Erfurt

Prehistory and antiquity To the west of Erfurt in Frienstedt existed, in the AD era, a big Germanic village, which was found during the construction of a highway. Where they also discovered the oldest Germanic word ever discovered in Central Germany written in runic script was found on a comb from a sacrificial shaft the word: "kaba". From Roman Times, however, they found 200 coins dating back to the third century, plus 150 Roman ceramic fragments and more than 200 fibulae. Also 11 inhumation graves of the Haßleben-Leuna group, which is an archeological cultural group. The Melchendorf dig in the southern city part showed a settlement from the Neolithic period. The Thuringi inhabited the Erfurt area in c. 480 and gave their name to Thuringia in c. 500. Middle Ages '', 1493. (1392) The town is first mentioned in 742 under the name of "Erphesfurt": in that year, Saint Boniface wrote to Pope Zachary to inform him that he had established three dioceses in central Germany, one of them "in a place called Erphesfurt, which for a long time has been inhabited by pagan natives." All three dioceses (the other two were Würzburg and Büraburg) were confirmed by Zachary the next year, though in 755 Erfurt was brought into the diocese of Mainz. That the place was populous already is borne out by archeological evidence, which includes 23 graves and six horse burials from the sixth and seventh centuries. Throughout the Middle Ages, Erfurt was an important trading town because of its location, near a ford across the Gera river. Together with the other five Thuringian woad towns of Gotha, Tennstedt, Arnstadt and Langensalza it was the centre of the German woad trade, which made those cities very wealthy. Erfurt was the junction of important trade routes: the Via Regia was one of the most used east–west roads between France and Russia (via Frankfurt, Erfurt, Leipzig and Wrocław) and another route in the north–south direction was the connection between the Baltic Sea ports (e. g. Lübeck) and the potent upper Italian city-states like Venice and Milan. During the tenth and eleventh centuries both the Emperor and the Electorate of Mainz held some privileges in Erfurt. The German kings had an important monastery on Petersberg hill and the Archbishops of Mainz collected taxes from the people. Around 1100, some people became free citizens by paying the annual "" (liberation tax), which marks a first step in becoming an independent city. During the 12th century, as a sign of more and more independence, the citizens built a city wall around Erfurt (in the area of today's ). After 1200, independence was fulfilled and a city council was founded in 1217; the town hall was built in 1275. In the following decades, the council bought a city-owned territory around Erfurt which consisted at its height of nearly 100 villages and castles and even another small town (Sömmerda). Erfurt became an important regional power between the Landgraviate of Thuringia around, the Electorate of Mainz to the west and the Electorate of Saxony to the east. Between 1306 and 1481, Erfurt was allied with the two other major Thuringian cities (Mühlhausen and Nordhausen) in the Thuringian City Alliance and the three cities joined the Hanseatic League together in 1430. A peak in economic development was reached in the 15th century, when the city had a population of 20,000 making it one of the largest in Germany. Between 1432 and 1446, a second and higher city wall was established. In 1483, a first city fortress was built on Cyriaksburg hill in the southwestern part of the town. In the year 1184, Erfurt was the location of a notable accident called the Erfurter Latrinensturz ('Erfurt latrine fall'). King Henry VI held council in a building of the Erfurt Cathedral to negotiate peace between two of his vassals, Archbishop Konrad I of Mainz and Landgrave Ludwig III of Thuringia. The amassed weight of all the gathered men proved too heavy for the floor to bear, which collapsed. According to contemporary accounts, dozens of people fell to their death into the latrine pit below. Ludwig III, Konrad I and Henry VI survived the affair. The Jewish community of Erfurt was founded in the 11th century. Together with the Jewish communities in Mainz, Worms and Speyer, it became one of the most influential in Germany. The Old Synagogue is still extant and is a museum today, as is the mikveh at Gera river near . In 1349, during the wave of Black Death Jewish persecutions across Europe, the Jews of Erfurt were rounded up, with more than 100 killed and the rest driven from the city. Before the persecution, a wealthy Jewish merchant buried his property in the basement of his house. In 1998, this treasure was found during construction works. The Erfurt Treasure with various gold and silver objects is shown in the exhibition in the synagogue today. Only a few years after 1349, the Jews moved back to Erfurt and founded a second community, which was disbanded by the city council in 1454. Because of their exceptional testimony to the life of a medieval Jewish community, the Jewish sites in Erfurt were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023., the oldest in Europe (1094).In 1379, the University of Erfurt was founded. Together with the University of Cologne it was one of the first city-owned universities in Germany, while they were usually owned by the ''''. Some buildings of this old university are extant or restored in the "Latin Quarter" in the northern city centre (like , student dorms "" and others, the hospital and the church of the university). The university quickly became a hotspot of German cultural life in Renaissance humanism with scholars like Ulrich von Hutten, Helius Eobanus Hessus and Justus Jonas. Early modern period In 1501 Martin Luther (1483–1546) moved to Erfurt and began his studies at the university. After 1505, he lived at St. Augustine's Monastery as a friar. In 1507 he was ordained as a priest in Erfurt Cathedral. He moved permanently to Wittenberg in 1511. Erfurt was an early adopter of the Protestant Reformation, in 1521. In 1530, the city became one of the first in Europe to be officially bi-confessional with the Hammelburg Treaty. It kept that status through all the following centuries. The later 16th and the 17th century brought a slow economic decline of Erfurt. Trade shrank, the population was falling and the university lost its influence. The city's independence was endangered. In 1664, the city and surrounding area were brought under the dominion of the Electorate of Mainz and the city lost its independence. The Electorate built a huge fortress on Petersberg hill between 1665 and 1726 to control the city and instituted a governor to rule Erfurt. In 1682 and 1683 Erfurt experienced the worst plague years in its history. In 1683 more than half of the