Nudeln gesnackt :-)

    Danach ab zum Airport. Airport?!? Ja, Erfurt hat einen Airport! Sehr familiär, sauber und ganz zu empfehlen!Read more

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