Erfurt

Travel times from Potsdam:
Train – 4 hours
Car –2½ hours

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.

Luther came to the University of Erfurt as a student in 1501, served as a monk in the Augustinian Monastery starting in 1505 and was ordained as a priest in the St. Mary’s Cathedral in 1511. At almost every turn, there’s a reminder of the man who launched the Reformation. But there is far more to this city than Luther.

The compact Altstadt (Old Town) 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.

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.

The Augustinerkloster (Augustinian Monastery), dating back to 1277, houses an exhibition that shows the life and work of its resident of six years, Martin Luther. Also not to be missed is the Petersberg Citadel, one of the few of nearly completely preserved Baroque Citadels in Europe. Today it stands as impressive proof of the art of European fortification construction from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

This beautiful city has bloomed into the reputation of Europe’s “Flower City.” 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.

Erfurt is a great base for daytrips throughout the region. Visit the town of Eisenach, where Johann Sebastian Bach was born and baptized. It was high up at Eisenach’s Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament. The castle is listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and you can still visit the homes of Bach and Luther today.

If you need some exercise and fresh air after so many castles and museums, you will enjoy the Thuringian Forest. It is one of Germany's most densely forested landscapes and, with the 104-mile Rennsteig and plenty of other well-marked hiking trails, it is the ideal place for an active afternoon outdoors.

You can make a lovely day trip out to Gotha, the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Gotha that lies between Erfurt and Eisenach. It is dominated by Friedenstein Palace, which is the largest early Baroque palace in Germany. Inside the western tower of the palace is the Ekhof Theatre, the oldest surviving Baroque theater in the world still staging plays. Gotha is also where the Thuringian Forest Railway begins, which will take you out into the Thuringian Forest as far as Tabarz.