population died because of the deadly disease. In Erfurt, witch-hunts are known to have taken place from 1526 to 1700. There are 18 records of trials for witchcraft in this period. During the late 18th century, Erfurt saw another cultural peak. Governor Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg had close relations with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Gottfried Herder, Christoph Martin Wieland and Wilhelm von Humboldt, who often visited him at his court in Erfurt. Erfurt during the Napoleonic Wars 's birthday, this Greek-style temple with grotto, flowerbeds and fountain in the '''' was burned in November 1813 and completely destroyed by Erfurters and their besiegers in 1814. Erfurt became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1802, to compensate for territories Prussia lost to France on the Left Bank of the Rhine. In the Capitulation of Erfurt, the city, its 12,000 Prussian and Saxon defenders under William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, 65 artillery pieces, and the Petersberg Citadel and Cyriaksburg Citadel Cyriaksburg, were handed over to the French on 16 October 1806. At the time of the capitulation, Joachim Murat, Marshal of France, had about 16,000 troops near Erfurt. With the attachment of the Saxe-Weimar territory of Blankenhain, the city became part of the First French Empire in 1806 as the Principality of Erfurt, directly subordinate to Napoleon as an "imperial state domain" (), separate from the Confederation of the Rhine, which the surrounding Thuringian states had joined. Erfurt was administered by a civilian and military Senate ('''') During their administration, the French introduced street lighting and a tax on foreign horses to pay for maintaining the road surface. In 1811, to commemorate the birth of the Prince Imperial, a ceremonial column (') of wood and plaster was erected on the common. Similarly, the ' – a Greek-style temple topped by a winged victory with shield, sword and lance and containing a bust of Napoleon sculpted by Friedrich Döll – was erected in the ' woods, including a grotto with fountain and flower beds, using a large pond (') from the , Within a week of the Sixth Coalition's decisive victory at Leipzig (16–19 October 1813), however, Erfurt was besieged by Prussian, Austrian and Russian troops under the command of Prussian Lt Gen von Kleist. After a first capitulation signed by d'Alton on 20 December 1813 the French troops withdrew to the two fortresses of Petersberg and Cyriaksburg, the '''' ceremonial column was burned and destroyed as a symbol of the citizens' oppression under the French; similarly the '''' was burned on 1 November 1813 and completely destroyed by Erfurters and their besiegers in 1814. The Industrial Revolution reached Erfurt in the 1840s, when the Thuringian Railway connecting Berlin and Frankfurt was built. During the following years, many factories in different sectors were founded. One of the biggest was the "Royal Gun Factory of Prussia" in 1862. After the Unification of Germany in 1871, Erfurt moved from the southern border of Prussia to the centre of Germany, so the fortifications of the city were no longer needed. The demolition of the city fortifications in 1873 led to a construction boom in Erfurt, because it was now possible to build in the area formerly occupied by the city walls and beyond. Many public and private buildings emerged and the infrastructure (such as a tramway, hospitals, and schools) improved rapidly. The number of inhabitants grew from 40,000 around 1870 to 130,000 in 1914, and the city expanded in all directions. The "Erfurt Program" was adopted by the Social Democratic Party of Germany during its congress at Erfurt in 1891. Between the wars, the city kept growing. Housing shortages were fought with building programmes and social infrastructure was broadened according to the welfare policy in the Weimar Republic. The Great Depression between 1929 and 1932 led to a disaster for Erfurt, nearly one out of three became unemployed. Conflicts between far-left and far-right-oriented milieus increased and many inhabitants supported the new Nazi government and Adolf Hitler. Others, especially some communist workers, put up resistance against the new administration. In 1938, the new synagogue was destroyed during the . Jews lost their property and emigrated or were deported to Nazi concentration camps (together with many communists). In 1914, the company Topf and Sons began the manufacture of crematoria later becoming the market leader in this industry. Under the Nazis, JA Topf & Sons supplied specially developed crematoria, ovens and associated plants to the Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald and Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps. On 27 January 2011 a memorial and museum dedicated to the Holocaust victims was opened at the former company premises in Erfurt. During World War II, Erfurt experienced more than 27 British and American air raids, about 1600 civilians died. Bombed as a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, Erfurt suffered only limited damage and was captured on 12 April 1945, by the U.S. 80th Infantry Division. On 3 July, American troops left the city, which then became part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation and eventually of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In 1948, Erfurt became the capital of Thuringia, replacing Weimar. In 1952, the in the GDR were dissolved in favour of centralization under the new socialist government. Erfurt then became the capital of a new "" (district). In 1953, the of education was founded, followed by the of medicine in 1954, the first academic institutions in Erfurt since the closing of the university in 1816. On 19 March 1970, the East and West German heads of government Willi Stoph and Willy Brandt met in Erfurt, the first such meeting since the division of Germany. During the 1970s and 1980s, as the economic situation in GDR worsened, many old buildings in city centre decayed, while the government fought against the housing shortage by building large settlements in the periphery. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989/1990 led to German reunification. With the re-formation of the state of Thuringia in 1990, the city became the state capital. After reunification, a deep economic crisis occurred in Eastern Germany. Many factories closed and many people lost their jobs and moved to the former West Germany. At the same time, many buildings were redeveloped and the infrastructure improved massively. In 1994, the new university was opened, as was the Fachhochschule in 1991. Between 2005 and 2008, the economic situation improved as the unemployment rate decreased and new enterprises developed. In addition, the population began to increase once again. A school shooting occurred on 26 April 2002 at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium. Since the 1990s, organized crime has gained a foothold in Erfurt, with several mafia groups, including the Armenian mafia present in the city. Among other events, there has been a robbery and an arson attack targeting the gastronomy sector and in 2014 there was a shoot-out in an open street. == Geography ==

