Erfurt

Travel times from Münster:
Train – 4 hours, 30 mins.
Car – 3 hours, 30 mins.

Erfurt became a pilgrimage destination of sorts with the reunification of Germany. Thousands of Americans poured into this former East German city to see where Martin Luther studied, to bow heads where he prayed, to walk the same medieval streets, and even to sleep where he slept. At almost every turn, there’s a reminder of the man who launched the Reformation.

Erfurt was the young Luther’s spiritual home. In 1505 he graduated from the University with a Masters in philosophy. It is said that a violent storm close to Erfurt that same year prompted him to become a monk at the Augustinerkloster (Augustinian Monastery) in gratitude for his survival. Martin Luther stayed there until 1511 and was ordained as a priest in St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Even after he had left the city, he often returned to preach to enthusiastic crowds, in the university church (St. Michael’s) for example. It has been more than 500 years since Luther was a student at the collegium maius, the old Erfurt university’s main building, which is now being restored. On November 10 every year, Erfurt celebrates Martin Luther’s birthday and remembers St. Martin with the St. Martin’s Festival on Domplatz.

The Augustinian Monastery, dating back to 1277, houses an exhibition that shows the life and work of its most renowned resident.  You can visit Luther’s cell in addition to its impressive library with many rare books. The Monastery is also one of the Erfurt’s best values for lodging. The spartan but certainly historic accommodations are clean, modern and sparsely decorated—bed, chair and desk but no television, radio or telephone—with private bathrooms/showers.

Another important structure in Erfurt is the Barfüsserkirche, or the blackfriars’ "Church of the Barefooted." Most of the church was destroyed in 1944, but even in the present condition the church is one of the greatest examples of German ecclesiastical architecture of the 14th and 15th centuries. Luther also preached here in 1529 before the Franciscan monastery was discontinued.

Other significant sites for those interested in the Reformation and its leader are the Luther monument (next to the Merchants’ Church on the Anger road) and the “Haus Zum Schwarzen Horn“ at Michaelisstrasse 48. This building housed Mathes Maler’s printing workshop, where many of Luther’s pamphlets were printed.

Day excursions from Erfurt to nearby cities can further highlight Luther’s life. You can see the Luther Stone in Stotternheim. In Eisenach, you can visit Luther’s house and the famed Wartburg Castle with its Luther room, where he translated the New Testament in 1521 and -22 while in protective custody.
Luther spent much of his life living and preaching in nearby Wittenberg. Today you can visit his home and the town’s Castle Church, where it is said he nailed his Theses to the doors. Also on the map of interest are Eisleben, where he was born and died, and Mansfeld, his childhood home.

As long as you’re in Erfurt, though, remember that there is far more to this city than Luther. The compact Altstadt makes for easy exploration of its many neighboring historic sights. The Domberg (Cathedral Hill) thrusts impressive twin cathedrals above the city’s rooftops. The hike up the 70 steps from the Domplatz is worth it to see the treasures of the 14th century St. Mary’s Cathedral and the 13th century St. Severus.

Also not to be missed is the Petersberg Citadel, the only extensively preserved Baroque town fortress in central Europe. It has an intricate maze of underground passageways waiting to be explored. The Krämerbrücke (Merchant's Bridge), built in 1325, is a fascinating work of medieval secular architecture. It is completely covered by houses on both sides. The original 62 narrow houses have over time been amalgamated to form the present 32 houses, and it is recognized as the longest bridge of its kind in Europe.

In more recent times, this beautiful city has bloomed into the reputation of Europe’s “Flower City,” and a visit in springtime is a delight for the senses. A city of parks and gardens, it boasts Germany’s largest flower bed (6,000 square meters) in the ega-Park. The “ega” is a gardening exhibition center built around the 500-year-old Cyriaksburg fortress and is a testament to man’s ability to find harmony with nature in landscape gardening. Just behind the train station, City Park rises with a series of stone terraces. The old Brühl Park, built as a refuge for nobility in the 18th century and now gone quite literally to seed, is being tamed and manicured.