Topography Erfurt is situated in the south of the Thuringian basin, a fertile agricultural area between the Harz mountains to the north and the Thuringian Forest to the southwest. Whereas the northern parts of the city area are flat, the southern ones consist of hilly landscape up to 430 m of elevation. In this part lies the municipal forest of '''' with beeches and oaks as main tree species. To the east and to the west are some non-forested hills so that the Gera river valley within the town forms a basin. North of the city are some gravel pits in operation, while others are abandoned, flooded and used as leisure areas. Climate Erfurt has an oceanic climate (Cfb) bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. Summers are warm and sometimes humid with average high temperatures of and lows of . Winters are relatively cold with average high temperatures of and lows of . The city's topography creates a microclimate caused by the location inside a basin with sometimes inversion in winter (quite cold nights under ) and inadequate air circulation in summer. Annual precipitation is only with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through February, but snow cover does not usually remain for long. The Erfurt (Erfurt–Weimar Airport) weather station has recorded the following extreme values: • Its highest temperature was on 20 July 2022. • Its lowest temperature was on 11 January 1982. • Its greatest annual precipitation was in 2002. • Its least annual precipitation was in 1982. • The longest annual sunshine was 2,039.4 hours in 2022. • The shortest annual sunshine was 1,341 hours in 1977. Administrative divisions Erfurt abuts the districts of Sömmerda (municipalities Witterda, Elxleben, Walschleben, Riethnordhausen, Nöda, Alperstedt, Großrudestedt, Udestedt, Kleinmölsen and Großmölsen) in the north, Weimarer Land (municipalities Niederzimmern, Nohra, Mönchenholzhausen and Klettbach) in the east, Ilm-Kreis (municipalities Kirchheim, Rockhausen and Amt Wachsenburg) in the south and Gotha (municipalities Nesse-Apfelstädt, Nottleben, Zimmernsupra and Bienstädt) in the west. The city itself is divided into 53 districts. The centre is formed by the district ' (old town) and the districts ' in the northwest, ' in the northeast, ' in the east, ' in the southeast, ' in the southwest and ' in the west. More former industrial districts are ' (incorporated in 1911), ' and ' in the north. Another group of districts is marked by Plattenbau settlements, constructed during the East Germany period: ', ', ', ' and ' in the northern as well as ', ' and ' in the southern city parts. Eventually, there are many villages with an average population of approximately 1,000 which were incorporated during the 20th century; they have mostly retained a rural character to date, however: • Alach (incorporated 1994) • Azmannsdorf (1994) • Bindersleben (1950) • Bischleben-Stedten (1950) • Büßleben (1994) • Dittelstedt (1994) • Egstedt (1994) • Ermstedt (1994) • Frienstedt (1994) • Gispersleben (1950) • Gottstedt (1994) • Hochheim (1938) • Hochstedt (1994) • Kerspleben (1994) • Kühnhausen (1994) • Linderbach (1994) • Marbach (1950) • Mittelhausen (1994) • Möbisburg-Rhoda (1950) • Molsdorf (1994) • Niedernissa (1994) • Rohda (1994) • Salomonsborn (1994) • Schaderode (1994) • Schmira (1950) • Schwerborn (1994) • Stotternheim (1994) • Tiefthal (1994) • Töttelstädt (1994) • Töttleben (1994) • Urbich (1994) • Vieselbach (1994) • Wallichen (1994) • Waltersleben (1994) • Windischholzhausen (1994) Erfurt-Southeast Erfurt-Southeast () is the collective name for a series of prefabricated housing areas that emerged in the southeast of Erfurt in the last ten years of East Germany. After Erfurt-Nord, Erfurt-Südost is the second-largest prefabricated building area in the city. The problems associated with large housing estates are not as pronounced in the southeast as in the north, but they are still present. The districts of Melchendorf, Herrenberg and Wiesenhügel belong to Erfurt-Südost, all of which were formed from the former local area of Melchendorf. The village of Melchendorf with around 1,000 inhabitants lies between the prefabricated building areas. In addition to the old village, the district of Melchendorf also includes the prefab housing areas of Drosselberg and Buchenberg as well as several four-story apartment blocks from the 1950s and 1960s on . Around 24,000 people still live in the large settlement, which was once designed for almost 40,000 inhabitants. == Population ==

{{historical populations Around the year 1500, the city had 18,000 inhabitants and was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The population then more or less stagnated until the 19th century. The population of Erfurt was 21,000 in 1820, and increased to 32,000 in 1847, the year of rail connection as industrialization began. In the following decades Erfurt grew up to 130,000 at the beginning of World War I and 190,000 inhabitants in 1950. A maximum was reached in 1988 with 220,000 persons. In 1991, after the German reunification and when Erfurt became the capital of Thuringia state, it had a population of about 205,000. The bad economic situation in eastern Germany after the reunification resulted in a decline in population, which fell to 200,000 in 2002 before rising again to 206,000 in 2011. The average growth of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 0.68 % p. a., whereas the population in bordering rural regions is shrinking with accelerating tendency. Suburbanization played only a small role in Erfurt. It occurred after reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders. Erfurt is also the 10th-largest city in Germany by area with area of . The birth deficit was 200 in 2012, this is −1.0 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: −4.5; national average: −2.4). The net migration rate was +8.3 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: −0.8; national average: +4.6). The most important regions of origin of Erfurt migrants are rural areas of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony as well as foreign countries like Poland, Russia, Syria, Afghanistan and Hungary. Erfurt is today one of the popular cities in former East Germany due to its universities and broadcasting companies. Like other cities within the area of former East Germany, foreigners account only for a small share of Erfurt's population:  3.0 % are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 5.9 % are migrants (according to the 2011 European Union census). Due to the official atheism of the former communist East German regime, most of the population is non-religious. 14.8 % are members of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and 6.8 % are Catholics (according to the 2011 EU census). The Jewish community consists of 500 members. Most of them migrated to Erfurt from Russia and Ukraine in the 1990s. == Culture, sights and cityscape ==

Residents notable in cultural history The theologian, philosopher and mystic Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–1328) entered the Dominican monastery () in Erfurt when he was aged about 18 (around 1275). Eckhart was the Dominican prior at Erfurt from 1294 until 1298, and Vicar of Thuringia from 1298 to 1302. After a year in Paris, he returned to Erfurt in 1303 and administered his duties as Provincial of Saxony from there until 1311. Martin Luther (1483–1546) studied law and philosophy at the University of Erfurt from 1501. He lived in St Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt, as a friar from 1505 to 1511. Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) served as organist at the (Preachers Church) in Erfurt from June 1678 until August 1690. Pachelbel composed approximately seventy pieces for organ while in Erfurt. The city is the birthplace of one of Johann Sebastian Bach's cousins, Johann Bernhard Bach, as well as Johann Sebastian Bach's father Johann Ambrosius Bach. Bach's parents were married in 1668 in the (Merchant's Church) that still exists on the main square of . Max Weber (1864–1920) was born in Erfurt. He was a sociologist, philosopher, lawyer, and political economist whose ideas have profoundly influenced modern social theory and social research. After 1906 the composer Richard Wetz (1875–1935) lived in Erfurt and became the leading person in the city's musical life. His major works were written here, including three symphonies, a Requiem and a Christmas Oratorio. The textile designer Margaretha Reichardt (1907–1984) was born and died in Erfurt. She studied at the Bauhaus from 1926 to 1930, and while there worked with Marcel Breuer on his innovative chair designs. Her former home and weaving workshop in Erfurt, the Margaretha Reichardt Haus, is now a museum, managed by the Angermuseum Erfurt. Famous contemporary musicians from Erfurt are Clueso, the Boogie Pimps and Yvonne Catterfeld. Museums Erfurt has a great variety of museums: • The '''' (municipal museum) shows aspects of Erfurt's history with a focus on the Middle Ages, early modern history, Martin Luther and the university. Other parts of the are the ' (new mill), an old water mill still in operation, and the ' (Benary's magazine) with an exhibition of old printing machines. • The '''' (Old Synagogue) is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in Europe. It is now a museum of local Jewish history. It houses facsimiles of medieval Hebrew manuscripts and the Erfurt Treasure, a hoard of coins and goldsmiths' work that is assumed to have belonged to Jews who hid them in 1349 at the time of the Black Death pogroms. • The '''' (Topf and Sons memorial) is on the site of the factory of the company which constructed crematoria for Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Its exhibitions explore the collaboration of a civilian company with the National Socialist regime in the Holocaust. • Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse, (Stasi Museum). On the site of the former Erfurt Stasi prison, where over 5000 people were held. On 4 December 1989, the building was occupied by local residents. It was the first of many such takeovers of Stasi buildings in the former East Germany. Today it has exhibitions on the history of East Germany and the activities of its regime. • The Angermuseum is one of the main art museums of Erfurt, named after Anger Square, where it is located. It focuses on modern graphic arts, medieval sculpture and early modern artisanal handicraft. • The '''' (Erfurt City Art Gallery) has exhibitions of contemporary art, of local, national and international artists. • The Margaretha Reichardt Haus is the home and workshop of the textile designer and former Bauhaus student, Margaretha Reichardt (1907–1984). • The '''' (Saint Peter's church) houses an exhibition of concrete art, i.e. totally abstract art (not art made out of concrete). • The '''' (German Horticulture Museum) is housed at the Cyriaksburg Citadel. • The (Natural History Museum) is situated in a medieval woad warehouse and explores Thuringian flora and fauna, geology and ecology. • The '''' (Museum of Folk Art and Cultural Anthropology) looks at the ordinary life of people in Thuringia in the past and shows exhibits of peasant and artisan traditions. • The '''' (Museum of Electrical Engineering) shows the history of electric engines, which have featured prominently in Erfurt's economy. • Schloss Molsdorf in the district of Molsdorf is a Baroque palace with an exhibition about the painter . Image gallery File:Erfurt Stadtmuseum Haus zum Stockfisch.jpg| File:Angermuseum Erfurt2.JPG| File:Naturkundemuseum Erfurt Eingangtor.jpg| File:Defensionskaserne 3.jpg| File:Erfurt, Museum für Thüringer Volkskunde.jpg| File:Erinnerungsort Topf und Söhne Erfurt.JPG|J.A. Topf & Söhne museum and holocaust memorial site File:Stasi Memorial Andreasstraße Erfurt.JPG|Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse, former Stasi prison File:Schloss Molsdorf 01.jpg| Theatre Since 2003, the modern opera house is home to Theater Erfurt and its Philharmonic Orchestra. The "grand stage" section has 800 seats and the "studio stage" can hold 200 spectators. In September 2005, the opera Waiting for the Barbarians by Philip Glass premiered in the opera house. The Erfurt Theatre has been a source of controversy. In 2005, a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera '''' stirred up the local press since the performance contained suggestions of pedophilia and incest. The opera was advertised in the programme with the addition "for adults only". On 12 April 2008, a version of Verdi's opera '''' directed by Johann Kresnik opened at the Erfurt Theatre. The production stirred deep controversy by featuring nude performers in Mickey Mouse masks dancing on the ruins of the World Trade Center and a female singer with a painted on Hitler toothbrush moustache performing a straight arm Nazi salute, along with sinister portrayals of American soldiers, Uncle Sam, and Elvis Presley impersonators. The director described the production as a populist critique of modern American society, aimed at showing up the disparities between rich and poor. The controversy prompted one local politician to call for locals to boycott the performances, but this was largely ignored and the première was sold out. Sport Notable types of sport in Erfurt are athletics, ice skating, cycling (with the oldest velodrome in use in the world, opened in 1885), swimming, handball, volleyball, tennis and football. The city's football club is a member of the and is based in the . The '''' was the second indoor speed skating arena in Germany. It hosted the 2002 edition of the European Speed Skating Championships (German: Eisschnelllauf-Mehrkampfeuropameisterschaft). Cityscape Erfurt's cityscape features a medieval core of narrow, curved alleys in the centre surrounded by a belt of '''' architecture, created between 1873 and 1914. In 1873, the city's fortifications were demolished and it became possible to build houses in the area in front of the former city walls. In the following years, Erfurt saw a construction boom. In the northern area (districts Andreasvorstadt, Johannesvorstadt and Ilversgehofen) tenements for the factory workers were built whilst the eastern area (Krämpfervorstadt and Daberstedt) featured apartments for white-collar workers and clerks and the southwestern part (Löbervorstadt and Brühlervorstadt) with its beautiful valley landscape saw the construction of villas and mansions of rich factory owners and notables. During the interwar period, some settlements in Bauhaus style were realized, often as housing cooperatives. After World War II and over the whole GDR period, housing shortages remained a problem even though the government started a big apartment construction programme. Between 1970 and 1990 large settlements with high-rise blocks on the northern (for 50,000 inhabitants) and southeastern (for 40,000 inhabitants) periphery were constructed. After reunification the renovation of old houses in city centre and the '''' areas was a big issue. The federal government granted substantial subsidies, so that many houses could be restored. Compared to many other German cities, little of Erfurt was destroyed in World War II. This is one reason why the centre today offers a mixture of medieval, Baroque and Neoclassical architecture as well as buildings from the last 150 years. Public green spaces are located along Gera river and in several parks like the ', the ' and the ''''. The largest green area is the , a horticultural exhibition park and botanic garden established in 1961. Sights and architectural heritage Churches, monasteries and synagogues The city centre has about 25 churches and monasteries, most of them in Gothic style, some also in Romanesque style or a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic elements, and a few in later styles. The various steeples characterize the medieval centre and led to one of Erfurt's nicknames as the "Thuringian Rome". Catholic churches and monasteries • The (All Saints' Church) is a 14th-century Gothic church in (Market Street), which hosts a columbarium. • The (St Mary's Cathedral) perches above , the Cathedral Square. It is the episcopal see and one of the main sights of Erfurt. It combines Romanesque and Gothic elements and has the largest free-swinging medieval bell in the world, which is named Gloriosa. One of the works of art inside the cathedral is Lucas Cranach the Elder's 'The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine' painted around 1520. • The (St Lawrence's Church) is a small 14th-century Gothic parish church at Square. • The (St Martin's Church) was built in the 15th century in Gothic style and in 1755–58 converted to Baroque style. It was both a Cistercian nunnery and a parish church of , a medieval suburban zone. • The ("church of the new facility", Holy Cross Church) is a 15th-century Gothic church at , that was later converted to Baroque style. Until the 13th century, it was used by a convent of Augustinian nuns. • The (Scots Monks' Church of St Nicholas and St James) is an 11th-century Romanesque monastery church with a Baroque façade, which was later used as a parish church. • The (St Severus' Church) is the second-largest parish church after the cathedral and stands next to it on the hill. It is in Gothic style and was built around 1300. • The , St Ursula's Church, is a Gothic church at Square. It is attached to the , St Ursula's Nunnery, founded in 1136. • The (St Wigbert's Church) is a 15th-century Gothic church near Square. Allerheiligenkirche Erfurt.jpg|All Saints' Church Erfurt Lorenzkirche vom Anger.jpg|St Lawrence's Church Martinikirche.jpg|St Martin's Church Erfurt - Neuwerkskirche.jpg|Holy Cross Church Schottenkirche Erfurt.jpg|Schottenkirche Erfurt, Severikirche vom Petersberg gesehen-002.jpg|St Severus' Church Landtagprojekt Thueringen Erfurt 2011 (RaBoe) 110.jpg|Ursulines Church Wigbertikirche Erfurt2.JPG|St Wigbert's Church Protestant churches and monasteries • (St Giles' Church) is a 14th-century Gothic parish church at Square. It is the surviving one of formerly two bridge-head churches of the located on both ends of the bridge. As a result, the nave is on the first floor, while on ground level is a passage to the bridge. The steeple is open to the public and offers a good view over the city centre. Today, St Giles' Church is a Methodist parish church. • (St. Andrew's Church) is a 14th-century Gothic parish church at (Andrew's Street). The old craftsmen's quarter around it is named after the church. • (St Augustine's Monastery) dates from 1277. Martin Luther lived there as a monk between 1505 and 1511. The site has had a varied history and the restored complex has both modern and medieval buildings. Today it belongs to the Protestant Church in Germany and as well as being a place of worship it is also a meeting and conference centre, and provides simple guest accommodation. In 2016, an application was made for it to be included in the already existing UNESCO World Heritage Site "Luther sites in Central Germany". • The (Merchant's Church of St Gregory) is a 14th-century Gothic parish church at square. It is one of the largest and most important original parish churches in Erfurt. The parents of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Ambrosius Bach and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt, married here in 1668. • (St Michael's Church) is a 13th-century Gothic parish church at . It became the church of the university in 1392. Erfurt's first Protestant sermon was preached here in 1521. The church tower contains Erfurt's oldest bell "Katharina", The baroque composer Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was organist at the church from 1678 until 1690. • The (Regulated St Augustine's Church) is a 12th-century Romanesque-Gothic monastery church of the Augustinians at (Station Street). After the Reformation, it became a Protestant parish church. File:Erfurt kosciol sw Idziego 2.jpg|St Giles' Church File:Erfurt, Andreaskirche-002.jpg|St Andrew's Church File:Augustinerkirche Erfurt.jpg|St Augustine's Church File:Erfurt, Kaufmannskirche 001.JPG|Merchants' Church File:J24 082e Michaeliskirche.jpg|St Michael's Church File:Erfurt Predigerkirche (2).JPG|Dominican Church File:Reglerkirche Erfurt.jpg|Regulated St Augustine's Church Former churches • The is a 14th-century Gothic mendicant church at . The former Franciscan monastery became a Protestant parish church after the Reformation. In 1944, the church was severely damaged by allied bombing. Its high choir was restored, but the nave's ruins have been preserved as a war memorial. • The (St Bartholomew's Church) was a Gothic parish church at Square. The church was demolished in 1715 and only the steeple remained. Today, the tower hosts a carillon with 60 bells. • The '''' (St George's Church) was a parish church in Michaelisstraße. It was demolished in 1632 and only the church tower now remains. • The ' (Hospital Church) was the church of the former Great City Hospital at '. It is a 14th-century Gothic building and is used today as a depot by the Museum für Thüringer Volkskunde (Museum of Thuringian Ethnology). • The '''' (St John's Church) was a parish church at John's Street. It was demolished in 1819, but the steeple remained. • The ' (Carthusian Church, Mount St Saviour) was a monastery church at '. The Baroque church was closed in 1803 and afterwards used for many different purposes. Today, it is part of a housing complex. • The '''' (St Nicholas' Church) was a parish church in Augustine's Street. It was demolished in 1747, and only the steeple remained. • The '''' (St Paul's Church) was a parish church in Paul's Street. It was demolished before 1759. The steeple remains and is in use as the belfry of the Prediger Church. • The '''' (St Peter's Church) was built in the 12th century in Romanesque style as a church of the Benedictine monastery of St Peter and Paul on Petersberg hill, now the site of Petersberg Citadel. It was secularised in 1803 and used as a military store house. Today it houses an art gallery. File:Barfüßerkirche Erfurt 2011-03-19.jpg|Ruins of the former Franciscan monastery's church File:Bartholomäusturm Erfurt.jpg|St Bartholomew's steeple File:Hospitalkirche "Zum Heiligen Geist" Erfurt 8.jpg|Hospital Church File:Westportal-Kartaeuserkirche-Erfurt-2015-05.jpg|Carthusian Church File:Nicolaiturm.jpg|St Nicholas' steeple File:Paulsturm.jpg|St Paul's steeple File:Peterskirche Erfurt 1.jpg|St Peter's Church Synagogues The oldest parts of Erfurt's Alte Synagoge (Old Synagogue) date to the 11th century. It was used until 1349, when the Jewish community was destroyed in a pogrom known as the Erfurt Massacre. The building had many other uses since then. It was conserved in the 1990s and in 2009 it became a museum of Jewish history. The Jewish heritage of Erfurt including the Old Synagogue and Mikveh became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in September 2023 and is the second Jewish heritage in Germany that is listed on UNESCO. As religious freedom was granted in the 19th century, some Jews returned to Erfurt. They built their synagogue on the banks of the Gera river and used it from 1840 until 1884. The neoclassical building is known as the Kleine Synagoge (Small Synagogue). Today it is used as an events centre. It is also open to visitors. A larger synagogue, the Große Synagoge (Great Synagogue), was opened in 1884 because the community had become larger and wealthier. This moorish style building was destroyed during nationwide Nazi riots, known as on 9–10 November 1938. In 1947 the land which the Great Synagogue had occupied was returned to the Jewish community and they built their current place of worship, the Neue Synagoge (New Synagogue) which opened in 1952. It was the only synagogue building erected under communist rule in East Germany. File:Alte Synagoge Erfurt.JPG|Old Synagogue File:Kleine Synagoge Erfurt2.JPG|Small Synagogue File:Synagoge Erfurt.JPG|New Synagogue Secular architecture Besides the religious buildings there is a lot of historic secular architecture in Erfurt, mostly concentrated in the city centre, but some 19th- and 20th-century buildings are located on the outskirts. Street and square ensembles • The '''' (Merchants' bridge) is the most famous tourist attraction of Erfurt. This 15th-century bridge is completely covered with dwellings and unique in Europe north of the Alps. Today, there are some art handicraft and souvenir shops in the houses. • The '''' (Cathedral Square) is the largest square in Erfurt and one of the largest historical market squares in Germany. The cathedral and St Severus' Church on its western side can be reached over the '''', a wide flight of stairs. On the north side lies the courthouse, a historic building from 1880. The eastern and southern side is fronted by early-modern patrician houses. On the square are the Minerva Fountain from 1784 and the Erthal Obelisk from 1777. The Domplatz is the main setting of the Erfurt Christmas Market in December and the location for "DomStufen-Festival", an open-air theatre festival in summer. • The '''' (Fish Market) is the central square of Erfurt's city centre. It is surrounded by renaissance-style patrician houses and the town hall, a neo-gothic building from 1882. In the middle of the square is a statue called '''' (Roman), a symbol of the city's independence, erected by the citizens in 1591. • The '''' (Minor Market) is a small square on the east side of the Gera river (opposite to the Fischmarkt on the west side), surrounded by early-modern patrician and merchants' houses. The fountain on this square with the sculpture "Scuffling Boys" was created in 1975. Today, square also has various cafés and bars. Next to the in is the building, a neoclassicistic event hall from 1831 (current building). The Congress of Erfurt took place here in 1808. • The '''' (originally the German term for "village green") is a protracted square in the eastern city centre. All tram lines are linked here, so that it became the new city centre during the 20th century with many important buildings. On its northern side is the main post office, built in 1886 in neo-gothic style with its prominent clock tower. In the north-east there is the Martin Luther monument from 1889 in front of the Merchants' Church. Between the church and the Ursuline monastery lies the "Anger 1" department store from 1908. On the south side next to Station Street is the , the art history museum of Erfurt, inside a Baroque palace from 1711. The western part of Anger square is surrounded by large historicist business houses from the late 19th century. The west end of the square is marked by the Angerbrunnen fountain from 1890. The Jesuit College near was built in 1737 and used until the ban of the Jesuits in 1773. • The Willy Brandt Square is the southern gate to the city centre in front of the main station. Opposite to the station is the former hotel '''', where the first meeting of the East- and West-German heads of government took place in 1970. On the western side is the building of the old Erfurt station (1847–95) with a clock tower and the former offices of the Thuringian Railway Company. • The '''' (Deer Garden) is a small park in front of the Thuringian government seat in the western city centre. The minister-president's seat is the '''', a Renaissance-Baroque palace from the 17th century. • The '''' (Michael's Street) is known as "the lithic chronicle of Erfurt", because of its mostly medieval buildings. It is the main street of the Latin quarter around the old university and today one of the favourite nightlife districts of the Erfurters with various bars, restaurants and cafés. The central building of the old university, , was built in 1515, destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945 and originally rebuilt in 1999. • The '''' is an inner-city circular road following the former inner city wall. The road was set out in the 1890s by closing a branch of the Gera river. The buildings along the street originate from all periods of the 20th century, including some GDR-era highrise residence buildings. An old building complex here is the former Great Hospital, established in the 14th century. Today, it hosts the museum of popular art and cultural anthropology. • The '''' (St Andrew's Quarter) is a small quarter in the northern part of the city centre between in the south-west and in the north-east. It was the former craftsmen quarter with narrow alleys and old (16th/17th century) little houses. During the 20th century, there were plans to demolish the quarter because of its bad housing conditions. After 1990, the houses were redeveloped by private individuals so that it is one of the favourite neighbourhoods today. The largest building here is the former Municipal Corn Storage in Gothic style from 1466 with a floor area of . File:Krämerbrücke Erfurt II, Germany2.jpg| File:P1010412-Montage.jpg|Christmas market at File:Haus zum Roten Ochsen Fischmarkt.jpg| File:Wenigemarkt Erfurt.JPG| File:Hauptpost Erfurt2.JPG|Post office at File:Angermuseum Erfurt2.JPG| File:2011-05-19-erfurt-by-RalfR-44.jpg| Fortifications . From 1066 until 1873 the old town of Erfurt was encircled by a fortified wall. About 1168 this was extended to run around the western side of Petersberg hill, enclosing it within the city boundaries. After German Unification in 1871, Erfurt became part of the newly created German Empire. The threat to the city from its Saxon neighbours and from Bavaria was no longer present, so it was decided to dismantle the city walls. Only a few remnants remain today. A piece of inner wall can be found in a small park at the corner Juri-Gagarin-Ring and Johannesstraße and another piece at the flood ditch (Flutgraben) near Franckestraße. There is also a small restored part of the wall in the Brühler Garten, behind the Catholic orphanage. Only one of the wall's fortified towers was left standing, on Boyneburgufer, but this was destroyed in an air raid in 1944. The is a smaller citadel south-west of the city centre, dating from 1480. Today, it houses the German horticulture museum. 19th- and 20th-century architecture in the outskirts Between 1873 and 1914, a belt of ' architecture emerged around the city centre. The mansion district in the south-west around , and hosts some interesting ' and Art Nouveau buildings. The "Mühlenviertel" ("mill quarter"), is an area of beautiful Art Nouveau apartment buildings, cobblestone streets and street trees just to the north of the old city, in the vicinity of Nord Park, bordered by the Gera river on its east side. The Schmale Gera stream runs through the area. In the Middle Ages numerous small enterprises using the power of water mills occupied the area, hence the name "Mühlenviertel", with street names such as Waidmühlenweg (woad, or indigo, mill way), Storchmühlenweg (stork mill way) and Papiermühlenweg (paper mill way). The Bauhaus style is represented by some housing cooperative projects in the east around and and in the north around . Lutherkirke Church in (1927), is an Art Deco building. The former malt factory "Wolff" at in the east of Erfurt is a large industrial complex built between 1880 and 1939, and in use until 2000. A new use has not been found yet, but the area is sometimes used as a location in movie productions because of its atmosphere. Examples of Nazi architecture include the buildings of the (Thuringian parliament) and (an event hall) in the south at . While the building (1930s) represents more of the neo-Roman/fascist style, (1940s) is marked by some neo-Germanic '''' style elements. The Stalinist early-GDR style is manifested in the main building of the university at (1953) and the later more international modern GDR style is represented by the horticultural exhibition centre "" at , the housing complexes like Rieth or and the redevelopment of and area along in the city centre. The current international glass and steel architecture is dominant among most larger new buildings like the Federal Labour Court of Germany (1999), the new opera house (2003), the new main station (2007), the university library, the Erfurt Messe (convention centre) and the ice rink. File:Ernst-Toller-Straße Erfurt.JPG| tenements in district File:Brunnen Jacobsenviertel Erfurt.JPG|Cubistic fountain in a Bauhaus housing complex File:Lutherkirche Erfurt2.JPG|Art Deco Luther's Church File:ThüringerLandtag.jpg|Entrance of the Thuringian parliament File:Audimax-Foyer der Universität Erfurt.jpg|Lobby of the university main building File:Statue Johannesplatz Erfurt.JPG|GDR architecture in district File:2011-05-19-bundesarbeitsgericht-by-RalfR-24.jpg|Inner yard of the Federal Labour Court == Economy and infrastructure ==

During recent years, the economic situation of the city improved: the unemployment rate declined from 21% in 2005 to 9% in 2013. Nevertheless, some 14,000 households with 24,500 persons (12% of population) are dependent upon state social benefits (Hartz IV). Agriculture, industry and services Farming has a great tradition in Erfurt: the cultivation of woad made the city rich during the Middle Ages. Today, horticulture and the production of flower seeds is still an important business in Erfurt. There is also growing of fruits (like apples, strawberries and sweet cherries), vegetables (e.g. cauliflowers, potatoes, cabbage and sugar beets) and grain on more than 60% of the municipal territory. Transport , Erfurt's main railway station. By rail The ICE railway network puts Erfurt 1 hours from Berlin, 2 hours from Frankfurt, 2 hours from Dresden, and 45 minutes from Leipzig. In 2017, the ICE line to Munich opened, making the trip to Erfurt main station only 2 hours. There are regional trains from Erfurt to Weimar, Jena, Gotha, Eisenach, Bad Langensalza, Magdeburg, Nordhausen, Göttingen, Mühlhausen, Würzburg, Meiningen, Ilmenau, Arnstadt, and Gera. In freight transport there is an intermodal terminal in the district of Vieselbach () with connections to rail and the autobahn. By road The two Autobahnen crossing each other nearby at Erfurter Kreuz are the Bundesautobahn 4 (Frankfurt–Dresden) and the Bundesautobahn 71 (Schweinfurt–Sangerhausen). Together with the east tangent both motorways form a circle road around the city and lead the interregional traffic around the centre. Whereas the A 4 was built in the 1930s, the A 71 came into being after the reunification in the 1990s and 2000s. In addition to both motorways there are two Bundesstraßen: the Bundesstraße 7 connects Erfurt parallel to A 4 with Gotha in the west and Weimar in the east. The Bundesstraße 4 is a connection between Erfurt and Nordhausen in the north. Its southern part to Coburg was annulled when A 71 was finished (in this section, the A 71 now effectively serves as B 4). Within the circle road, B 7 and B 4 are also annulled, so that the city government has to pay for maintenance instead of the German federal government. The access to the city is restricted as '''' since 2012 for some vehicles. Large parts of the inner city are a pedestrian area which can not be reached by car (except for residents). By light rail and bus The Erfurt public transport system is marked by the area-wide (light rail) network, established as a tram system in 1883, upgraded to a light rail ('') system in 1997, and continually expanded and upgraded through the 2000s. Today, there are six Stadtbahn'' lines running every ten minutes on every light rail route. Additionally, Erfurt operates a bus system, which connects the sparsely populated outer districts of the region to the city center. Both systems are organized by SWE EVAG, a transit company owned by the city administration. The public service, managed by SWE/EVAG, is guaranteed by buses and trams in service from morning until late evening, with a night service starting from midnight until 4AM. By airplane Erfurt-Weimar Airport lies west of the city centre. It is linked to the central train station via Stadtbahn (tram). It was significantly extended in the 1990s, with flights mostly to Mediterranean holiday destinations and to London during the peak Christmas market tourist season. Connections to longer haul flights are easily accessible via Frankfurt Airport, which can be reached in 2 hours via a direct train from Frankfurt Airport to Erfurt, and from Leipzig/Halle Airport, which can be reached within half an hour. By bike Biking is becoming increasingly popular since construction of high quality cycle tracks began in the 1990s. There are cycle lanes for general commuting within Erfurt city. Long-distance trails, such as the Gera track and the '''' (Thuringian cities trail), connect points of tourist interest. The former runs along the Gera river valley from the Thuringian Forest to the river Unstrut; the latter follows the medieval Via Regia from Eisenach to Altenburg via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, and Jena. The Rennsteig Cycle Way was opened in 2000. This designated high-grade hiking and bike trail runs along the ridge of the Thuringian Central Uplands. The bike trail, about long, occasionally departs from the course of the historic Rennsteig hiking trail, which dates back to the 1300s, to avoid steep inclines. It is therefore about longer than the hiking trail. The Rennsteig is connected to the E3 European long distance path, which goes from the Atlantic coast of Spain to the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, and the E6 European long distance path, running from Arctic Finland to Turkey. Education After reunification, the educational system was reorganized. The University of Erfurt, founded in 1379 The university has an international reputation and participates in international student exchange programmes. The Fachhochschule Erfurt, is a university of applied sciences, founded in 1991, which offers a combination of academic training and practical experience in subjects such as social work and social pedagogy, business studies, and engineering. There are nearly 5,000 students in six faculties, of which the faculty of landscaping and horticulture has a national reputation. The International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef – Bonn (IUBH), is a privately run university with a focus on business and economics. It merged with the former Adam-Ries-Fachhochschule in 2013. The world renowned Bauhaus design school was founded in 1919 in the city of Weimar, approximately from Erfurt, 12 minutes by train. The buildings are now part of a World Heritage Site and are today used by the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, which teaches design, arts, media and technology-related subjects. Higher secondary education is provided at eight '', of which six are state-owned, one is Catholic (Edith-Stein-Schule) and one Protestant (Evangelisches Ratsgymnasium Erfurt). Among the state-owned schools are a , a boarding school for students highly talented in athletics, swimming, ice skating or football, and the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium'' featuring boarding-school classes with additional focus on mathematics, natural sciences and computer science, in addition to the common curriculum. Media The German national public television children's channel KiKa is based in Erfurt. MDR, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, a radio and television company, has a broadcast centre and studios in Erfurt. The Thüringer Allgemeine is a statewide newspaper that is headquartered in the city. == Politics ==

Mayor and city council The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Manfred Ruge of the Christian Democratic Union, who served from 1990 to 2006. From 2006 to 2024, Andreas Bausewein of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was mayor. Andreas Horn (CDU) was elected in 2024. The most recent mayoral election was held on 26 May 2024, with a runoff held on 9 June, and the results were as follows: The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: ==Twin towns – sister cities==

Erfurt is twinned with: • Győr, Hungary (1971) • Vilnius, Lithuania (1972) • Kalisz, Poland (1982) • Mainz, Germany (1988) • Lille, France (1991) • Shawnee, United States (1993) • San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina (1993) • Lovech, Bulgaria (1996) • Haifa, Israel (2000) • Xuzhou, China (2005) • Kati, Mali (2011) == Notable people ==

• See: List of people from Erfurt ==Footnotes==